Its over guys and dolls. Its over. Our beloved Detroit auto dominance on the highway is

gone. Even the last ditch SUV phenomenon has been scuttled by foreign manufacturers. When Cadillac has to build a pickup truck all is not what it use to be. It all started when

Detroit started loosing sales to Honda, Nissan, and Toyota in the Seventies. Rather than compete with better assembly and reliability, . My college buddy Dan Gurney was a died in the wool flat head FORD V-8 guy, however he is now with Toyota and his Eagle Chassis were under those Toyota Engines that won this year. Detroit decided to try and copy the style, so now you can’t tell your new silver (Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler product) from every other gray Honda in the parking lot! And they didn’t even do that right!

Counting rows of parked cars out side the Trader Joe’s, Foreign ran 75% foreign vs. 25% American.. In the 1940’s 99 % of autos were of American Manufacture from the Big Three.
Major Marquis have been dropped from Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Maybe it all started back with the Las Salle, Hudson, Studebaker, and Packard, but when you add Plymouth, DeSoto and Oldsmobile to the disappearing American Auto Roster, it points the way to the demise of the entire American auto manufacturing industry.
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This unfortunate this is not “a glass half empty attitude,’ with Toyota, Toyota, and Honda finishing 1, 2, and 3 at this year’s Indianapolis 500, another coffin nail has been set on the pride of Detroit. I watched the futile effort of Ferrari trying to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in the 1950’s. Then the American Engine reigned supreme. Offenhouser, and Ford. This year I watched one Chevy gradually slip into oblivion as those Asian machines passed it by in the same manner as is happening with US auto sales. On a drive by Lew William’s Chevrolet at Marconi and Fulton, long time Sacramento Auto Sales Anchor (now Mike Daugherty’s), the curb side inventory was long rows of Tahoe SUV’s on the point and around the corner, a smattering of Corvettes and 4 Hummers, for the family 4 door go across the street to Infinities with 32 Titanium values 340 HP with more bells and whistles than on a Princess Cruise. The center piece of the of the American Auto Industry has all of the ear marks of departure.

Environmentalist have even take aim at FORD specifically for the Excursion Model “an irresponsible gas guzzleler.” Remember what Ralph Nader did to the Corvair (Unsafe at any speed ) GONE !

Why did this happen is totally another story. Labor, attitude, design, arrogance, and quality.
ONE BIG EDSEL! I guess history will report on that issue. Detroit says we got it now, we know what went wrong and we have fixed it. Take a look at the new Cadillac Sneer Look. Stand there with straight face and say we fixed it.

If you doubt what has come down the Pike, The River Rouge has become catastrophic     environmental disaster and the Highland Park Plant, The Palace of Fords Mass production empire, lays dormant on the backwaters of Harding Avenue, along with the Richmond Ford Assembly Plant here on the west coast. Can anyone imagine KIA becoming the talk of the Detroit Auto Show  presenting a model to compete with Rolls Royce? The Foreign Auto Tsunami has done in the big three, actually the big two since Daimler Benz bought out Chrysler. And now there are TWO. Now hear this! Wall Street implies Bankruptcies, Chapter 11 for  both Ford and GM. Maybe they can do International Truck by filing a Chapter 11 every few years, then coming out with another Navistar model or alike. When the stocks of these giants of industry continue a decline from the high $50 a share to $10 or less, analyst move from a hold to a sell. These are times to prepare for the funerals of what was bigger than big.

How can anyone forget the style of the thirties with the long low and slinky Lincoln's, Packard's, Auburn's. December's, Cadillac's, and of course the ever sexy Coffin Nosed Cord's. These cars and the sassy Ford V-8's, Plymouth's, and Chevrolets. Or the smell of the Mohair, real Leather upholstery, and real Wool carpets, along with the boulevard smooth ride of the fine American cars of the Forty's.

Remember the exciting cars of the Fifties. The colorful cars of 1955, a Goldenrod Yellow and Jet Black Crown Victoria (with a Plexiglas Top of course), and the Rose Pink,  Jet Black, topped off with Pure White Dodge Royal Lancer, these and many exciting color combinations on Detroit's Finest everyone wanted to make a statement with one of these great cars. How about the '57 Plymouth Fury with fins that reached for the stars and a V-8 that promised to get you there. The '57 Chevrolet Bel-Air that everyone wanted. Or the  mechanical marvel, the '57 Ford Skyliner with it's steel top that fit into the trunk. There was nothing that said luxury like the '58 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. What has
happened to Detroit, and where has the style gone? There is a glimmer of light coming from Motor City when Chrysler brought out the PT Cruiser, and Ford brought out the Retro T-Bird, let's hope this trend gains momentum!

The only hope is the Police won't give up the Crown Victoria. At least they can keep a
token model on the road. About the only thing a Lincoln is good for is to be cut in half, add a few more seats, and park it outside the Church on wedding day.

Decorator High Boy Trucks, Mustangs, and Retro T-Birds are not in the main for the daily driver and what is the count of V-8s at our club meetings? Run 'till you drop! NASCAR Ford, Chevy, and Dodge; your days are numbered! The Franz family    owners of the     NASCAR franchise are strongly opposed to allowing foreign car  participation , other wise it would be Marau Hackamoto in 21 car a Camry Special against Carlos Don Consuello in his Stock Honda Under slung at Daytona , Rockingham , Fontana and Sears Point I can't hardly believe it ! Isn't this a heck of a way to celebrate the 100th year FORD anniversary.

Just check the charts !!!!! It took just 100 years to do themselves in. Its time to savior our V-8 era, and enjoy it's moment of fame.