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

1959 Fuel-Injected 290 HP Corvette

There were very few interesting cars at the Friday night cruise-in at Lofinos -- Beavercreek, Ohio last night.  It was oppressively hot to say the least but it still was a a well-attended event. But one early bird to the cruise-in was a 1959 black Corvette that was in the shade. This car had the fuel-injection 290 HP option, and was remarkable in terms of authenticity and quality. Above is the image of the mill.

 I have always placed these 1959-62 Corvettes way up on my list of favorite cars.

Mercedes-Benz and the 2019 Silvretta Classic

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (W 198) from 1955, start number 417 as had been the case with the car driven by John Cooper Fitch at the 1000 Miglia in 1955. Photo from the 2019 1000 Miglia.

“Dream cars on dream roads” – this phrase summarises the Silvretta Classic Rallye Montafon, one of the most renowned regularity rallies for classic cars. In the 22nd rally from 4 to 6 July 2019, Mercedes-Benz Classic will be participating with six vehicles from the corporate collection and ALL TIME STARS, the brandʼs own vehicle dealer for classic cars. The Stuttgart-based brand is a premium partner of the Silvretta Classic Rallye Montafon in 2019.

One of the vehicles is a Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II (W 201) from 1990. On board this classic car will be Mercedes-Benz Classic brand ambassador and former DTM champion Klaus Ludwig, reverently called “King Ludwig” by his fans, accompanied by influencer Shareen Raudies. The budding engineer is known as Shareen Queen especially on Instagram (@shareenqueen), where she also regularly brings her own black Mercedes-Benz 190 E to the forefront. The saloon accompanies her in her everyday life as well as on social media. The “Queen” and “King Ludwig” are sharing the cockpit of the “ EVO II” during the rally – a truly royal team.

In connection with the 125 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsports anniversary, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (W 198) is commemorating a legendary highlight of the 1955 motorsports season: at that time, a production sports car of this type with start number 417 (driven by John Cooper Fitch and Kurt Gessl) won the class award for GTs with engines over 1.3 litres in the Italian 1000 Miglia road race from Brescia to Rome and back. Fitch also clinched fifth place in the overall standings. Two more 300 SL Gullwings followed in second and third places in the class classification.

The standard-production sports car 300 SL Gullwing launched in 1954 was directly descended from the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing sports car (W 194) used in 1952. It was with this vehicle that the brand staged a successful return to motorsports after the Second World War. The unique sporting tradition of the Gullwing, with its characteristic gullwing doors, was continued from 1957 onwards by the 300 SL Roadster. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLS racing version derived from this open sports car was driven by Paul OʼShea to win the 1957 SCCA National Sports Car Championship in the USA in the D category. Mercedes-Benz Classic will be taking part in the Silvretta Classic Rallye Montafon with a 300 SL Roadster from 1958.

The fascination of the 1970s

The wide range of sporting characteristics in Mercedes-Benz cars is illustrated in the Silvretta Classic by two very different classics from the early 1970s: on the one hand, there is the C 111-II experimental vehicle built in 1970, which was then equipped with the M 116 V8 engine for comparative tests. This gave the engineers the ability to compare the Wankel engine, which was then being tested in the C 111 (1969) and C 111-II (1970), with a state-of-the-art reciprocating piston engine in a similar experimental car.

Despite considerable public interest in the breathtaking coupé with the lines of a super sports car, the C 111-II never went into series production. However, the Stuttgart brand later derived a number of record-breaking cars from these experimental vehicles in which the rotary engine was tested: in 1976, the C 111-II D kicked off and was then followed by the C 111-III (1978) and C 111-IV (1979). All three of these vehicles set numerous records on the Italian high-speed test track in Nardò.

The Silvretta Classic 2019 features a 280 SE 3.5 cabriolet (W 111) from 1971 as a representative of the culture of luxurious sporting travel in open-top vehicles. This premium class cabriolet in metallic blue with parchment-coloured leather is one of the classics available through ALL TIME STARS, the Mercedes-Benz Classic car dealership (www.mercedes-benz.com/alltimestars), which has its own showroom in the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Its history: the four-seater was delivered to a buyer in Munich in 1971 and later became part of a collection of Mercedes-Benz classics. The vehicle is accompanied by comprehensive documentation of its heritage with maintenance logs and other supporting documents. The 280 SE 3.5 cabriolet is offered in the Collectors Edition of ALL TIME STARS.

G-force and EVO II

The high-altitude roads in the Alps with their passes and breathtaking views are a feature of the Silvretta Classic. Also up in the mountains, but off the beaten track, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class was born 40 years ago in February 1979. A short-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz 300 GD cabriolet from 1989 acts as a reminder of this special chapter in the history of the brand during the rally. This rare open-top version of the off-road classic with a five-cylinder diesel engine was built between 1979 and 1991.

One real highlight from Mercedes-Benz Classic at the Silvretta Classic Rallye Montafon is the high-performance 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II (“EVO II”) saloon, which Klaus Ludwig and Shareen Raudies are taking out on the road. This 173 kW (235 h.p.) top-of-the-range version of the 1990 W 201 compact class was rebuilt by Mercedes-Benz Classic in 2013 for historical motorsport events. The DTM racing rally cars of the same name from the early 1990s served as models for this one. The “EVO II” is reminiscent of highlights from 125 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsports such as the triple victory in the DTM overall standings in 1992: on that occasion, Klaus Ludwig won the championship, followed by his teammates Kurt Thiim and Bernd Schneider.

The stars shine over the Alpine dream roads

Mercedes-Benz Classic is a premium partner of the Silvretta Classic Rallye Montafon in 2019 which will, once again, be exploring breathtaking, high-altitude roads in Austrian Voralberg. By participating in this outstanding event in the automotive classic calendar with six vehicles from the corporate collection and ALL TIME STARS, the brand is also supporting public appreciation of the regularity drive that is headlined as “dream cars on dream roads”. A total of around 180 historically important classics, built up to 1999, are taking part in the rally.

On Thursday, 4 July 2019, at 3 p.m., the “Montafon” first stage will set off on the 118-kilometre run from Partenen via Gargellen, Schruns and Sankt Gallenkirch on the Silvretta High Alpine Road to the dayʼs destination at Bielerhöhe. On Friday, 5 July 2019, the teams will take the second leg of the “ Silvretta” and set off early at 7:30 a.m. This leg runs 330 kilometres over the Bielerhöhe and Silvretta High Alpine Road to Ischgl, Landeck, Piburg, Lech, Zürs and Kappl to the destination in Gaschurn. This dayʼs section includes the passes Hahntennjoch (1,894 metres), Flexenpass (1,773 metres) and Arlbergpass (1,793 metres). The third and final stage of the Silvretta Classic, the “ Bregenzer Wald” (Bregenzer Forest), will start on Saturday, 6 July 2019, at 9 a.m. and cover 178 kilometres from Partenen to Schruns. The route includes the Faschinajoch pass (1,486 metres).