What we saw were the results of these measures that shaped the automotive industry in North America in 1982. It wasn’t enough to build smaller passenger cars. There was something else that took place that also changed the way we looked at transportation – for both work and play.
Translation: Japanese cars were thought of as cheap tin boxes that would never make it through a Minnesota winter. That was the mentality of the American consumer until the last couple of decades. It does help that several Japanese automakers set up shop building vehicles on our soil to change our collective minds.
My childhood was dictated by a few well-known facts about the USA automotive market. One, I lived in California. This was a very convenient place for importers to start their operations first, as its ports were across the Pacific from Japan and the Republic of Korea. Also, the state’s market had a track record of customer acceptance of Japanese and Korean imports. Toyota and Nissan started in California and saw their fortunes grow there over time.
TweetHave you ever looked at a vehicle out on the road – or in a parking lot – and wondered "why would anyone own such a thing?" Sounds judgmental, right? It is…or, not. The big thing about the vehicles we drive is that we choose it for a reason. Maybe it's the interior space. Maybe, …
TweetIt has been a while, has it not? The whole My Favorite thing… It is not for lack of imagination. Rather, I have been busy on many fronts. One such front is a new venture for me that might lead to a dream job. More on that when things sort itself out on that front. …
Tweet Video courtesy of Volkswagen of America via YouTube I did not watch television just to watch it. In my childhood, there was great television to watch. Imagine there was a six-year old with a deep imagination and a brain that could absorb random trivial crap. Imagine said six-year old in front of the family's …
At a time when the call was to tune down the horsepower and prepare for an oil crisis, a recession and a never ending war overseas, domestic automakers figured it was high time to build another round of compact cars. By going smaller, there were two routes to take: Build them domestically or import them from a global partner somewhere. Three out of the four North American automakers chose the latter.