[Don W]

Minor correction: It was General Motors that bought, neglected and replaced the trolley systems with diesel buses, not Ford.

[Arthur McGowan]

Really? I read a mammoth article in the NEW YORKER around 1978 on the whole thing.

Thanks.

[Arthur McGowan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetcars_in_North_America#Purported_conspiracies