Automobilism, Americanism and the End of Fordism

Abstract

2009 was a critical year for the American automobile industry as the world eco- nomic slump forced a major restructuring of the 'Big Three' - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - and placed the long-term future survival of the industry in jeop- ardy. The Big Three had a combinedU.S. market share of 51.8% in December 2007 but as of October 2008, their market share declined by 5.3% to 46.5%. During that same nine-month period, Toyota and Honda increased their U.S. market shares by 3.1% to a combined28.4%. In 2007, the Big Three sold 18 million autos for $387.5 billion whereas Toyota and Honda sold 12.2 millions autos for $304 billion.1 The globalization of the international automobile marketplace and the emergence of Japanese and South Korean auto-transplants in North America together with the adoption of new flexible production methods suggest that the prospects for renewal of North American auto manufacturing in the face of global competition has come to an unavoidable impasse. These global competition problems are heightened by the role of union labor in the reorganization of the workplace and the technological advances developed by competitors invested in the new hybrids.