auto industry

Looking Across the Ponds:
Trends in the Auto Industry

When Henry Ford implemented the production line in his car company the United States became noticed as a power in the culture of automotives. As time has passes the more and more of design trends in automotive industry came from the United States. Decade after decade America was the power house, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler became know as the big three, a reference to the fact that they were the three largest companies in the industry. While Europe continued to make cars they concentrated on the high and low ends of the market. While companies such as Mercedes Benz and BMW, among others, created cars that were faster and more expensive than the cars coming out of the United States, companies such as Yugo, and VW created cars that were less expensive but not as reliable (VW would evolve into something more later on). The Asian companies were creating cars that were far below the standards of the American Consumer (like VW two of these companies would evolve into powerhouses in the industry).
In the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70 the American automotive companies were creating cars that were stylish and reliable. These cars have become collector’s items in our culture, shows just how important they are to what the culture at large during that time and now. As the consumerism of the ‘80s and ‘90s started to take over the business world American car companies started making cars in a way that was more about getting from point A to point B for a shorter period of time, as apposed to choosing a way to get to where you want to go in a way that makes you distinguished. Prices of cars went down in comparison to the average income, and the longevity and style became the places to recoup those expenses. At this point in time is when the Asian car companies Honda and Toyota became noticed for their ability to make cars that would last longer than their American counterparts at a similar cost, while most of Europe was still creating cars for the wealthy. At this point is also when VW started to become noticed as a car company that created cars that were very reliable, while they didn’t last as long as the Asian companies they spent less time in repair than American cars. At this point the auto industry started looking to these other geographic locations for a new source of design trend setting.
In the current situation the popularity of American cars has diminished to the point of a constant buzz of at least one of the companies known as the big three either getting purchased or completely dropping out of the market. Europe’s VW and Asia’s Honda and Toyota are making waves in the auto industry now, and the United States is finally paying attention to them. In the past two years American car companies have begun to make cars that look more like the above companies, as well as Europe’s Audi, Saab and Volvo, and advertising using the qualities that have come to be associated with these cars. Luxury cars are beginning to have a much blockier and bold styling, for example the Ford/Lincoln Fusion/Zypher body type has stronger side body accents usually associated with companies such as Volvo and Audi. At the same time the models marketed to the younger demographic have started to look more like the cars that have been coming out of companies like Honda and Toyota, for example the Ford Focus offers a sporty two door hatch back with a more sleek and aerodynamic styling that has been a staple in the car lines of those two companies for a while now. These changes are being implemented because of the American automotive industry’s realization that these foreign car companies have been showing higher profits and larger market shares in the past five years. As time passes we will see if their decisions came a little too late.