I am an elevator construction and service contractor, our family has been in the USA before there even was a USA, coming from England in 1640.
Our business has several trucks, and the Fords have been very, very good, which surprised me, since there a time when I swore I would never buy another Ford. I think Ford has made some great strides in their quality. One of our trucks is a GMC, and honestly, it doesn't seem very well made. The exhaust rattles, and the wipers don't even flip up. Seems behind the times, sad. My wife had two Cadillacs, but her last one was so awful, she got a Lexus. I know American cars have problems, quality needs to continue to improve, but I still "root for the home team", even if they are behind. Thats one reason I liked the Viper so much when it came out, it represented a rennaisance of sorts, in the American car industry. I don't dislike foreign cars, in fact I respect a lot of them, and I have no illusions about American cars, all I was trying to do was stir some patriotism.
I hope Americans can continue to enjoy a high standard of living. But it is clear that the economics of industry is shifting towards the third world. The US will be left a hollowed out, service based economy. It is a sad development, and comes not only from the failure of American car manufacturers and unions to change with the times, but also from the effects of NAFTA and GATT. Another example is the US steel industry. The quality of the steel was not the issue, it was the lower labor costs of foreign steel, dumped on US shores, that led to the demise of the US mills. Even if America produces a quality product, but can't compete on price, we are doomed. Manufacturing gravitates towards the cheapest labor.
A nation must produce something, and sell it to other nations, to stay strong. With a multi-billion (and growing) trade imbalance, the wealth of this country is slowly leaving. If we don't produce something, we cannot support a large military structure forever. Without the ability to wage war, we are left weak, and the American era of world dominance is over. Chrysler has been bought out, Ford and GM are now reduced to selling "junk bonds", where is this all going?
Looking back through history, the nation of Spain had some similar parallels to our own history. At the peak of Spain's power, they controlled the seas (and thusly commerce) with their impressive Spanish Armada. Spanish galleons were laden with gold, the victor collecting the spoils of their global trade dominance. Soon the Spanish nation was flush with wealth, and began to export their menial labor jobs of leather, glass blowing, brass works, etc. They became a net importer of goods, rather than an exporter. After a while, Spain did not generate enough cash flow to support their huge fleet. The English clipper ships (adaptive!) were also a factor, of course, turning on a dime, coming around with cannons blazing, ripping the slow lumbering Spanish galleons to shreds. Without their sea power, Spain faded from the scene, and was a world power no more. What is to keep the USA from going the same route? NAFTA and GATT serve to hasten the demise of the American era. And granting the communist nation of China "most favored nation" trade status was an egregious error.
