Another random automotive thought
Would Detroit have fared better in the '70s if it had treated its US customers better in the '60s? The executives didn't even need to look outside their own damn corporations to find better products! Canadian, South American and Australian divisions of all four major companies had their own versions of Detroit products which were more varied, more luxurious and more sporty.

Top of the pile was AMC of Argentina, which made a perfectly beautiful variant on the Rambler American called the Torino. Four on the floor, real wood and leather interior. You couldn't get real wood in any US car in those years, not even a Caddy.

If AMC had built the Torino here, it might have fended off Toyota better.

Chrysler's southern hemisphere divisions made Dodge Darts with equally luxurious interiors and snazzed-up exteriors.

Willys of Brazil (owned by Ford in the '60s) offered the Itamaraty luxury compact.

Canada didn't go for luxury, but offered a wider choice because of the peculiar Dodge/Plymouth and Chevy/Pontiac and Ford/Mercury mixes. In 1950, for instance, American Dodge dealers carried three sizes of Dodge in 11 different models, not counting Deluxe trim. Canadian Dodge dealers offered five sizes of Dodge in 18 different body types. Some of them were Plymouths underneath, but they all had Dodge front ends. Canadian Pontiac dealers continued to offer sixes after the US Pontiac was restricted to eights, and continued to offer Pontiac sedan delivery models after US Pontiac stopped them.

Reminds me of the way US political parties treat their own voters. They go whoring after the other party's groups while doing nothing for their own loyal votebots. With parties it doesn't matter, since both are identical and evil. With auto makers it did matter, since millions of good jobs were lost.

[Pretty sure I've written this stuff before, in a slightly different form.]
  ¶ 5:09 PM