if there were no japanese automobile companies similar to toyota, honda, nissan, subaru, lexus, infiniti, acura, mazda, etc etc would cars unequivocally have been as modernized as well as worldly today?
For e.g. in 1970s when these japanese companies hardly existed, brands similar to chevy vega as well as travel pinto were deliberate super hot. The attainment of japanese automobile companies in America pressured as well as forced GM/Ford to have thespian changes in record as well as design.
Hmmmm…..A little before my time but from what I read and understood, Japanese cars become favorable because they were smaller and more fuel efficient. In the 70′s a sharp increase in gas prices, because of the oil crisis, caused a dramatic change in the way people drove and what they drove. Plus there were some safety and polluting concerns as well. I agree that American companies had to change and competition from the Japanese made cars better in some ways, but no so much in the fun to drive category. Many would say they actually made cars more boring. Keep in mind the American muscle cars, like the 1970 Pontiac GTO (my mom had one!) had close to 400 HP! As good as the Datsun (called Nissan now ) 240Z was, it only had 150 HP. The Vega and Pinto had (I think) 140 HP and were more or less considered basic A to B cars made to compete with smaller, less powerful Japanese cars. Pretty popular but not the “hot” cars of the time. American muscle influenced much of what they consider “sports” cars even today. Mustangs and Corvettes are still popular. The HP wars of today prompted the return of the GTO, as short lived as it was, along with the new Camaro and Challenger.
To say that American cars had to change just because of the Japanese is a little off base. There were a number of factors that led to change.
Talk about a ridiculously stupid, loaded question. Are you serious? You chose two of the worst examples of american cars in the 70′s, while intentionally leaving our some of the great ones. Pinto and Vega were “super hot”? What? Yeah, they were jsut as hot as the Tercel and Civic. Talk about hot cars! WOW! Early 80′s Honda Civic! Holy crap! Japanese cars coming to the US resulted in a change toward smaller, more fuel efficient cars. German cars had the same effect.
And you ask “How boring would the auto industry have been”? Boring? Can you think of a car less exciting than a Lexus ES or toyota camry? Did you know that Lexus and Acura ca’t sell a number of their cars in Germany becuase they aren’t safe enough? How about that Lexus uses low-end vinyl coated leather in their cars? Are you so nieve to think that all the advancements in technology came from Japanese cars?
Don’t ask stupid questions.
You get my vote anyway mate i have drove cars from the Eighties Nineties and the Noughties (as iam getting old)and a mix from all over the World and the best cars i have ever driven have been Japanese.
Technology wise again i can give my experience of then and now and when i first got a Japanese car it was like being inside a space shuttle with everything it had to offer,so for me the Japanese offered a better advanced car then and often now.So i believe it would have made an influence to other makers.