The 1972 US car market....

[JohnnySweden]

An interesting document of it's era.

General Motors was concerned about the "foreign" competition of cars in "America" (the US).

Then, since the last 20 years past, the numbers of cars made outside the US, but sold in the US market had increased from 1 out of 1000 to more then 400 out of 1000 in certain areas.

To the best of of my knowledge only one car model with a combustion engine is made in the USA today, the Ford Mustang?

 

[Manley JP]

I love the states automotive legacy- they used to make the best .. meaning 50s to 70s. Awesome. Power everything while in the UK, manufacturers just supply junk in the main. Little option for power windows etc, just weak engines and cheap product for much of the UK market.

Stateside- power brakes, power windows, roofs.. seen a couple of vids that suggest safety was NOT great on some of the muscle cars. But its how one drives and treats a car also.

 

[JohnnySweden]

I love the states automotive legacy- they used to make the best .. meaning 50s to 70s. Awesome. Power everything while in the UK, manufacturers just supply junk in the main. Little option for power windows etc, just weak engines and cheap product for much of the UK market.

Stateside- power brakes, power windows, roofs.. seen a couple of vids that suggest safety was NOT great on some of the muscle cars. But its how one drives and treats a car also.

The UK also made some fine cars in the 50s and 60s but unfortunately they shared the same low quality as US cars lacking undercoating and rust protection in general.

The main reason for a US car here in the 50s was roominess and a somewhat higher safety, due to it's sheer sizes.

Entering the 60s however the European and Japanese cars began to surpass them and beyond the oil crisis in 1973 an irreversible decline of US auto industry had started meanwhile the UK car industry self terminated.

 

[FPoole]

Just about every car sold in the US has it engine and transmission built here, and then the vehicle is assembled here. This includes almost all Japanese and Korean brands. No car is built from 100% US parts, but we still produce a lot of automobile parts.

 

[Manley JP]

Name American classics from the 50s - 70s and you could fill a book. Great English cars, not so many. Ford in the UK used to be called Dagenham Dustbins or Fix Or Repair Daily although a lot of the 70s -80s Fords can be big money now - but not my cup of tea.
More great American cars than you could list and a lot of them in some of the greatest 1970s movies.

 

[JohnnySweden]

Name American classics from the 50s - 70s and you could fill a book. Great English cars, not so many. Ford in the UK used to be called Dagenham Dustbins or Fix Or Repair Daily although a lot of the 70s -80s Fords can be big money now - but not my cup of tea.
More great American cars than you could list and a lot of them in some of the greatest 1970s movies.

I do believe it's more due to cultural influence then the quality of their cars.

It's also a matter about the consumer culture, very few cars made in the US stayed unchanged, seldom not even two years in a row.

Finally the perception from the customers was very different, a fresh new model for each year was viewed as pure progression (!) in the US, a fast evolution towards better products - not as a remake to correct something assumed to need correction due to the previous version was faulty, as commonly perceived in Europe.

Hence the use of the same model two (or more) years in a row in the US was a sign of technical decline and/or a manufacturer that might face financial trouble rather then a testament of a good design, so great from the beginning that it wouldn't need any revision.

 

[Hiram]

An interesting document of it's era.

General Motors was concerned about the "foreign" competition of cars in "America" (the US).

Then, since the last 20 years past, the numbers of cars made outside the US, but sold in the US market had increased from 1 out of 1000 to more then 400 out of 1000 in certain areas.

To the best of of my knowledge only one car model with a combustion engine is made in the USA today, the Ford Mustang?

But don't your numbers "400 out of a 1000" made outside of the US indicate that that about 600 out of a thousand cars sold in the US are made in the US? That would be a lot of Mustangs.

I'm genuinely curious and have a feeling I might not be reading your post correctly. Do you mean a US produced car where every part is produced in the US? If that's the case, there probably aren't any at all. I mean, just one Taiwanese chip would disqualify a car from being 100% US made.

 

[Hiram]

I do believe it's more due to cultural influence then the quality of their cars.

It's also a matter about the consumer culture, very few cars made in the US stayed unchanged, seldom not even two years in a row.

Finally the perception from the customers was very different, a fresh new model for each year was viewed as pure progression (!) in the US, a fast evolution towards better products - not as a remake to correct something assumed to need correction due to the previous version was faulty, as commonly perceived in Europe.

Hence the use of the same model two (or more) years in a row in the US was a sign of technical decline and/or a manufacturer that might face financial trouble rather then a testament of a good design, so great from the beginning that it wouldn't need any revision.

No too sure about all of that in the last paragraph. But I will agree that my entire life "new and improved!" has been a constant selling point, or attempted selling point, of practically everything.

For me, I'm on a crusade against further gadgetry. When I bought my most recent truck in 2019, I bought it over a competitor's truck precisely because it had less flaky, unnecessary tech gadget BS. I doubt I'm the only one who doesn't want "new and improved!"

 

[Marky807]

No too sure about all of that in the last paragraph. But I will agree that my entire life "new and improved!" has been a constant selling point, or attempted selling point, of practically everything.

For me, I'm on a crusade against further gadgetry. When I bought my most recent truck in 2019, I bought it over a competitor's truck precisely because it had less flaky, unnecessary tech gadget BS. I doubt I'm the only one who doesn't want "new and improved!"

I drive a 23yr old Nissan, if it breaks I shout at it and then it works again

 

[Marky807]

Yeh it was survival of the fittest in a capitalist market, American cars may have been iconic but they were a bit crap and some people just didn't want them I suppose, and why would they. How many people on here would buy a Lightning clx over the equivalent HW solely because its supposedly made in England?, from what I read on here not many

 

[JohnnySweden]

But don't your numbers "400 out of a 1000" made outside of the US indicate that that about 600 out of a thousand cars sold in the US are made in the US? That would be a lot of Mustangs.

I'm genuinely curious and have a feeling I might not be reading your post correctly. Do you mean a US produced car where every part is produced in the US? If that's the case, there probably aren't any at all. I mean, just one Taiwanese chip would disqualify a car from being 100% US made.

According to the film, as depicted 1972.

I have no idea where and how the film maker gathered it's numbers but I feel they might be plausible since the domestic auto production in the US was huge in the pre 72 era.

 

[FPoole]

There are 130 million more people, in the US, in 2025, compared to 1972. The numbers I find still say well over 50% of cars components are made here and way more are assembled here. Still a big number. Our cars, from the 50's, 60's, and early 70's were absolutely dependable. Our problem was rust. I drove an already 20 year old Buick for 25 years and it never once stranded me. The epitome of bulletproof. It had near 400,000 miles on the original engine, with only a single internal repair, the timing chain. It got so rusty, I parked it. I sold it for $100, about 7 years later. A fresh battery and fuel, and the new owner drove it away. With today's galvanized body panels, that old 67 Buick would still be on the road. Literally every older pickup truck has at least 300,000 miles on the original engine. They're everywhere, but the plastic interiors are crumbling. Is the newest stuff still that good? I have my doubts. The only 20+ year old cars, still on the road are GM, and Ford pickups, also Buick 3800 powered cars. Is Toyota the only hope for a truly dependable new car? I don't see any old Japanese cars, except Toyotas.

 

[Manley JP]

I drive a 23yr old Nissan, if it breaks I shout at it and then it works again

24 years old Audi for me, with 15 straight annual mot passes...but the Audi forum tech threads make you sweat. Engine access is a mare. Wish they were supercharged instead of a Turbo and all the related engine pipes. The roads here are a total nightmare, with traffic and bad driving .. A lottery win would be great.. try a few 70s American classics maybe, like a Corvette to see how they drive. I like a lot of the 1960s/1970s American cars...

 

[Marky807]

24 years old Audi for me, with 15 straight annual mot passes...but the Audi forum tech threads make you sweat. Access is a mare. The roads here are a total nightmare, with traffic and bad driving .. A lottery win would be great.. try a few 70s American classics maybe, like a Corvette to see how they drive. I like a lot of the 1960s/1970s American cars...

That shape has aged really well, wouldn't mind one myself.

Only reason mine is still on the road is cos I can weld (sort of), I've only got to do another 3" and I can put a made in England badge on it

 

[Manley JP]

That shape has aged really well, wouldn't mind one myself.

Only reason mine is still on the road is cos I can weld (sort of), I've only got to do another 3" and I can put a made in England badge on it

I was a Martial Arts student 1990 until early this year. Got bored of it and the rubbish classes now. On my life gent I trained with had a small tattoo on the back of his neck, so low down, it was not prominent. Guess what it said. "Made In England"

TT can be cheap. The lower power 150 BHP is as good as a higher power one. I had a small Turbo 180 BHP then the 225 Big Turbo.
Most of them on eBay are rough. But one or two are nice. Bad one is a money pit. Like any car.

 

[JohnnySweden]

There are 130 million more people, in the US, in 2025, compared to 1972. The numbers I find still say well over 50% of cars components are made here and way more are assembled here. Still a big number. Our cars, from the 50's, 60's, and early 70's were absolutely dependable. Our problem was rust. I drove an already 20 year old Buick for 25 years and it never once stranded me. The epitome of bulletproof. It had near 400,000 miles on the original engine, with only a single internal repair, the timing chain. It got so rusty, I parked it. I sold it for $100, about 7 years later. A fresh battery and fuel, and the new owner drove it away. With today's galvanized body panels, that old 67 Buick would still be on the road. Literally every older pickup truck has at least 300,000 miles on the original engine. They're everywhere, but the plastic interiors are crumbling. Is the newest stuff still that good? I have my doubts. The only 20+ year old cars, still on the road are GM, and Ford pickups, also Buick 3800 powered cars. Is Toyota the only hope for a truly dependable new car? I don't see any old Japanese cars, except Toyotas.

The US cars rust issues are well known here since I live close to the North Sea with it's salty winds coming in from the ocean combined with a generous use of road salts on the roads due to hash winters.

The 1980s was the last decade when US cars was sold here (except from Teslas 2017-2023), and those cars melted fast, dispite being better rust protected then those from the 70s.

The difference to our native brands, especially SAABs was huge, since they was literally desiged for winters and therefore handled rust in a reasonable good way..

French, UK, US and most Japanese cars just melted away in just a few years.

I have however only used Toyotas the last 15 years, first a 2006 Prius G2 I ran for 300.000 mils, and it's still on the road...

Sold it to a then neighbor and it's hugely rusty, but clear MOT and does work.

The present one is a Yaris HSD bought new in 2017 for $17.300 and has 100.000 miles on it so far, working perfectly and no rust as yet...