So, you know how everyone blames free trade for all the drama in the auto industry, like it's the villain in a soap opera? Turns out, it might actually be Detroit’s Big Three (Ford, GM, and Stellantis) shooting themselves in the tire. Spoiler alert: free trade isn't the bad guy—it’s just the innocent bystander with snacks.
Here are Five Fast Facts on Detroit’s declining competitiveness:
- 🌎 Free Trade’s Not the Villain - Everyone’s yelling at trade deals like they’re the reason jobs are vanishing faster than free donuts in the breakroom. But actually, it’s just good old-fashioned lack of competitiveness that’s doing the damage.
- 🚗 Detroit’s Big Three Are Kinda Slacking - Apparently, the automakers have been napping at the wheel. They’ve basically given up making anything other than big trucks and SUVs, and while other companies are upgrading and innovating, Detroit’s crew is like, “Do we really need to improve efficiency, or should we just paint the same car a different shade of beige?”
- 🔧 Foreign Automakers Are Bringing Their A-Game - On the other hand, companies from other countries are crushing it with electric vehicles, lower costs, and factories that don’t run like they're still in the 1980s. Meanwhile, Detroit’s still figuring out Bluetooth.
- 😣 Tariff Testing - Tariffs are a tricky beast, and this year might get rougher at least partly because of that. But economists predicted US cars would hit a record-low 33% of the market share by 2026 even before the tariffs were announced, so ease off the gas there.
- 📉 Downward Direction - This isn’t a new thing. The Big 3 sold just 5.4 million cars and light trucks last year, down 60% from 1999! And that’s why auto manufacturing jobs have also plunged from 91,000 in 2000 down to just 49,000 this year.
🔥Bottom line: In short, Detroit’s car companies kinda did this to themselves, and they did it over a long period of time. Blaming free trade is like blaming the salad for your pizza addiction. If they want to win again, they need to stop pointing fingers and start reinventing the wheel—literally. People want cars that look good, don’t break the bank, and maybe come with a cupholder that doesn’t require a PhD to use. If Detroit wants to regain competitiveness, maybe they should start there.
Would you agree, or do you think something else is the cause?
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