Pre-Boomer Musings

With so many cars being recalled for repairs or fixing of design problems, it makes one wonder if the manufacturers are producing inferior quality products.  Are regulations too strict?  Or, have cars have become too complex, thereby increasing the possibility of problems?  It’s safe to suspect the problems are a combination of all these factors.

Image by Gerald_1311 via Flickr

Until the 1960s, the automobile industry suffered few serious setbacks.  It avoided government involvement in the business and was moving lots of iron.  However smaller, inexpensive-to-buy and cheaper-to-run imports, started to make inroads.  Detroit offered mid-size cars and subcompacts while Volkswagen created a stir with its tiny VW Bug.  The two big Japanese companies were also bringing cars into the country at an increasing rate.  But the big problem came from within the country– not from a car maker but from a crusader named Ralph Nader.

In 1965, Mr. Nader’s book “Unsafe at Any Speed” took US manufacturers to task on the subject of safety.  His efforts resulted in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involvement and the recall of 52 million cars and trucks over the next decade.  Then came concerns about pollution.  This coupled with gasoline shortages followed by price increases lead to the Energy Policy Conservation Act that put Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) Standards in motion.  The 1975 legislation called for cars to meet mileage requirements by 1980 and even higher standard by 1985.  These events certainly had an effect on the price of cars and set the stage for the regulations we have today.

The American auto makers saw the squeeze coming and reluctantly started producing subcompacts, even though they big, fast, gas-guzzlers were their cars of choice.  Ford introduced the Pinto in 1970, Chevrolet had the Vega and AMC offered the Gremlin.  The Ford entry had a design that allowed the gas tank to be damaged in a rear-end collision.  Many deaths were attributed to this, and the publicity was fires were fueled by the outing of a memo indicating the company was long aware of the problem but didn’t fix it in favor of their bottom line.  They paid millions as a result of law suits.  However, 2 million Pinto’s were sold and not one of them was recalled. 

Over the years, more safety features came into being: seat belts, air bags and the like.  Emissions went down, designs addressed safety and the look of vehicles changed.  Minivans had their time, SUVs became the rage and concerns about mileage lessened until recent times.  Detroit became less relevant as imports gained in popularity, particularly the Japanese cars, which were known for their quality and dependability.

Now we have the Toyota debacle, which has spread to Lexus and its hybrid lines.  At the same time other foreign and domestic cars are having recalls, too.  Out of these problems will likely be a shift in the marketplace, because people want to trust the car they drive.  The question is, will it result in a safer car, more practical designs, improved operating functions, or what?  One thing we can bank on, the price of cars is about to increase.          

Tags: Current Events // Add Comment »