Cars & Coffee, Austin Landing, Dayton, July 6, 2019

I had good fortune to park in the shade this morning, and minimize the effects of a very hot morning with a strong sun. Cars and Coffee brings out plenty of  recently minted cars, and a number of cars that really should be parked at the very periphery (like the Prius that was parked next to my 1971 Porsche 911!).

An unabashed celebration of materialism, Cars & Coffee does bring out the younger set, which is good for the car hobby, but doesn't pique my contrarian attitude that places a high value on the historically technological sublime. Below are three cars that I found of interest: 240 Z  Datsun a 1951 MG TD, a Mercedes Benz 300 CE Cabriolet.

The Dynamic Nature of the Import Automobile Market in the U.S., 1963-74

1963 Toyota Crown

1969 Toyota Corona

1974 Toyota Corolla

The American Automobile Industry experienced several historic inflection points between the middle of the 1960s and the end of the 1970s. One happened in the mid-1960s when government took on the role of regulator, both in terms of emissions and and safety. Another took place at the end of the 1960s when consumers decidedly began to prefer foreign cars, a shift anticipated between 1958 and 1960 but then evaporated to a degree after the Detroit import fighters entered the marketplace (Corvair, Falcon, Valiant). Foreign cars were attractive because they were different; often innovative with front drive and rear engine configurations; and finally they were not often subject to planned obsolescence.   A third inflection point and certainly a most significant one took place beginning in October, 1973, with Oil Shock I. And then the second Oil Shock in 1979-80 catalyzed a new order in the global  automotive business.

Note the table below, and the impact that Oil Shock I had on the import market. Everyone lost, but some were far bigger losers than others.  VW sales had flattened before late 1973, the consequence of too much air cooled Beetle and not enough new product lines. Opel, Volvo, British Leyland,  and Mercedes-Benz also experienced little growth at the end of the era, but M-B would emerge with a true niche luxury brand, as exemplified by the 450 SL that was so popular in California. And Japan, despite a modest 1974 decline, was rising fast on the scene (except note the conspicuous absence of Honda).

Import U.S. Sales by years, 1962-1972 (includes cars, tourist deliveries, trucks)

Mfr.	1974	1973	1972	1968	1963
VW	336,257	480,602	491,742	427,694	278,549
Toyota	269,376	326,844	311,770	130,044	1,096
Datsun	245,273	319,007	268,666	---	---
Capri	75,260	113,069	91,995	---	---
Opel	59,279	68,400	69,407	84,680	176
British Leyland	54,870	65,948	68,641	58,616	55,776
Mazda	75,709	119,004	62,818	----	---
Fiat	72,129	58,447	58,375	30,521	---
Volvo	53,043	60,761	57,772	38,826	14,188
M-B	38,826	42,405	41,998	24,553	11,204

1963 VW Beetle

1974 Beetle -- the elegant simplicity is lost, as mandated bumpers, emissions and safety add-ons  weigh this car down

1963 Opel Kadett

1973 Opel Manta

1973 Opel GT

1965 Fiat 500 F

The1970s: A Lost Decade or a Prelude to Disaster?

They say statistics don't lie. Note the productivity data contained in the bar graphs and focus on the period 1973-79 and then the recent past. Productivity is a measure of efficiency, and the US decline on one level can be witnessed from viewing the graphs. Of course, there took place a concurrent cultural, moral, and intellectual decline as well. More will follow, but my tight focus will usually be on the automobile industry.

Charlie Wilson (L) at a WWII Automobile Council  Production Board Meeting

OK, so after 6 weeks of drift, I decided on July 5, 2019 that I won't be able to retire. I am back to work and focusing first on previous work I began but did not complete on the automotive history of the 1970s. My argument is that the 1970s was more than simply a lost decade, or one that fostered a new era in American politics, whether it be on the front porch with citizen activism or a reconfigured brand of conservatism. It marked the beginning of the steep decline in the American automobile industry and in American Imperial Power, and that has taken us to the Donald Trump presidency in 2019. That is the topic what we shall explore in the weeks ahead, with the automobile as a focus but with occasional deflections and distractions along the way.

In his Senate confirmation hearing in 1953, Charlie Wilson was supposedly have said: "What’s good for General Motors is good for the country." Actually at one point in the hearings, Sen. Robert Hendrickson (R-NJ) asked him if he could make a decision as secretary of defense that would be detrimental to the interests of General Motors. He said he could, adding [emphasis added]: “for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country.”

Indeed, what Wilson assaying was that the automotive industry and the nation are inextricably connected. And thus when the industry declined, so did the country, or vice-versa in a complex causal soup. And that is what I will be getting at in the next posts!

Lee Iacocca: Some Thoughts on Management and Organization

With all the memorials to Lee Iacocca after his recent death, one wonders what can be said that hasn't been said before. Journalists have recounted his life mostly by summarizing what was in Iacocca's Autobiography; His immigrant parents, hard work at Lehigh and Princeton before joining the Ford Motor Company; rise as a marketer; father of the Mustang; collision with Henry Ford II and dismissal; saving the Chrysler Corporation; the Minivan and K-Car, as he teamed up with Hal Sperlich; acquisition of AMC and Jeep; dismissal and the aborted 1990s takeover with Kirk Kevorkian; two failed marriages and a number of entrepreneurial ventures; and finally playing golf with Snoop Dog.

I used Iacocca's Autobiography many times in my "Automobile and American Life" course, usually with great success. Two ideas of his continue to stick in my mind related to his ideas concerning management and organization. First, after moving on to Chrysler and eliminating over 50 vice-presidents, Iacocca introduced his quarterly report strategy for all managerial employees. This was a great idea, as it led to an accountability that was both motivational and self-actualizing. I suggested that this be done at the University of Dayton many years ago, and the notion was dismissed. We now do this as a part of tenure review on an annual basis, but I do not know if administrators are required to do anything like this. But in the 1990s the UD administration was stuck in mediocrity, and nothing would do to move it forward.

The second Iacocca idea was a part of the Chrysler government bailouts and employee force reduction, and salary adjustments -- equality of sacrifice. This strategy would have been a coup for Cheryl Schrader at Wright State University during recent labor problems there.  Too often faculty feel that they are on unequal footing with administrators, and rightfully so.  Equal sacrifice, with facts to back it up, defuse tensions and bring an organization together.


One can still learn much from Lee Iacocca, rest his soul!

The Subaru BRAT

Thanks to Ed for the photos!

In 2018 I became a proud Subaru owner, am getting interested in the history of the brand.  Certainly one of the most interesting off all Subaru models is the Subaru BRAT. The BRAT can only be classified as a cheat, as it was marketed as a car to satisfy U.S. government regulators but in actuality was far more a truck. BRAT, a contorted acronym for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter. Introduced in 1979, Subaru of America's president Harvey Lamb stated "We spent with almost nine months coming up with the name." In Australia they called this vehicle the Brumby, an Aussie moniker for a wild horse, also a bi-directional re rational all-terrain transporter.

The vehicle was a cheat because it avoided a 1963 tariff on European trucks of 25%. LBJ imposed that tax  after a controversy ensured over American chicken sent to Europe, where their farmers politically pushed back.  The BRAT looked like a truck, but if two plastic seats were shoe-horned in the back along with a carpet, you could call it a car! The seats were welded in, but who was to stop on owner from using sawzall to free up the cargo bed. Essentially the company said "we are a car, according to us."

1984 Subaru BRAT
Engine- Flat 4, 1782 cc, 72 hp, top speed 84 mph.
Price when new -- $5599.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is perhaps the best automotive museum in Germany and indeed the world. I have visited it many times and wish I could go back to send time in their archives.

On July 2, 2019 Clemens Bergmann, the ten millionth visitor to the Mercedes-Benz Museum, takes a seat in a Mercedes-Benz 2,5- l Streamliner W 196 R from 1955.

On July 2, 2019 Clemens Bergmann (middle) is the ten millionth visitor to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. The information designer from Stuttgart came together with his friend Jamie Morgan-Ward from Wellington, New Zealand. Museum Manager Monja Büdke gave the surprised guests a warm welcome.

On July 2, 2019 shortly after 10 a.m. Clemens Bergmann purchased the ten millionth entry ticket to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. The 30 year old information designer from Stuttgart was accompanied by his friend Jamie Morgan-Ward from Wellington, New Zealand. For the New Zealander it is the first visit to Germany. Museum manager Monja Büdke gave the two surprised guests a warm welcome. After that, they took part in a guided tour and were delighted to be able to take a seat in a Mercedes-Benz 2,5- l Streamliner W 196 R from 1955.

Stuttgart. The great publicity success of the Mercedes-Benz Museum began with its opening back in 2006. Since then, it has regularly achieved “million” milestones.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is, in the best sense, an international place of mobility culture: since last summer, people from all 193 countries of the United Nations have been guests at the museum. In 2018, there were a total of 834,121 visitors, of which around 60 per cent came from abroad. Most of the international guests in 2018 came from China, followed by visitors from the United States of America and France. India was amongst the top five international visitor nations for the first time.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The ticket desk always closes at 5 p.m.
Registration, reservations and the latest information: Monday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. by phone on +49 (0) 711 173 0000, by e-mail at classic@daimler.com or online at: www.mercedes-benz.com/museum