by Charles Peterson

Created on: May 19, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2009

Made in US America never meant much when it came to cars. People talk about the current demise of the US American auto industry as if it is a surprise. How can it be when they, the auto makers, have been insulting the car buying public as long as we can remember?

Some people say that the trouble is that the unions jack up the price of the car so it can't afford to be made and sold. They say if wages were half of what they are now we could sell. They say if workers give up benefits, especially retirement packages which can go on forever, we can sell. This is the same old hogwash the auto makers have tried to sell us all of our lives.

The main problem is how the auto makers approach the public. It is very insulting. They make us think we are very stupid. This approach will work only for so long. People will buy US American only so long if they are only insulted by the whole process.

There are only two extremes used to market cars. There have only always been these two. One is to promote a pretty car. In the 1950s the car had chrome. Today there are still the shiny bodies and attractive curves which are being promoted. This is a gross insult to the buying public. And it is one of the two extremes used. Sometimes it is glibly called bells and whistles.

The second extreme is the so called performance. Who needs (his or her) car to behave like it's on a racetrack? Yet this muscle car approach is the second extreme promoted.

Most of the buying public does not lie in the two extremes. But the auto maker thought process goes that if they promote their two extremes they will catch all the other fish. Most people are not attracted by the extremes, and they don't like being treated like fish.

People want a car to commute with. People want a car to run errands with. Maybe they will take their children camping. If it lasted 30 years it would be nice.

What would we see marketed? An all roads, all weather vehicle that can climb a mountain of rocks, and find its way home by itself in total darkness.

Is it any wonder US Americans don't buy Made in US America cars when the only thing the auto makers do is insult them?

The insult runs deep. Cars got 20 miles per gallon all along. We had the first oil shock in the early 1970s. We have known since then the fact that world oil will run out by 2050. All we see is an urge to build larger cars and guzzle gas and protest the 55 mph limit ever since. How can the auto companies think the public is so stupid? We should have 100 mpg gas engines by now! How hard is it to engineer something so simple?

After 40 years of lying on the gas Armageddon philosophy, how can US American auto makers expect people to buy their cars?

Just as a side note: The average US American used to like to tinker with joh (his or her) car. This is no longer possible with all the computerization that goes into a car. Was the cost of all that computerizing worth losing the support base? Sometimes cheer leading helps.

Even when the average US American sees something about US American auto making (he or she) likes, it vanishes like it was another marketing trick. The experiment done by Saturn to have employees build whole cars instead of standing with robots on production lines was supposed to generate positive identity among the car buying public. I guess the auto makers decided they didn't want something good. They didn't try very hard for it. It fizzled out like they let themselves fizzle.

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