Word: fords
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...overall cost of auto regulation is breathtaking. Economist Colin Loxley of Wharton Econometrics estimates that GM, Ford and Chrysler will spend about $18 billion between 1979 and 1985 to reach the various pollution, mileage and safety goals set by the Government. Most of this inflationary cost, of course, will be borne by the buyer. According to GM's Estes, the price of a typical GM car by 1985 will be $945 more than it would have been without the regulations...
...costly demands of regulation stand to weaken competition within the industry. GM will gain strength, Ford will at least hold its own, while Chrysler and AMC will probably lose ground. The bigger the company, the less trouble it will have meeting the standards. GM last year sold almost half of all the vehicles bought in the U.S. and registered sales of $63 billion, roughly equal to the gross national product of Switzerland. GM is able to spread fixed costs across a much greater volume than its competitors can, and it can spend more for experiment and developing new hardware...
...outlook at the glasshouse head quarters of Ford in Dearborn, Mich., is a bit less cheery than at GM. The company had sales of $43 billion last year, and so far this year has man aged to hold its share of the market for U.S. makes, about 27%, vs. 60% for GM. Ford's compact Fairmont is moving well, but sales of its subcompact Pinto are down because of publicity over faulty gas tanks on earlier models, which sometimes exploded when hit from the rear. The much publicized ousting of Iacocca as Ford's president and the threatened...
...which last year had foreign sales of $11 billion, vs. Ford's $13 billion, is speeding to catch up, and, with its fat pocketbook and drive, it might overtake Ford in the next decade. GM .has the other emerging world car in its popular Chevette, and its X cars are prime candidates for world status. Estes aims to increase GM's unit sales abroad by 8% a year through 1985, making major pushes not only in Europe but also in Mexico, South America, Korea, Japan and Africa...
...production, marketing and organizational power of the U.S. giants will be hard to beat, despite their current woes from Washington. Says Jouppi: "GM and Ford will pretty much determine what the cars of the future will be. There just isn't anyone around who can compete effectively. Between them they will divide up two-thirds of the world market and leave the remaining third for the rest." In the meantime, ready or not, the auto-buying public can sit back and enjoy one of the most tumultuous periods of change since the car replaced the horse...