Last week’s program was provided by Rotarian Billy Herold. Billy spoke to us about 50 years of the automobile business. The past 50 years has seen great changes in the automobile industry.
In the 1960’s the industry was all about muscle. Speed and power were important. Big V8 engines were being put in small cars like the Gremlin. 3% of the market was imports at that time. The “Big 3” were basically the only manufacturers…GM, Ford, Chrysler. Gas was not a concern in the 60’s…21.9 cents per gallon gas was the average price. Big muscle cars…Corvette, Camaro etc. had huge motors that were gas guzzlers. Claims of biggest, fastest cars were proved on the street…street racing was popular.
1960 AMC Gremlin
1960's "Muscle" Corvette
The 70’s were a transition time. Cars were built for comfort out of heavy, solid metal. 6-9 miles per gallon was common with huge 4 barrel carb’s were on all of these big cars. Gas was still not an issue until 1974 when the Saudi’s started holding back oil. There were gas shortages and gas lines. People couldn’t get gas. The gas shortage opened up eyes that we were abusing our gas and that OPEC owned us. In the 70’s the import pressure started. Light, small, 4 cylinder cars made the scene. Most were not reliable and were junk. CAPA started and begin leveling fines on manufacturers that didn’t do their part to build cars with better gas mileage. 24mpg, across the board were necessary for auto manufacturers. The big 3 tried to get into more economical cars, the Vega/Chevette. The 70’s also saw air bags and safety become an issue.
1970's Vega
In the 1980’s reality had stepped in with the presence of more imports…Honda, Volvo, Mercedes, etc. The 80’s saw the Big 3 evolve into over 20 manufacturers. Economy and safety were big. CAPA increase minimum gas mileage to 25mpg. Trucks started to become popular. The economical Chevy Citation, got 30mpg and sold for $5,400 right off the truck. Warranties and the minivan came on the scene while the import market kept getting bigger and bigger.
1980's Honda
In the 90’s the imports started building better cars which was a quality kick in the butt for American manufacturers. Technology became big. SUV’s became big as the imports didn’t have anything like it…the ’95 Chevy Tahoe was a hit as the SUV market exploded. In the 2000’s, 6-8-10 speed transmissions were released to give better fuel economy. Longer warranties and technology and CAPA increase mileage requirements to 30mpg. Truck have become more popular and have become focused on cabin comfort.
1995 Chevy Tahoe
Future for cars…more hybrid, self-driving cars, voice activation, etc. With more technology cars are very expensive to work on and quality mechanics are in demand with annual salaries of $80,000 to start! The automobile industry has made huge changes over the past 50 year…what will the next 50 years bring???
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