Thoughts & Reflections - The American Automobile Industry's Road From Glory to Disaster

Thoughts & Reflections - The American Automobile Industry's Road From Glory to Disaster

By: Paul Ingrassia 

One Idea that's fundamental to any modern industry can be displayed as a math equation. Mass production + mass marketing = mass consumption = modern America. This is also the equation that Ford utilized when he started his manufacturing process.The model T is compared to the Iphone in this article. The model T costs $850 while the Iphone 7 plus costs roughly $780. This is a pretty accurate comparison. However in 1901 money with inflation the model T would cost roughly $20,606. After the Wagner act was passed in 1935 unions started to form. These unions allowed for workers to organize strikes for better working conditions and higher pay. These unions were fought hard with police and violence. Such as the battle of the running bulls, when workers sat down in the factory and were unsuccessfully flushed out out by police. Eventually union workers achieved their goal, they received a higher wage and more vacation time.
The automotive industry in America has undergone several changes. One of the most notable changes is the industries is the fact that Detroit is no longer the industrial powerhouse it once was. After the massive crash in 2008 factories were left abandoned.

Abandoned Packard Motors Factory, Detroit

 Another change that's not as dramatic is the massive switch to automation on the assembly line. While there still are people on the assembly line it is no longer staffed exclusively by humans. According to the article the old ford plants of the 1910s took 90 minutes to make one car, while in 2015 a Popular Mechanics Article said the modern Ford factory can produce 60 cars per hour.

Old Ford Assembly Line Source

Here is a video of a modern Ford car plant.