#1 is an instant replay of the seventies after the first oil shocks. Only it wasn't SUV's it was big gas-guzzling sedans and overpowered muscle cars. Don't blame the government, the Japanese saw this coming. The big three were too arrogant to see that slick marketing and brand loyalty wouldn't save them.
When Americans voted with their pocketbooks Detroit, the einsteins of the car business, were caught flatfooted. They fought back, with garbage. Remember Chrysler's K-Car anyone? How about the Pacer? Gremlin?Yeccch. As bad as the Aztec.
Meanwhile Datsun gave us the 240-Z, ushering in the era of dominance by Japan.
But if you compare the gas mileage of today’s GM large SUVs and pickups you will see that it is much higher (up to 2 mpg city/4 mpg highway) in the GM vehicles than in the Toyota and Nissan models. Toyota also has quite a large SUV fleet, I believe 7 at this point, so they were also building what Americans wanted. The big jump in gas prices hurt everyone, it’s just that Honda especially and Toyota, Kia, Hyundai and Nissan to a lesser extent had more small cars available when the sh*t it the fan this summer.
As for the crappy small cars of the 70’s American cars in the 70’s were crap regardless of size.
And that was a fluke. Mr. Yutaka Katayama as put in charge of Nissan USA Western Division in Los Angeles in 1960. He loved the American life-style, and was in conflict with an aloof Nissan Corporation in Japan. He was a maverick, and pushed for the 240Z against corporate idiots back in Japan. He was later punished for his arrogance for making Nissan successful in America and was transfered back to Japan.
the A..M.C. pacer and gremlin were WONDERFUL little cars....232 straight six, 7 main bearings, (engine still used in the Jeep) people wouldn’t buy them because they’re not the type of car that americans want.....give them a Rambler American with a three hundred horsepower engine and they’ll snap it up......pathetic