It wasn’t a lack of competition. There were 4 major builders. The cars made in the 50’s and 60’s were beautiful and easy on the wallet. I could fix almost everything on one myself. Rust being the worst problem. It isn’t like foreign imports didn’t rust. Toyotas were known as rust buckets for many years. Unfortunately the gas crises ended the fun.
More builders now and better products. Funny how that worked.