After 100 years, it's "cash for clunkers."
Buried in the middle of a 4/29/09 Wall Street Journal article on the Chrysler reorganization were these words: "For the last 100 years, Detroit has reigned as the center of the automotive universe, and the U.S. as the biggest and most important market. That long run is now coming to an end."
Lest you think it's an exaggeration, later in the article, we find "As soon as this year, the U.S. could be supplanted by China as the world's largest market, and within a few years the industry could be selling nearly as many cars in India as in the U.S."
Well, it turns out that China is indeed the world's largest auto market. It's a done deal. On top of that, China is manufacturing cars.
Who knows? We may be driving Chinese cars in a decade or two. There was a time when people thought it preposterous that some Americans were driving Toyotas and Hondas. Dinky little things then. Nothing compared to the great muscle gas-guzzlers of old. A Corolla couldn't hold a candle to a GTO.
Now our own government's paying people to turn in those old GTO's, Cadillacs, Riviera's, Regal's, Gran Torino's, in addition to giant SUV's. They're giving us money to buy the little cars - the more "energy-efficient" models.
They call the program "cash for clunkers." If you're driving something less than 25 years old that gets 18 mpg or less, you may qualify for $4,500 towards a new car.
Where's it all going? One thing's sure: it's not coming back here. The U.S. built the auto industry. The U.S. was, for much of the 20th century, the mightiest industrial power in the world. We didn't just make cars. We manufactured more goods - much of it quality stuff, too - than anyone else.
Now the wheel's turning. After all, back in the 16th century, China had an economy as large as Europe's. Maybe we're headed to a more balanced world. Or maybe China and Asia, over the coming decades, will just continue to grow as we stand still - or even shrink. Does anyone really know?
Well, I suppose it makes sense to take advantage of the "cash for clunkers" deal if you need a new car. In fact, Congress just made an emergency appropriation of an additional $2 billion. The original $1 billion program ran out of money already. Must be lots of clunkers out there.
On the other hand, what are they going to do with all those clunkers that get traded in? Now here's an interesting thought. Maybe you can pick something up cheap. Maybe there's a GTO out there somewhere just waiting for me to throw her into gear, burn some rubber and roar down the highway...just like I never did when I was a kid.
Lest you think it's an exaggeration, later in the article, we find "As soon as this year, the U.S. could be supplanted by China as the world's largest market, and within a few years the industry could be selling nearly as many cars in India as in the U.S."
Well, it turns out that China is indeed the world's largest auto market. It's a done deal. On top of that, China is manufacturing cars.
Who knows? We may be driving Chinese cars in a decade or two. There was a time when people thought it preposterous that some Americans were driving Toyotas and Hondas. Dinky little things then. Nothing compared to the great muscle gas-guzzlers of old. A Corolla couldn't hold a candle to a GTO.
Now our own government's paying people to turn in those old GTO's, Cadillacs, Riviera's, Regal's, Gran Torino's, in addition to giant SUV's. They're giving us money to buy the little cars - the more "energy-efficient" models.
They call the program "cash for clunkers." If you're driving something less than 25 years old that gets 18 mpg or less, you may qualify for $4,500 towards a new car.
Where's it all going? One thing's sure: it's not coming back here. The U.S. built the auto industry. The U.S. was, for much of the 20th century, the mightiest industrial power in the world. We didn't just make cars. We manufactured more goods - much of it quality stuff, too - than anyone else.
Now the wheel's turning. After all, back in the 16th century, China had an economy as large as Europe's. Maybe we're headed to a more balanced world. Or maybe China and Asia, over the coming decades, will just continue to grow as we stand still - or even shrink. Does anyone really know?
Well, I suppose it makes sense to take advantage of the "cash for clunkers" deal if you need a new car. In fact, Congress just made an emergency appropriation of an additional $2 billion. The original $1 billion program ran out of money already. Must be lots of clunkers out there.
On the other hand, what are they going to do with all those clunkers that get traded in? Now here's an interesting thought. Maybe you can pick something up cheap. Maybe there's a GTO out there somewhere just waiting for me to throw her into gear, burn some rubber and roar down the highway...just like I never did when I was a kid.
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