2009 is a year that will long be remembered by all automobile enthusiasts as the year they killed the American car. After over eight long decades, GM announced the closing of the Pontiac brand. More than an automobile era is closing. For many of us, this is an acknowledgment and confirmation that the transformation in a segment of our social landscape is now permanent.
There were many other closings of venerable marques over the years, such as Dodge, or more recently Oldsmobile, that hit us as “little deaths.” The current economic devastation spilling bloodshed throughout the auto industry, however, is overwhelming the Detroit based manufacturers. The impact is making some of the dissolution irreversible. The names we grew up with, names that were very much present in the consciousness of our society and had meaning through multiple elements of North American culture, will no longer be components of corporate America. The future of the Big Three is now in serious doubt.
Vehicles such as the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville, the 1956 Ford Crown Victoria, the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, the 1956 DeSoto Adventurer, the 1955 Chrysler C300, and the 1958 Chevrolet Impala were not simply transportation. They were the artful and complex product of creative teams, led by visionary designers who delivered “glory days” for their employers.
Europeans produced engineering marvels, but Detroit pushed vehicles into the artistic realm. If, for example, you analyze the taillights on vehicles from the ‘50s and ‘60s, their designers made them an integral and unique element of the rear decks. For European manufacturers, on the other hand, taillights were an afterthought. For most of them, it almost appeared as if they had forgotten that taillights were even required and the taillights had been added as the cars rolled off the assembly lines. Not so for the symbols of American know how and creativity.
Even the interiors were uniquely stylized, one more exotic than the next. Most importantly, Middle America could afford them. New or used, for a couple of generations, they represented stages and punctuations in one’s life or career. They were icons with vastly differing characteristics and complexions. For millions of us they represented dreams and aspirations, … “one day I’m going to own an Olds 442.” That the day did not always come wasn’t important, but dreaming of that Z28 Camaro, GTO or Barracuda was an enjoyable part of life for young and old.
The emotional component that automobiles of that era provided has not been replicated, and as poor management and careless unions destroyed the fabric of Detroit’s ingenuity, we watched the epoch extinguish itself from within.
The Oldsmobile Toronado, launched in the mid ‘60s when GM held 60% of the U.S. auto market, was a landmark technological wonder. Under one of the longest hoods on the road, the car’s 455 cubic-inch (7.5L) displacement Rocket V8 engines could smoke the enormous front wheels hurling the 5,000lb. vehicle down a quarter mile in under 17 seconds. The ’68 rendition, with hidden headlights and a front end the length of a Concord, is one of the great but under appreciated American automobiles. It punctuated the end of the sixties, and the fading of an automotive era, whose ending after four decades of denial can finally be put to rest in 2009.
We can rest confident and grateful that the tireless efforts of curators, aficionados, enthusiasts as well as hobbyists will continue to resuscitate, restore and preserve the art that has been the American automobile. Dare we dream of a resurgence?
Crossposted from The Pacific Gate Post
A constituent of the vast baby boomer generation with a career which has been fortunate to know the ponderous corporate worlds, as well as the intimately pressurized, and invigorating entrepreneurial domains of high tech and venture capital, I have harvested my share of mistakes meandering through corridors of enterprise from Silicon Valley, to London and endless, colourful, sometimes praetorian points in between. The voyage has provided an abundance of fodder for a pen yielding to an inquisitive keyboard, a foraging mind, and a passionate spirit.
Whether political or business or social or economic or personal, is it not all political? It is a privilege to write, and an even greater privilege to be read by anyone, and sometimes with the wind at my back the writing may occasionally be legible. I do not write to invite scorn, nor to invite respect, but if I get really lucky the writing can stimulate thinking. I also write for the very selfish purpose of animating my own processes, and engaging the best of what life offers. Above all, whether biting fire or swatting shadows, I am grateful to be gifted the freedom to write and publish whatever flows down to the keyboard. To all those who enabled this freedom, and to all those standing guard to preserve it, I am indebted.
I’m wearing my red Pontiac GTO Tri-Power 389 V8 shirt today that I got from Motor Brands USA
The Goat may be gone, but it won’t be forgotten!
albyinseattle,
Putting a red GTO through the gears, windows rolled down, the exhaust roaring its own unique sense of base, sliding well past 120mph, … er, … the speed limit, was not just a feeling, it was something well beyond.
Yes. All the beauty, the style, the engineering. The dreams, the joy, the love.
None of this just “faded away.” It was taken from us. The politicians destroyed the American car. Now, they are moving on to destroy the American Dream.
Government mandates on every aspect of automobile design has produced a world where every car looks like every other one, a singular design which allows for nothing outside the box.
And Obama has just decreed it will become a smaller and more dangerous, yet more expensive box.
Green fascists are feeling their oats… organic of course.
Lets make this pretty clear. Unions killed the auto companies. When a union becomes self serving above the company and the workers it is supposed to help, the company will sooner or later die. The unions kept the companies from being competitive in price and screwed the quality of the product. I don’t think this will be the end of the “American automobile” but until Obama and his ilk on Capitol Hill get out of the way of the private sector instead of controlling it, it won’t happen.
Trialdog,
Not to get too melodramatic, but the last century of the dreary and dismal life led by millions in Russia, smells a little like the direction Congress and the Administration are moving the country in.
RS,
… And we thank narcissists like Ralph Nader for launching the attack on American Automobiles, by promoting lies about the Chevy Corvair.
He singlehandedly killed what had the potential to become a great line of automobiles. Egos can be destructive when out of control. What we are witnessing in Washington now is dangerous because the media is on the PR bandwagon.
My First New Car. A 1969 Camaro. 396 cubic inch engine, 4 speed in electric blue. I loved it but sold it. Gas was 22 cents a gallon but that was light years ago. Fond memories.
Detroit made some fine transport then. That car ate two lane blacktop for breakfast!
Ralph Nader, the Dr. Kevorkian of the US Auto Industry.
Given enough time, Obama would ban all non-electric vehicles from any city limits, the size of the city affected to be chosen by “The One.” Cap & Trade (plus runaway inflation) will skyrocket the cost of electricity to way beyond 30-cents per kilowatt-hour. (It is presently 5.7 to 17.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the state you live in). There severe limits on what “luxuries” an electric car can have designed into it. Unrealistic fuel standards will do likewise for all other gasoline powered cars, save for a few models that even fewer people can afford. It all comes down to energy, of which I like to say “Energy is what keeps us from living in mud huts, making sharp sticks.” Funny thing is: We don’t have a shortage of energy. We have a shortage of the will to develope it into clean, cheap and transportable fuel. Since oil was discovered in the mid 1800’s, the world has used roughly 1-trillion barrels. Google “Green River Oil Shale” for an eyeopener. Estimstes of over 2-trillion barrels of recoverable oil. (More provable reserves than all OPEC countries combined). Coal: Germans turned it into Syn-fuel 70-years ago. The Fischer-Tropsch process makes coal easy to convert into Diesel and Aircraft Fuel. That in itself would take all that pressure off of Crude Oil demand. In coal, we have more BTU’s of energy under West Virginia than exists in Saudi Arabia. Five States have more coal reserves than West Virginia, together that’s more energy AGAIN than is possessed by all OPEC countries combined.. Offshore Oil. Natural Gas. Nuclear to take petroleum based electricity off the grid. America could easily become the worlds biggest energy EXPORTER instead of it’s biggest importer. What would THat do for the Auto Industry, our Economy and our National Security?
Stomp,
Unfortunately, there little or no chance that Obama will do anything to irritate the very unions and their leaderships that, as you say, killed the auto companies.
Middle America will wake up soon, … well maybe. The MSM sure is asleep.
Nostradamus,
Great comment. I find it rather insane that this Administration thinks electric cars are the answer. In some distant future that may the case, but for the foreseeable horizon there is no satisfactory answer from the power cell community.
Is anyone asking what Obama will do with all the giant used batteries, on which his favorite cars run, when these government enforced purchases have run their useful course? The sheer volume will present a problem, but he’ll be long gone. Spent nuclear fuel rods, by comparison, would inflict much less damage on the environment, and do less harm to the average human being.
….. And, Perhaps this Administration believes America will flock to the Tata Nano dealerships, foregoing any and all conveniences and comforts provided by American made cars for over four generations.
James Raider, I refuse to trade in my Nissan Titan truck for a Golf Cart with zero Range and zero
safety measures built in. I do not own my personal nuke plant and a windmill is just out of the question.
I will give up my truck when Obama travels exclusively by Blimp. Obama 1, full of hot air and green like the Hindenburg.
Old Trooper,
Your note compels a couple of thoughts.
1. Nissan – Interestingly enough made a truly great car in the initially anomalous 400Z-Turbo, but has followed it up with a world beating ZR track devouring monster now showing Ferrari and Porsche its exhaust around Nurburgring. Ergo, the 400 Z may not have been a complete freak of nature. … and I agree on the Titan.
2. Hindenburg – …. Exactly. Sadly the “green” that caused the human disaster because people didn’t know what they “didn’t know” is exactly what we are witnessing in the Oval Office. Someone out of his depth. He appears a good listener, but appears too lazy to really become intimately informed with what is most critical right now for the Nation he leads – money, the economy, the market, and most importantly, getting serious grasp on the complexities in the basket we call Inflation.
@Old Trooper
I’m surprised you bought a truck from a Japanese owned company.
That Nissan might be more Amercan than a GMC Sierra, all of which are manufactured in Canada. Honda of Ohio: 88% of THE PARTS are made in America.
How about my Grandfather’s 1957 Lincoln Premier? It was something to behold. It was pink. Yeah. Pink. It was the first car in Havre, Montana with seatbelts and air conditioning. I don’t know what the engine was but it was fast!
My own sort of icon was a 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury with a 361 Wedge, a 904 and posi. I got it just before graduating from high school in 1972. It was painted that hideous Chrysler Beige but it went like a bat out of hell. It’s tranny was even push button operated. Boy, do I miss that car now.
Correction to article – Dodge is still around, Plymouth bit the dust in 2001.
I don’t support unions who abuse their power to the detriment of all (like the UAW), and am pretty anti-union in general, but I support the American car industry, and have always bought cars produced by American car companies for the following reasons:
1) I wanted to support the American auto Worker and the taxes they pay to the US
(they are then net wealth creators instead of welfare parasites)
2) I wanted to support the American Company and the taxes they pay to the US, as
well as all the myriad of parts suppliers and related industries. They might then have a chance to pay for the UAW abuses and retiree benefits instead of the US taxpayer
3) I wanted to maintain a wealth-creating industrial and manufacturing base in this country
4) I did not want to transfer wealth out of this country to foreign owned corporations
5) Although they have produced some dogs (like all car companies), they also produce some really great cars that I lust after (unlike their Asian competitors).
Now, contrast this with the hypocrisy of the Libtards that want to bail-out and control GM and Chrysler to keep the UAW afloat – they would never consider buying an American car to directly support the car worker that they profess to care so much about.
For those who try to excuse themselves with “but my Toyota/Honda/etc was made in KY or OH, see items 1-4 above (profits and wealth flow overseas).
True story, when we met, my to-be-future wife had a Supra she loved (I thought it was mediocre at best, certainly nothing I would think even twice about, but I’m a 442 guy – oh it had a loose front end, loose interior trim parts, and a head that warped and leaked twice – great quality!). We saw a History Channel show on the Bataan death march and the Japanese war crimes (see Unit 731 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731) after which she said she’ll never buy a Japanese car again. She replaced it with a Chrysler 300M which she loves even more.
Toonsis, why do you believe purchasing a Ford built in a Mexican factory maintains “…a wealth-creating industrial and manufacturing base in this country”?
Fact is, in a global market, sundry parts used for assembly – no matter where the factory is located – come from all parts of the world. I know of no genuine all-American car. At least with a US factory, they pay US payroll taxes and employ US workers…. contributing for that segment of their business.
Toyota or other foreign manufacturers with plants here contribute to the US by paying state and local taxes on top of the licensing fees etal associated with maintaining an industry here in the States. The only difference is they don’t necessarily pay a corporate tax. Then again, were the US corporate taxes not so danged high, they might be based here instead of overseas.
Neither do US foreign based subsidiaries pay US taxes… something Obama wants to change. The day he does that, they will no longer headquarter in the US and the nation will enjoy none of their benefits save what they decide to leave here as a pittance. So prepare yourself for a slow but steady exodus of evil “big business”…. unless Obama finds a way to seize control of it first, of course.
You also then have to consider that these companies are publicly traded. So when Toyota, Ford or GM make (or lose) money, so do their investors.. which include Joe and Nelly Blow’s from all over the world.
I say all the above because I believe there is no single “wealth flow” argument you can make that convinces me that a Japanese or Swedish owned industry with a US manufacturing plant does not contribute to US revenue in more ways than not.
And if you’re looking for “all-American” anything, you’d better keep it simple. Like perhaps a cotton tee made in the USA, or items with few moving parts and PC circuit boards. All factories purchase OEM parts for assembly… and from all over the world.
If you plan on being a purist, or advocating the rest of us do so, you might find we all have to revert to growing our own cotton for clothes, becoming metal workers and forgers to create our own parts, fashion dishes out of wood (since most steel and copper is now imported), or perhaps bake bowls and gourds in a kiln that hopefully we can build out of parts that only come from the US. To follow the “purist buy American” means we must yield the hi tech/multinational component toys we have become accustomed to.
Quite simply, it’s a global world. For most items and products, this is a good thing for the consumer. But for our basic necessities… textiles, steel/metals and energy… it is not good for our nation.
Glenn Cassel,
Yup, the ’57 Lincoln Premier was a gem. I remember as a kid, a friend of my dad’s coming over to show him his brand new beige/white ’56 Lincoln Premier, and sitting behind the wheel, I just couldn’t leave. The beautiful gigantic steering wheel in hand, straining to look out over the dash, I just wouldn’t let go. I even remember its new car “smell.”
Toonsis,
Thanks for the note,…. my bad. Must be the sadness misfiring a synapse or two. I meant to say Plymouth. You’re absolutely right, and thanks to Daimler Benz, Unions, etc, Plymouth was clocked out in 2001. The ’57 two door Plymouth Fury remains one of my favorite classics.
BTW … Cheers on the 442, … was there anything move ominous on the road than the ’70 442 W30 with those long striped double air scoops? Another car that stirred endless dreams.
@ James Raider
“… was there anything move ominous on the road than the ‘70 442 W30 with those long striped double air scoops?”
(1) Shelby Cobras, Corvettes, Ford GT, Ford Pantera, Hemi ‘Cuda and Challanger, Dodge Viper, Datona & Plymouth Superbird.
(2) Any US big Rig up close in your rear veiw mirror.
(3) Any big US military vehicle including the Hummers.
If we were to include US made for movie vehicles the ominous vehicles list would be more prodigious. (The Batmobiles, the Herkimer Battle Jitney (Mystery Men), The cars from Deathrace 2000, Christine (an evil 58 Plymouth Fury), The heavily modified 1964 Lincoln Continental MarkII from National Lampoon’s Animal House, The General Lee, 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor (ECTO1 Ghostbusters )
Honorable mention: Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown 1981 Delorean DMC 12 (Lotus built but heavily modified in the US.)
I’m not sure of the pedigree, but this is very impressive and ominous: http://www.geekologie.com/2007/12/07/future-car-1.jpg
GaffaUK
@Old Trooper
I’m surprised you bought a truck from a Japanese owned company.
******************************************************************
My truck was built in Canton, Ohio, USA by non Thug Labor and burns petrol or that horribly subsidized E-85 mixture that drops MPG by 1/3. When I retired I spent two weeks test driving more than a few trucks, the Nissan suited my needs, handled better and the warranty service proved to be 1st class, only one recall on my 2005 truck. Ford, Chrysler & GM just could not build what I needed and couldn’t compete on the price.
Now I reckon that as a Taxpayer, I own a piece of the American Auto Industry, a few Banks, an Investment firm or two and I want the Entire Government Management Team Fired because the scoundrels live off my Tax Dollar. I smell Mismanagement, Socialism and a bit of Class Warfare in the deal. My Stock in Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger have performed nicely since the Pretender took Office but I won’t send him a thank you note.
MataHarley,
Thanks for the lesson on globalization. I don’t want to start a flame war, but I am sadly well-aware of globalization. I’m in the (shrinking) electronics industry, and the IC chips I design here are produced overseas: design rule checking in Italy; back-end routing in India; mask production in France; wafer-fab in Taiwan; packaging in Malaysia. Final assembly onto boards and modules occurs in a Delphi plant in Indiana, and are installed in Chrysler vehicles produced in Delaware. They also go into Ford, MB, BMW, Kia, etc. vehicles produced here and abroad. All of the above steps used to be done here, but various steps have been off-shored not because of superior quality but because of cheaper labor and capitol investment (fyi: Intel still maintains leading edge process development and production fabs in the US). So while the chips were produced off-shore, the high-value design work and intellectual property development was done in the US and is certainly an American design owned by an American company, which gets the major portion of the profit when sold.
But, back to autos: my Chrysler Durango’s Hemi 5.7L engine came from a (Chrysler owned) Mexican engine plant, the AC compressor and alternator from Japan (Chrysler partner Mitsubishi), and I’m sure other content did as well. This still leaves ~75% domestic sourced content – frame, body panels, seats, interior, suspension, etc. The vehicle was designed by American engineers, and assembled by North American workers. Purchasing this vehicle “kept more in-house” for me than purchasing a Toyota/ Honda/ Nissan/ Hyundai SUV. Plus I like it a LOT better than anything in the price range.
I agree with you on taxes, and I think Obama will be the poster boy for the “law of unintended consequences” – his policies are pure disaster on every level.
One issue though – you seem to dismiss the importance of corporate taxes not paid to the US by foreign owned companies. One of my points was the consumer/taxpayer has a choice – he can buy a product from an American owned company, and keep the majority of profits and taxes here, or buy a similar product from a foreign company and let that profit portion of the purchase flow out of the country. That’s why I purchase computers from HP or Dell rather than Toshiba or Sony even though they are sourced from Asian factories. And don’t forget that many of the foreign car makers that opened assembly plants here got massive incentives from state and local governments to bring jobs to their towns, often with additional load on taxpayers to create/expand the infrastructure needed to support the plants (water, sewer, electric, roads, rails, etc.), so in a way, the American taxpayer is supporting a foreign company that is taking market share away from an American owned company.
Detroit used to enjoy the highest per capita income of any major city in the US. That income fell as the Big 3 market share fell as consumer bought more and more import vehicles. We have shed decent paying and wealth creating blue-collar middle class industrial and production jobs to perceived lower cost foreign countries, and replaced them with low-pay non-wealth creating service industry jobs. American corporations, government, AND consumers are all complicit in allowing this to happen.
As a consumer, I consider where the dollars I spend are going to end up and who/what they support. If more consumers did the same I believe the US would have a much stronger economy and fuller employment.
@ Ditto,
“… was there anything move ominous on the road than the ‘70 442 W30 with those long striped double air scoops?” …..
(1) Shelby Cobras, Corvettes, Ford GT, Ford Pantera, Hemi ‘Cuda and Challanger, Dodge Viper, Datona & Plymouth Superbird.
——-
Come on now, how many Cobras, Ford GTs, or Panteras were on the road in those days? Dodge Viper? Not so much either. The dressed-up 442 was one of the prettiest sites on the road.
You guys may be interested in my 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. Pure American steel.
@ Toonsis,
Great description of realities in the electronics industry, which mirror much of the North American industrial landscape in General.
We are conflicted. At least many consumers have recently become conflicted, although they weren’t much conflicted throughout the past decade of profligate spending. Now the realities of trade with China, which was never even close to resembling “free trade” have become relevant for reasons you outline.
The difficulty is in bringing about effective change in purchasing habits. Almost everything we buy now is made in Asia, from furniture to toys. WalMart is China’s best exporting tool, and Americans are not about to bypass a deal. Just to make matters more difficult, it has also become extremely difficult to know what is made where because many companies are misrepresenting where their products originate.
Some further thought on this delemma facing Middle America and critical to its future, … http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/02/free-trade-and-american-consumer.html
@ Curt,
Beautiful piece of work, and classic lines. What you did on the body is amazing. Love the color. Had many races against its cousins. Another great icon dreams were made of. Thanks.
Yeah, thats the original color combo…one of the reasons I brought it and restored it. Rare color combo.
@ James Raider
Your post posed the question “…was there anything move ominous on the road than the ‘70 442 W30 with those long striped double air scoops?…”
I simply other vehicles that (to me) were more ominous than the 442. You didn’t say anything about production numbers, else I would have listed the 442’s more numerous and widely available (but also ominous,) contemporary production muscle car competitors.
@ Curt
My brother and I also owned an awesome ’69 Carger RT, equipped with 440cid, positraction in Mopar Orange. It was wicked. Unfortunately a hit-and-run driver T-boned it in a parking lot, totaling it. It looked exactly like this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dodge_Charger_R-T_(Gibeau_Orange_Julep).JPG
Before that we owned a ’64 Pontiac Tempest 326 very much like this one: http://www.oldcaronline.com/picture.php?ad_id=50464&pnr=JSCOTTIREP106_3.jpg
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/pontiac/tempest/467470.html
Before I went into the military I purchased a 1955 Olds 88 very much like this (except in light-blue instead of turquoise:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2533875
Sadly, my grandfather sold it while I was overseas.
This is my current restoration project, a 98% original 1936 International Harvester C-30 1-1/2 ton, original flathead 6-cyl. I’m not going to let this one out of my hands:
http://www.oldihc.org/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1326
@ Ditto,
I think it’s just left overs from a past love affair will Oldsmobile – 442s and Toronados. 🙂
There were great challenges from the likes of Curt’s Charger and its brothers tweaked with 426 Hemis.
My favorite sleeper was the big barely-bored-out-shaved-heads-blueprinted-455 Toro, cooking big low pressured Michelins with smoke poring out of the front wheel wells, rising up and over the center of the long hood, then blocking the view through the center half of the front windshield, before flowing over the center of the roof and down the back deck. ….. Stupidity incarnate, maybe, particularly in today’s climate, but what the hell do you know when you’re young? “Wisdom” wasn’t part of the vocabulary. But what a thrill.
@ Curt,
Keep us posted on the ’36 C30. What a rarity.
Ditto has the 36 I believe
Curt,
It’s great fun to look at the pics of your car.
My Dad and Mom bought one exactly like that when Dad returned from Vietnam.
Same year. Same model. Same color.
That Charger was his very first new car. He loved it.
In my photo album I have pics of me when I was two or three sitting under the steering wheel of that car.
Did you do the restoration stuff yourself?
Was it the silver with red interior and stripe? If so thats super rare. Lots of silver and black tho. I did much of the fuel system myself and other bits and parts but had professionals do most of it.
@ James Raider
“I think it’s just left overs from a past love affair will Oldsmobile…”
Understandable. When you’re young and finally get a smoking ride, you never forget it. I’m a classic vehicle fan myself, and there are very few made prior to 1973 that I don’t like. I tend to be more judgmental about anything made after that. (Hell, I even liked the Edsel. I never thought it really deserved it’s reputation.)
As Curt said, the 1936 IH C-30 is mine. It actually starts right up and run’s pretty good/strong. I’ve driven around town a few times and found out it has a top speed of about 40-45mph (the trade-off being that it has enough tourque to pull stumps out of the ground). It has hydraulic brakes which work better than those on some much newer cars I’ve driven. It is a bear to steer at anything slower than 5 mph.
I have a little work to do on it before I take it out on the road again. Currently, I’m getting ready to pull the fuel tank to clean out while I replace a seeping brass fuel line connector and fix the fuel level sending unit. I also need to find a shop that will put a new bushing in the water pump which has just started to weep. After that I have to replace the wiring harness (Someone partially converted it from 6-volt to 12 volt, but they neglected to upgrade the voltage regulator, coil and wiring.) I’ll also pull the radiator to have the passages rodded out, (not because of overheating, but simply as preventative maintenance).
@ ditto,
Apologies on the incorrect ’36 C30 attribution. Still, keep us posted with pics. The process is as important as the end result. Thanks.
And, “ditto” on the Edsel, particularly the 2 door ’58 Citation. Who couldn’t love that front end, seeming so ugly it was beautiful. Pressing those “teletouch” gear shifting buttons in the center of the steering wheel was freaky, especially while under way and in a turn. But the best element was the long back deck. Ford should have prevailed with the technology.