derbyrm wrote:
It wasn't the new factories that enabled Japan, it was an American Quality
Control expert. And a set of managers that would listen to him.

Detroit refused to listen to Edward Demming who was telling American
automobile manufacturers that the American people wanted cars that would not
only look good but run well, too. When the manufacturers failed to listen,
Demming took his ideas to Japan and for the next decade the Japanese owned
the American car market.



Plus the rust problem in the '70s.
The Big 3 .,especially Ford, deserved to be run out of town on a rail.
They smugly sat back and let the imports get a toehold which grew into
an avalanche.