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Is General Motors gasping under a mountain of governmental red tape?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 6:20 AM PDT
The evidence is clear. There can be no debate now. Government regulations have caused General Motors to go from the world’s largest corporation to a mere shadow of its past.
In 1954, GM had 54 percent of the American car market. More than one out of every two new cars on the road in the U.S. was a Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick or Cadillac. The free market was at its best. Back then, Congress was not talking about bailing out the giant automaker — but breaking it up — as GM was being perceived as an unfair monopoly.
During the early 1960s, General Motors began to limit some of its production out of fear Congress would move against it. In hindsight, the worries were unwarranted. Washington had much bigger and better ideas.
These thoughts involved strict government regulations for safety, environmental and fuel economy standards. In 1966, Congress put the first nail into GM’s coffin. New government safety regulations were added, such as seat belts, suspension modifications and padded dashboards. Soon thereafter, sales of GM’s Corvair, a rear-engine compact wonder, went from almost 330,000 in 1961 to a mere 6,000 in 1969.
Looking ahead from those first darkened Corvair days in the ’60s, we can see there has been an almost perfect negative correlation between declining GM sales and increases in government regulations. By the early 1970s, the federal government had also added cleaner air restrictions, tough bumper standards and seatbelt interlocking devices to its already growing lists of mandates. In 1975, catalytic converters were required on all new cars. GM sales were now less than 50 percent of the overall market.
Government demands for fuel economy and further environmental restrictions put the next nail in the carmaker’s pine box. The 1980s were not good years for American automobile producers. To meet new unreasonable air-quality regulations, manufacturers were forced to build cars that were substandard performers. Some had difficulty on warm-ups. Others functioned poorly at high altitudes. Again, the outcome was tragic and resulted in a loss of confidence by the American public. By 1989, General Motors had only 35.7 percent of market share.
One year later, the government was in full-court press with expensive regulations for the ailing industry. Airbags were now being required for all new cars. Independent manufacturers using GM running gear (such as the Avanti Motor Co.) were soon put out of business. With this outrageous requirement, GM lost $2 billion in 1990. By 1996, the company had only 31 percent of total U.S. car sales.
The turn of the century brought new woes. Oldsmobile, a car for many years that was in the top eight of U.S. sales, disappeared. By 2007, General Motors market share was at a multi-decade low of 22 percent. Today, it is approximately 19 percent.
And what’s the government’s answer to save the struggling American automobile industry? Of course — you guessed it. They want more product-pillaging regulations!
Now they want car manufacturers to average 35 mpg within the next 10 years. At the present rate of attrition and using scientific computer models to predict the future, GM’s market share should be .02 percent by the year 2020. The Detroit automobile will become an endangered species. Only one factory will remain — located in Shanghai, China.
Using the same correlation/causation methodology often seen in climate change studies, we can see that the facts are indisputable. A double-reverse “hockey stick” graph clearly reveals the conclusion. As government regulations have increased, GM’s market share has decreased. Even the deniers can’t turn their heads on this irrefutable evidence.
You can do something to stem the momentum of this American tragedy. Contact your congressional representatives today and urge them to repeal all federal automobile regulations enacted since 1960. We need American jobs. We don’t need CTS child safety seats, 40-mile maximum electric Malibus, or corn-consuming Camaros.
It’s time to stand and be counted — before the effects of Washington’s “do-gooder” mandates become irreversible.
Steve Hansen is a Lodi writer and satirist.
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Cogito wrote on Apr 7, 2009 8:43 PM:
dyan wrote on Apr 7, 2009 9:33 AM:
Gator wrote on Apr 7, 2009 7:41 AM:
any way my favorite Car was a 1964 Shelby Cobra, it was a Dan Gurney
team car,, A friend of mine bought it from Ron Tonkin Ford in Portland
for 4500 with the front end smashed, I helped rebuild the car and we
raced it for 2 years in the SCCAFast seems a little tame, brutally fast is
more like it "
Cogito wrote on Apr 6, 2009 8:46 PM:
Gator wrote on Apr 6, 2009 8:24 PM:
There are 3 cars in that class.. The Mazada 3, the Nissan EVOx and the Sti
all need 91 octane . My Impreza is the wife friendly 5 door stocker with AWD,, Now the fastest car now days is the Nissan GT-R there is very little
that can touch it, if you have the bucks "
Cogito wrote on Apr 6, 2009 11:09 AM:
Cogito wrote on Apr 6, 2009 10:11 AM:
Gator wrote on Apr 6, 2009 8:06 AM:
Of the car owners. One of the commentators thought that was odd as it was
The only 100% American made car in the race. All parts from engine to body And running gear. Ford, GM, and Chrysler use parts from all over the worldI have 3 cars 2 Jeeps and a Subaru Impreza AWD. Now the Car I
Would have is a Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti Wife says no!!! 350 HP 6 speed trans goes like a rocket and can still pull 25 mpg. Top sped 138 mph. "
Cogito wrote on Apr 5, 2009 6:18 PM:
dyan wrote on Apr 4, 2009 7:05 PM:
I like the style of large GM pickups and SUVs, and the Corvette, of course.
the new Malibu is not bad. "
Cogito wrote on Apr 4, 2009 8:03 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 3, 2009 8:04 PM:
dyan wrote on Apr 3, 2009 11:25 AM:
Cogito wrote on Apr 3, 2009 8:50 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 8:24 PM:
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 8:20 PM:
Billy Rubin wrote on Apr 2, 2009 3:08 PM:
jramagic wrote on Apr 2, 2009 2:17 PM:
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:16 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:15 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:14 AM:
Leonard wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:14 AM:
I am unfamiliar with the term.
We recently bought a new car and I did a lot of research on the Consumer Reports website. Their info showed abysmal ratings for most of the vehicles in the class I was looking at (small SUV). "
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:10 AM:
Cost to repair and service? Outrageous. "
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:05 AM:
Leonard wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:56 AM:
" CU says the "worst" are the Germans -VW and Mercedes. How's that for blowing away stereotypes? The French? -Don't even go there! CU says the new "Smart" car is not worth a second look
If your big claim to fame is going to be that your car is more reliable than German luxury cars, you have already lost the battle.
The simple fact is that Japanese cars are, by and large, reliable while American cars mainly useful as lawn ornaments in under privileged neighborhoods. "
Leonard wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:54 AM:
The worst this year? Land Rover (British). Mercury and Lincoln beat Volvo
A perfect illustration of the effect Ford ownership of Volvo has had on the division. "
Leonard wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:52 AM:
" What a broad, misleading statement, Lenny. Obviously, you haven't keeped up with the latest from CU. Ford now rivals some of its Asian competitors.
Which Asian competitors would those be? "
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:48 AM:
and Toyota and Honda remain consisently in the top five. The worst this year? Land Rover (British). Mercury and Lincoln beat Volvo and Porsche. "
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:35 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:32 AM:
Buick (for some strange reason), has been consistently in the top ten. The US makers biggest problem has been sqeezing its suppliers so they can pay outrageous union wages and benefits. "
Leonard wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:15 AM:
" I like old cars also. in the past 10 or so years I've had a volvo subaru volkswagen ford chevy chrysler lada nissan international toyota and subaru, of those I can pretty safely bet it's the American made ones that will still be running in 10 years.
Sounds like a great opportunity for any gambler familiar with the statistics on these cars. I wish I was there to take your money.
American made cars have some of the worst reliability ratings in the world. "
mike wrote on Apr 2, 2009 10:02 AM:
mike wrote on Apr 2, 2009 9:49 AM:
Has anyone ever seen one of those video clips of the work life at one of those factories in Japan? The culture at work is inde⋅scrib⋅ably different. also I am guessing they have many women installing many parts, have you ever tried to change something so simple as an oil filter, whoever put that on the first time, sure had small hands. Many of those rice rockets need the engine removed to change the starter.
I'm guessing GM still has many cars in its lineup people want, they just cant afford 'em.
And as usual leotards argument is just more blather with obscure erroneous facts.
It is endearing this time though, he's "heckling someones satire" "
dyan wrote on Apr 1, 2009 10:43 AM:
Ivan Dixon wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:56 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:35 AM:
Ivan Dixon wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:33 AM:
Leonard wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:32 AM:
" Subtile satire at its best "
As subtle as the Emperor's new pants. "
Stanford Man wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:21 AM:
Leonard wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:12 AM:
stantaves wrote on Apr 1, 2009 9:02 AM:
jramagic wrote on Apr 1, 2009 8:00 AM:
dyan wrote on Apr 1, 2009 7:55 AM:
Ivan Dixon wrote on Apr 1, 2009 7:53 AM:
How dare they tell the carmakers that they have to put seatbelts in their cars???? "
jramagic wrote on Apr 1, 2009 7:48 AM:
miles of service, the OEM tires, brakes, batteries, hoses, belts only lasted about 20k miles, they got terrible mileage, needed constant tune-ups, lacked most all safety features. Today's cars are SO much better. My little 13 year old Civic commuter has 160k miles on it and runs/looks like brand new. Its only had oil changes and little else. It took Public outrage, Foreign competition, and government regulations to FORCE the US automakers to come as far as they have...kicking and screaming all the way. Fact is: The Free Market functioned as it should. Its Darwinian. "
yeah you wrote on Apr 1, 2009 7:14 AM:
Leonard wrote on Apr 1, 2009 5:56 AM:
Subaru, the only car company who's sales continue to grow this year, is subject to all the same safety and mileage regulations as GM. Whats more, Subaru, along with Honda and Toyota, is subject to even more stringent safety regulations in its home country, Japan.
GM has many problems but, when you get right down to it, it really has one problem. That problem is the fact that it makes badly designed, low quality cars that no one wants. "
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