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The auto is shrinking in America's rear view
By Jim Donick • May 1, 2009
Poughkeepsie Journal
Editor's note: This is a first-person piece from car enthusiast and freelance writer Jim Donick about the noble history of the American automobile.
"The times, they are a changin' "
- Bob Dylan
It's only 50 or 60 years ago Charles Wilson of GM made his oft-misquoted comment about what's good for General Motors being good for the country or vice versa and it was one of those things that was so obvious at the time it didn't merit any serious question. We were a country that was as defined by the automotive industry as by anything else and we knew it.
Like much else these days, though, it's hardly true in 2009.
By 1960 the number of manufacturers and automotive brands in the USA was down considerably from even the late '40s.
Those of us growing up in the second half of the 20th century have no great reason to recall the name of Packard and few will recall Studebaker, AMC, Nash or Kaiser, though they were all still players early on and are remembered better by some of our parents and grandparents than by most of us today.
But what about the automotive industry we grew up with? On the performance front it was a world of GTOs, Hemi Cudas, Ramchargers, Firebirds, Mustangs and Corvettes.
Moms drove the kids to school and then on to Little League practice in a Chrysler Town & Country station wagon, complete with fake wood paneling on the outside.
How many wars, or military actions, anyway, were won with the aid of countless Jeeps?
Hemi-powered Chryslers were often the police interceptor of choice for chasing speeders. In a straight line there wasn't much that was faster on the interstate for a very long time and cops appreciated that fact.
In truth, American culture or at least some piece of it has been pretty well wrapped up in the American automobile since the dawn of the industry.
The classically British James Bond may have driven an Aston Martin, but Bo and Luke Duke drove the "General Lee," a Dodge Charger, while their cousin, Daisy, had a Jeep. In early episodes of that show, the sheriff's boys actually had an AMC Matador.
The movie "Grease" did have an Australian as the female lead, but the hot rods we were supposed to love were a '48 Ford and a '49 Mercury.
"Route 66" was traveled in a Corvette and "Smokey and the Bandit" was done, I seem to recall, in a Pontiac Firebird.
Though the Corvette looks safe for now, more of them are already gone or headed for bankruptcy. It's hard to imagine any of the archetypical American stories or lives centered around a Fiat.
Music worked the same way. Our grandparents sang "Come away with me, Lucille, in my Merry Oldsmobile." The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, even Tracy Chapman, had all sorts of hits including specific car songs from "Little Deuce Coupe," "409" and "Shut Down" to "Fun, Fun, Fun" ("Until Daddy takes her T-Bird away") on to generic car songs such as "Fast Car."
Trust me, none of them was referring to a Nissan.
Every industry has been going through some sort of globalization. With TVs and radios and other appliances, that globalization had its disruptions but they were mostly economic. If the 'fridge was a Crosley or a Sears it didn't matter, and the TV as a Zenith or a Sony might affect jobs but didn't really affect how we saw ourselves. Most appliances are just that, appliances.
Cars, once upon a time, were a bigger piece of our identity. Uncle George could be counted upon to have a new Buick every year. John Borger's grandfather was never seen in anything but a Chrysler product, first a DeSoto and, after that I think, it was Chrysler Imperials. Dad, on the other hand, was mostly a "Ford guy." Cars, usually American cars, added to our self-image.
Now? Oldsmobile is about gone. General Motors announced the end of Pontiac in the last week or so and Chrysler's bankrupt.
We expect GM to survive and can hope for the best for Chrysler in its upcoming marriage to Fiat.
But the culture? Who's going to write a great road trip song about a Subaru?
Jim Donick is a Hudson Valley car collector and vintage racecar driver. He's a freelance writer who has published on topics from motoring to theater. He is Editor of Vintage Sports Car Magazine for the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and "only a vice-president" of the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society.
By Jim Donick • May 1, 2009
Poughkeepsie Journal
Editor's note: This is a first-person piece from car enthusiast and freelance writer Jim Donick about the noble history of the American automobile.
"The times, they are a changin' "
- Bob Dylan
It's only 50 or 60 years ago Charles Wilson of GM made his oft-misquoted comment about what's good for General Motors being good for the country or vice versa and it was one of those things that was so obvious at the time it didn't merit any serious question. We were a country that was as defined by the automotive industry as by anything else and we knew it.
Like much else these days, though, it's hardly true in 2009.
By 1960 the number of manufacturers and automotive brands in the USA was down considerably from even the late '40s.
Those of us growing up in the second half of the 20th century have no great reason to recall the name of Packard and few will recall Studebaker, AMC, Nash or Kaiser, though they were all still players early on and are remembered better by some of our parents and grandparents than by most of us today.
But what about the automotive industry we grew up with? On the performance front it was a world of GTOs, Hemi Cudas, Ramchargers, Firebirds, Mustangs and Corvettes.
Moms drove the kids to school and then on to Little League practice in a Chrysler Town & Country station wagon, complete with fake wood paneling on the outside.
How many wars, or military actions, anyway, were won with the aid of countless Jeeps?
Hemi-powered Chryslers were often the police interceptor of choice for chasing speeders. In a straight line there wasn't much that was faster on the interstate for a very long time and cops appreciated that fact.
In truth, American culture or at least some piece of it has been pretty well wrapped up in the American automobile since the dawn of the industry.
The classically British James Bond may have driven an Aston Martin, but Bo and Luke Duke drove the "General Lee," a Dodge Charger, while their cousin, Daisy, had a Jeep. In early episodes of that show, the sheriff's boys actually had an AMC Matador.
The movie "Grease" did have an Australian as the female lead, but the hot rods we were supposed to love were a '48 Ford and a '49 Mercury.
"Route 66" was traveled in a Corvette and "Smokey and the Bandit" was done, I seem to recall, in a Pontiac Firebird.
Though the Corvette looks safe for now, more of them are already gone or headed for bankruptcy. It's hard to imagine any of the archetypical American stories or lives centered around a Fiat.
Music worked the same way. Our grandparents sang "Come away with me, Lucille, in my Merry Oldsmobile." The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, even Tracy Chapman, had all sorts of hits including specific car songs from "Little Deuce Coupe," "409" and "Shut Down" to "Fun, Fun, Fun" ("Until Daddy takes her T-Bird away") on to generic car songs such as "Fast Car."
Trust me, none of them was referring to a Nissan.
Every industry has been going through some sort of globalization. With TVs and radios and other appliances, that globalization had its disruptions but they were mostly economic. If the 'fridge was a Crosley or a Sears it didn't matter, and the TV as a Zenith or a Sony might affect jobs but didn't really affect how we saw ourselves. Most appliances are just that, appliances.
Cars, once upon a time, were a bigger piece of our identity. Uncle George could be counted upon to have a new Buick every year. John Borger's grandfather was never seen in anything but a Chrysler product, first a DeSoto and, after that I think, it was Chrysler Imperials. Dad, on the other hand, was mostly a "Ford guy." Cars, usually American cars, added to our self-image.
Now? Oldsmobile is about gone. General Motors announced the end of Pontiac in the last week or so and Chrysler's bankrupt.
We expect GM to survive and can hope for the best for Chrysler in its upcoming marriage to Fiat.
But the culture? Who's going to write a great road trip song about a Subaru?
Jim Donick is a Hudson Valley car collector and vintage racecar driver. He's a freelance writer who has published on topics from motoring to theater. He is Editor of Vintage Sports Car Magazine for the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and "only a vice-president" of the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society.