Word: automen
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...while, automen fought a rearguard action against Washington's attempts to make cars cleaner and more fuel thrifty. For at least ten years Detroit opposed the Clean Air Act, which reduced auto pollution. It also struggled long and hard against the 1975 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that required American automakers to have a fleet fuel efficiency of 18 m.p.g. in 1978 and 27.5 m.p.g. in 1985. As a result, after Iranian oil was cut off in December 1978 and American consumers began demanding smaller cars, Detroit had little to offer...
AUTOS. One day later Transportation Secretary Neil Goldschmidt sent President Carter an options paper on the ailing auto industry, which this year has built an astonishing 30% fewer cars than in 1979. Among the recommendations: easing of safety and pollution rules, tax credits to help automen make the transition to smaller models and credit relief for dealers...
...then stronger sales after the introduction of new models in the fall. Much of the increase is likely to come from customers seeking small, fuel-efficient cars. Washington Economic Consultant Robert Nathan pointed out, though, that since Detroit's production capacity for such models remains limited, aggressive Japanese automen are likely to make further inroads on the American market...
Dedicated Detroit automen have learned a single purpose in life: to design, build and sell cars that will reap the highest return on the company's investment. Profits traditionally have come from volume and from trading customers up to larger, more expensive "prestige" models. Traditionally a Cadillac cost several hundred dollars more to make than a Chevrolet, but it returned GM a profit of several thousand dollars more. Detroit denies that it rejects new ideas because they are "not invented here," but the industry has been slow to adopt such innovations as disc brakes and radial tires, both extensively...
When oil was first shut off in the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, Detroit found itself in serious trouble. Because American automen had few small cars to sell, customers flocked to imported models. By then foreign-built cars had won a reputation for fuel efficiency that most U.S. cars could not approach...