Word: automen
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Deregulation of the much suffering U.S. auto industry has all along been a cherished goal of the Reagan Administration, which has vigorously attacked governmental bureaucrats and their safety standards as being major contributors to Detroit's maladies. But the Administration's ongoing effort to end what automen as well regard as officious federal meddling received a serious setback last week. That occurred when a federal appeals court in Washington ordered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to reinstate a regulation requiring automakers to install air bags or automatic, self-buckling seat belts in their 1984-model cars...
...Detroit reaction among automakers ranged from cautious silence by General Motors to the assertion by a Chrysler Corp. official that there is "absolutely no way" in which the firm can equip its cars with the devices by 1983. Some automen complain as well that they have been caught in a pointless "protect against self syndrome, in which hundreds of millions of dollars may now have to be spent redesigning, retooling and testing to equip their cars with seat belts and air bags that drivers do not particularly want in the first place. Says Roger Maugh, director of auto safety...
...decision on rebates stirred deep emotions in Detroit. Automen do not like them because they cut into profit margins, probably without helping sales in the long run. The cash payments often give sales a lift during the rebate period because customers advance their plans to buy cars in order to get the special prices. But sales are then usually lower than normal after the rebates...
...Automen have no firm explanation for the renewed popularity of the cars, which has taken off at a gallop over the past 16 months. But one reason may be nostalgia. When the first Mustang was unveiled in April 1964 at the New York World's Fair, a Ford flack said that its name was chosen because it sounded "American as all hell." Lyndon Johnson had just pushed through tax cuts, the dark days of Viet Nam were still far over the horizon, and the post-World War II baby boom made people under 25 almost as numerous as their...
...Detroit 1980 was the year the U.S. auto industry launched a do-or-die campaign against imports. Commercials have pitted new, small, front-wheel-drive cars against foreign competitors in bumper-to-bumper comparisons, as automen tried to fight their way out of an 18-month sales slump. Last week, however, they lost a major battle in their campaign. After 19 weeks of inquiry, including 44 hours of public hearings, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled 3 to 2 against an argument by Ford and the United Auto Workers' union that the tide of overseas autos, particularly Japanese models...