How did Helene Rother’s journey begin?

Born in 1908 in Leipzig, Germany, Helene was brought up in an environment that was constantly under war threat. Germany and France, where she later lived, became battlegrounds for the World Wars. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine her childhood and teenage years resembling a rollercoaster with sharp ups and downs.

Yet, she managed to study art in Germany and then worked as a jewelry designer in Paris, before World War II. During this time, she gave birth to her daughter and formed her little family. However, as I mentioned in the beginning, there were times of danger and uncertainty.

Soon enough, she had to flee from Nazi-occupied France to North Africa. It was very hard for her and her seven-year-old daughter to travel to the US right away without a visa. However, somehow she got lucky and embarked on a ship to the United States.

Going through all these hurdles ever since she was young, then traveling across three continents with a child, shows her resilience and determination to thrive. A new chapter began for her in the US where she would make history as an automotive designer.

What made Helene Rother successful in the male-dominated auto industry?

Helene was an able professional, a beautiful woman, and a great mother who did not have an easy start in the U.S. After all, she was a refugee, and most importantly, a woman. Yet, her design skills found application in art, jewelry production, marketing, and even book illustrating. It was by chance that she came across a General Motors interior designer vacancy ad. Though Helene did not have any experience in the industry, she applied and got the job.

Interior design was an area that was just taking off in the auto industry, as people were seeking more comfort and luxury in their cars. No wonder, Helene was the first woman doing this job in Detroit, as the damsels of design were growing in number. To everyone’s surprise, she became quite good at it and soon was one of the best paid General Motors employees. Such a high salary for a woman was so unusual, that it even made headlines in The Detroit News.

But the attention and media scrutiny did not stop her. She continued gaining expertise in the industry and doing research work. She was the first woman to speak at the Society of Automotive Engineers in Detroit. Her paper titled “Are we doing a good job in our car interiors?” was highly praised. Soon enough, her work was getting awards such as the Jackson Medal.

How did the entrepreneurial career unfold for Ms. Rother?

As Helene had gained a reputation for high-quality car interior design at GM, other automotive companies started contracting her as a design consultant. Realizing that she could be her own boss, Helene opened her own studio named Helene Rother Associates.

Her designs for Nash Ramblers became famous, and her name was part of all advertisements. She turned to be a symbol of European influence on American automobile designs. She did not just design car interiors, though. Her style was also present in the stained glass of many reconstructed American churches. Expanding her work, communicating with clients like a true businesswoman, without losing quality and creativity were remarkable qualities of Helene.

What differentiated Helene Rother’s work?

Cars shouldn’t just take a person from point A to point B. They should also offer comfort and a pleasant experience for the driver. This is what Helene understood very early on. She saw the potential of interior car design as adding value to the car and ultimately giving the auto companies a competitive advantage. From a simple and basic design, she brought style, elegance, and uniqueness to each of the cars she designed. People loved buying cars that had her name as an interior designer.

As technology advanced, more high-quality materials could be nicely incorporated into vehicles, adding to their charm. The ambition to strive for more quality and more elegance, adding a modern contemporaneous touch to the dull vehicles made Helene unique.

She was a true trailblazer in the design world and her work has been acknowledged throughout the years. Lastly, in 2020 the Automotive Hall of Fame inducted her, along with other professionals who have contributed to the automotive sector. Helene Rother remains a role model for so many women who are seeking to unleash their potential and strive in male-dominated industries.

What about your car? Have you checked who designed its interior? I bet now you are curious to find out whether your car is designed by a woman. Let us know!

Image: Automotive Hall of Fame

The post Helene Rother: A trailblazer in the automotive design appeared first on Altered Steel.

Now, if we trust Hollywood, reindeer power does not translate directly into horsepower, so our comparisons may fall short. Several propaganda movies have been made to show how old school reindeer just get the job done better than an engine, for example. But come on – you and I both know that Santa loves his tech. After all, he keeps on leaving brand new smartphones for kids all over the world.

With that in mind, today we are taking a look at some of Santa’s sleigh upgrades throughout the years. He might keep showing his reindeer off, but let’s see what he is driving when no one is looking!

Santa loves luxury

The bearded jolly old man may like to give children toys and gifts, but he treats himself as well. And no, I am not talking just about those cookies and milk next to a Christmas tree. He just likes having a comfortable ride in a reliable vehicle. Which is why he has a Lexus in his arsenal!

With that said, I would not call his Lexus sleigh exactly imaginative. I mean, for a luxury brand you would expect more attention to detail. Instead, they just slapped on a red LED for a nose and added some rails to call their LC model a sleigh.

Still, I have to give it to the automaker in terms of power – with 800 reindeer power and a hybrid engine, this thing travels fast. Plus, it shows they care about the polar ice caps, which Santa also adores. So while in terms of design Toyota (and Lexus) do fall a bit short, they make up for it in all the other important aspects!

Santa’s daily workhorse – A trusty pickup truck

Before Santa had the resources to go into luxury cars, he had to make do with cheap, but trusty alternatives. And what better to replace a sleigh than a pickup truck?

Truth be told, I cannot just give you a single model, because Santa has a few of them. He understands pickup truck classes and likely has one of each to fit his needs. From the smallest half-ton Chevrolet of the ’40s to the heavy-duty GMC Sierra, Father Christmas knows what to choose for his yearly hauling needs!

In my opinion, if Santa has to ever bet on a single vehicle, a pickup would be the obvious go-to. Though he might want to consider something with a bit more presence. Perhaps the F-350 Raptor?

Honorable mentions

Prior to revealing my all-time favorite Santa machine, we should also note some other vehicles in the (in)famous North Pole garage.

• Jaguar F-Type (and F-Sleigh)

Naturally, many companies want to get on Santa’s “nice” list. Because of this, they make up prototypes for him to try out (though I am sure bribery counts as “naughty”). Of all the prototypes though, Jaguar F-Sleigh actually takes a different route. They made it out of ice! So, yes, not exactly operable, but props to Jaguar for thinking outside the box.

• Mercedes GLK (or GLSleigh)

For all we can tell, Saint Nicholas looks like a humble person. That being said, sometimes people judge your presence by the type of car you drive. Thus, for occasions where looks matter, Mercedes-Benz has gifted Santa with a proper luxury off-road machine. Not sure if he brags about it, but it doesn’t hurt to have it just in case!

• Ford Fusion/Mondeo Sleigh

Since Ford knows it cannot compete on the luxury level, the carmaker has chosen a different strategy. Its version of Santa’s sleigh bets on practicality. Over the years Ford has offered Kringle several versions of its affordable sedan, but whether Santa actually drives any of them… no one knows.

Muscle and looks – The best sleigh in Santa’s collection

If you have been following our blog for a while now, you know the love we have for muscle cars like Ford Mustang. That being said, Santa prefers Dodge. More specifically, he likes to ride around in a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Express.

Let me tell you, this beast blows away all of Santa’s reindeer and then some! With its 786 hp, the car-sleigh is almost 100 times as fast. Okay, I get it, those reindeer might be getting some special juice to bump their power-up, but even so, they are no match. The only drawback to the Hellcat version of the sleigh? Santa gets so pumped up about it that he actually forgets to do his job on Christmas Eve. So, reluctantly, he leaves this one in the garage for the time being!

With all that said, considering how many sleighs Father Christmas has, that toy manufacturing business turns out to be raking quite the profit. Who knew! But which of the engine-powered sleighs in this article do you like the most? Or would you rather Santa stick to his trusty old reindeer?

The post Santa’s sleigh reimagined appeared first on Altered Steel.

For all their greatness, though, one thing bothers me about classics. We always seem to remember the most popular models. Everyone talks about America’s most iconic classics and how great they are. Don’t get me wrong; such models deserve their praise. But what about the hundreds of vehicles that have fallen by the wayside through the decades?

I think we will benefit a lot if we dig deeper into some of the forgotten vintage cars. In fact, they can reveal peculiar insights into why some models have fared better than others. Let’s check out the classics that history has kept out of the spotlight!

Everyday cars that history left behind

When people talk about vintage vehicles, they usually mention high-end models or sports cars. Yet the truth is that the real work gets done by people’s daily drivers. Unfortunately, that makes them less remarkable for most folks, hence, easier to forget with time. With that said, let us take a proper look at the car history’s most populous segment!

Studebaker Lark

Back in the day, the US automotive scene had more players competing for attention. Naturally, some of them, including Studebaker, met their downfall for one reason or another. That still does not mean they were terrible vehicles. In my opinion, the Lark was a perfectly good car for its time. It may not be anything groundbreaking, but as a family car, it was superb.

It is a bit sad that many people don’t even remember the Studebaker marque. The brand has its following, but it remains a niche. Though because of that, you can get a great classic model for quite a low price. Plus, you have three generations of Studebaker Lark, from which to choose!

Citroën GS

Here in the States, we are not very familiar with French manufacturers such as Renault, Peugeot, and Citroën. It is likely that whatever French classic I mention, it will still be obscure to you. Nevertheless, the GS has an interestingly sad story that even Europeans don’t remember.

If you look at the stats, you would think the GS would be one of the most popular classics out there. After all, Citroën had 2.5 million of it sold. Not to mention it also won the 1971 European Car of the Year award as everybody liked its comfort and aerodynamics. Why was it forgotten then? Honestly, because by then, Europe was flooded with car models, even more so than the United States. Ultimately, the GS didn’t present anything unique and was just a decent small car amid an ocean of similar vehicles.

Ford Falcon

After a forgotten European model that used to be successful, it’s only fair to mention a US one. Here the Ford Falcon serves as the perfect example. At the time, it was extremely popular and actually made Ford an even more successful company. However, when people hear about the Falcon today, the most common reaction is, “Oh, yes, I think I remember that.”

Here are a couple of funny bits. Firstly, the Falcon was part of the same trend that the Lark tried to ride. Secondly, the model was inspired by some of Ford’s compact versions in Europe. They had success there a whole 15 years before such vehicles became popular on the US market.

Old-timey sports cars we forgot about

The classic car niche has plenty of variety when it comes to vehicle types. You can get luxury sedans, supercars, and the aforementioned daily drivers. Yet from all of those, I think that sports cars are the most exciting. Just consider this – several decades later, plenty of modern fast cars can lose to their “ancient” predecessors. Talk about the magnificence of old-days car engineering!

So, what are some sports cars that did not make the cut for the world’s finest classics, and why? Here are a few great examples:

Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

One of the most interesting things about this model is that it should not have been forgotten. For a sports car, it was fairly popular at the time. Actually, VW Karmann Ghia was more successful than many Porsche models. What went wrong then? We can only speculate!

Many associate the VW brand with budget cars, not sports models. Having Karman Ghia built on the VW Beetle platform didn’t help that notion either. The company just never aligned itself with the idea of producing sports cars. Though the Ghia had a good run of 20 years with a decent reputation, it failed to stay in people’s minds.

Sunbeam Tiger

I bet most people have never heard of this car marque. It has British origins, though the Tiger was designed in part by Carroll Shelby of Mustang fame. This model is considered the beefed-up version of Sunbeam Alpine, which is not that hard to find nowadays.

As far as specs go, the Tiger sported a Ford V8 engine with 164 bhp. That gave it some punch and made it faster than a lot of the first-gen Porsche 911 units. However, having a promising model did not help the company all that much. It virtually went extinct as Chrysler took it over in 1967. Though the new management tried to resurrect the model name, it had lost its momentum.

Today, you can find some Sunbeam cars without much trouble. If you are in the market for an interesting, yet affordable classic, you may check the cheaper Sunbeam Alpine.

Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna

When you hear about a vintage Chevy, you most likely think of the classic Corvette that everyone wants. However, throughout the years, the company has come out with plenty of interesting models. I would even say that the Chevelle Laguna may as well be one of the coolest sports or muscle cars ever to hit the market.

With its top V8 engine, it had 245 hp. Although not the most powerful, it was capable of great feats. Cale Yarborough even won two NASCAR championships with it. Partly due to that, the model gained decent popularity and had about 110,000 sales by the end of its production.

Unfortunately, Chevrolet failed to distinguish it from the base Chevelle all that much. Their confusing lineup further messed with any attempt at proper branding. Unsurprisingly, the model was dropped after an almost 4-year run.

Mitsubishi Starion

In my post on remarkable Japanese classic cars, I mentioned Mazda RX-7 as the poster Japanese sports vehicle. Well, the Starion is Mitsubishi’s attempt to get a cut of the sports car pie. Sadly, it did not go well.

Many people considered the Starion to be too much of a copy of its competitors. The model also came a bit too late to the game, with at least five other marques occupying the niche already. To make things worse, the Starion had so many versions that it became a lineup of its own. However, it ended up selling less than 60 thousand models. Quite the poor numbers, compared to Mazda RX-7’s 800 thousand!

Oddballs that rightly did not make it

While some cars get forgotten because of unfortunate circumstances, others fall into oblivion more because of what they are. Certain models were designed to be so weird, most people never actually cared about them. Let’s see a couple.

GMC Sprint

Most car enthusiasts today know about Chevrolet El Camino. It is largely regarded as one of the ugliest and weirdest vehicles ever to be designed. Well, at least history remembers it. We cannot say the same about the Sprint.

The two vehicles are pretty much the same, though the GMC Sprint has some slight redesigns. In my opinion, they make the car even weirder. I have no idea why General Motors decided to have a rebadged model of an already badly executed car. Well, at least the Sprint went away only after two generations, unlike the El Camino, which held for five!

GMC Syclone

General Motor’s infatuation with weird pickups does not end with the Sprint. This time around, we have an even more obscure vehicle with less than 3,000 units produced. GMC Syclone only recently gained its classic status, though it has always had a small fanbase.

We still have to give credit where credit is due. This pickup did become the fastest stock pickup at the time. With its 280 hp V6 engine, it could go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3s. This is impressive even today, so back in 1991, it deserved the attention car enthusiasts gave it. Regardless of that, nowadays, most people do not even know it exists.

Which forgotten classic ignites your memory?

I have always been drawn to less popular things because, in my mind, they feel more special. However, many of the models mentioned today don’t exactly fit my taste. If I had to pick one, though, I would go with the Chevelle Laguna. It can actually pass as a muscle, so that’s nice. Plus, it has rotating seats. A bit gimmicky, I know, but it’s still a fun feature to try out!

What would you pick out of our list? Or maybe you have your own favorite unknown classic? I know many other models need the spotlight. Be sure to mention it if you have one on your mind!

The post Classic cars you didn’t know existed appeared first on Altered Steel.

Women are highly appreciated for their soft touch and gentleness. Despite the fact that there are more and more men entering fields that require these skills, women are still the queens.

So today we will honor that. In this post, we won’t focus too much on mechanics or engineering. Instead, we’ll look at the automotive industry through the perspective of design. Female design.

GM’s first all-female team

When you start researching pioneering female designers, you will immediately come across a group of women from the 1950s that earned the name the Damsels of Design.

This was the first team of all-female designers hired by General Motors. Just like most cases from those times, this one also begins with a man. Harley J. Earl. That’s why we prefer talking about the Damsels under the code name “Harley’s Angels”.

Harley J. Earl was the vice-president of GM’s design department which at that time carried a name of the Styling Section. He is remembered for his brave strategic contributions to GM’s development. Earl introduced a number of new design strategies, including concept cars and the idea of annual model updates to uphold consumer demand.

He first introduced female designers to his department back in the ’40s and ’50s, believing they could help make automobiles that appealed to female consumers. Why would he do that you may wonder?

Earl gave a rather smart business explanation in a press release in 1958. There, he explained that women have the final vote in three out of four automobile purchases. At that time families were just starting the trend of buying a second car. Moreover, women were often the drivers.

Why ignore their opinion then? Neglect them and you are likely to lose 75% of your market.

Instead, he launched a program on integrating women in the automaking process itself. His initiative started by him sending an official recruiter to Pratt Institute in New York to hand-select a special group of designers. The designers were all women, nine in total. Six would go to various GM vehicle divisions, and three would go to GM’s appliance division.

• Suzanne Vanderbilt
• Ruth Glennie
• Margaret (Peg) Sauer
• Marjorie Ford Pohlman
• Jeanette Linder,
• Sandra Longyear
• Gere Kavanaugh
• Jan Krebs
• Dagmar Arnold
• Jayne Van Alstyne

Earl called them his ‘Damsels in Design’. The group that wanted to be treated as equal members of the extensive team of studio designers.

Being a Damsel at GM

The group of women selected from Pratt all had interesting backgrounds. Each of them had some fine art and industrial design training, and a few had worked for manufacturers in other fields. Yet, none of them had ever worked in automotive design before. And some did not even own a car. Others had never traveled beyond the East Coast.

One of the newly hired designers was Jeanette Linder – a young woman who had recently married another GM designer – Peter Linder. The couple gathered media’s attention exactly because of their reversed roles. While Peter would go design refrigerators, Jeanette would work on the design team for Chevrolet. The Linders were featured in Look magazine, unpacking boxes in their tiny apartment and preparing to go to work at GM.

The other, single, Damsels were a little more hesitant to start working at GM. Not because of the new job, but because of the fact that they had to go all the way to distant Detroit.

Yet, the GM opportunity seemed too good to pass up, so the women moved to Michigan, most sharing rooms and meals together, at least initially. In the studios, the women were often treated as curiosities, but generally (though not always) with respect.

The fact that Harley J. Earl was surrounded by so many beautiful women, soon earned a name in the automotive industry. Yet, despite Earl’s well-deserved reputation as a ladies’ man, he was always respectful of his design team.

Suzanne Vanderbilt, one of the Damsels, later recalled: “Harley Earl… was a gentleman, in spite of stories that you hear. He was always a gentleman with the women. More a father figure, maybe, than boss, and commanded – as I said before – a great deal of respect.”

The work of the Damsels

Much of the team’s work was on interiors of various GM cars. None were assigned exterior design roles. But their work went far beyond fabric selection and color swatches.

Many worked on advanced projects, including secret research into technologies and interior improvements, including safety innovations that would become an important part of the automotive design in the decades to come.

The 1958 show

In 1958, Earl decided to host a Feminine Show. The purpose of the Show was to expose the design talents of his Damsels to all others in the company. This is why the show took place in the General Motors Styling Dome on the Warren, Michigan campus, where GM executives and company representatives from all over the country could fly in to see the talented work.

The area where the Show took place was decorated by Damsel Gere Kavanaugh with great fabric streamers and circular display areas ringed by potted flowers and trees. In the center of the Dome, three full-height fabric cylinders were filled with a hundred chirping parakeets.

The Damsels were given at least one car each to redesign – 10 in total. Much of the work shown was color and trim selection, but each one included some interesting technical innovations. One of the most noticeable designs was the one done by Ruth Glennie. Her task was to redesign a Corvette.

At that time GM, along with other manufacturers, had signed a pledge to limit horsepower and stay out of sponsored racing activities, so the Corvette program was on life support. Some of the people at GM wanted to retire the car. Yet, Earl wanted to see what could a woman do to make it live.

The Fancy Free and more

Glennie’s Corvette, a convertible, was named the ‘Fancy Free’, a name meant to evoke the freedom and joie de vivre of leisure travel. She kept the form, as instructed, but painted it in a single tone, a silver-olive color – what turned out to be a great choice. The metallic sheen looked rather golden in the sunlight, and on cloudy days it seemed to be a soft silver.

Glennie thought the Corvette might be a car one could customize for each season, and so she designed a set of three seat covers for each season that covered the standard olive-colored leather.

The other Damsels were more considered of female needs in their designs.

• Sauer redesigned an Oldsmobile Fiesta Carousel. It featured a child-friendly backseat which included storage for toys, a magnetic game board and child-proof latches that could be controlled from the dashboard.
• Vanderbilt redesigned a Cadillac Eldorado Seville, which had custom features such as an early car phone and built-in memo pad.
• Longyear’s exhibition-model Bonneville Polaris convertible for Pontiac featured a storage compartment for a picnic.
• Pohlman worked on a Buick Shalimar and designed a special glovebox Dictaphone, a hidden umbrella compartment… and purple interior.

In the end, in order to ensure that all the vehicles got seen by the show visitors, Earl asked the guests to vote for their favorite car. The winner was the Fancy Free but everyone’s biggest surprise was Jeanette Linder with her Martinique – The designer who couldn’t even drive.

What the future held

When looking back, the Damsels say they really enjoyed the show. As Suzanne Vanderbilt put it, they particularly enjoyed proving to their male counterparts that

“we are not in the business to add lace doilies to seat backs or rhinestones to the carpets, but to make the automobile just as usable and attractive to both men and women as we possibly can.”

The show was an enormous internal success, and photos of the exhibit and its cars were distributed to national magazines for publication. It seemed like it made a statement about women’s future in automotive design. Or at least it seemed so.

The Damsels without Harley

After the Show, Harley J. Earl retired… and all of a sudden everything changed. His successor, Bill Mitchell, did not share Earl’s excitement about women in the industry at all. Not even one little bit. Three years of fame went by rather quickly.

Yet, almost all of the Damsels would leave GM to go on to other design jobs. Several set up their own design consultancies. Dagmar Arnold went to IBM, where she was the first woman at the company to receive a patent for her external design of the 1301 Disk Storage Unit.

Damsels’ biggest problem at GM was the fact that they were never just designers. As they themselves put it, they were always “les femmes” or “the female designers”. While at the same time, they worked as much as men did and designed the things that men did. As a matter of fact, they really hated the name “Damsels”. It was already a reason to be looked at differently.

There were a lot of women already working in the industry at that time. Yet, most of the times nobody even noticed them. Either because the people didn’t take them seriously, or because they were working with their husbands and were kind of in their shadow at the time.

One thing Harley J. Earl did well was taking women out of the shades. Even though this was only the start, the three-year fame of the Damsels made a statement for others to consider. And even today we could take some lessons from his behavior and remember a few basic but important facts:

• women’s opinion matters sometimes even more than men’s
• women have more than good looks
• a woman can be just as innovative and persistent as a man.

And the fact that there is no such thing as all-male auto industry anymore.

The post Women in cars: the Damsels of Design appeared first on Altered Steel.

Speaking of cars, we have to note that the winds of change are once again blowing in their direction. We are experiencing auto innovations on all levels. New engine technologies pop up, artificial intelligence gets better at driving, even the design itself evolves constantly. And what is the one certain thing about evolution? Those that fail to adapt… disappear.

The fact that American car companies are struggling is nothing new. We have known that for several years now. But large companies do not usually go under without a proper fight. So what can we say about their recent move against the current? Let’s examine the death of the American sedan!

The sedan decline – a series of unfortunate events

The sedan has remained a staple with cars ever since personal vehicles have become a thing. Most iconic cars out there are actually sedans. Throughout history, that car body type has consistently been the most prevalent one out there. But that all changed when people began looking for more specialized alternatives.

When most cities became filled to the brim with vehicles, there was an obvious need for a more compact car. That, in turn, meant that companies could put in a weaker engine, and a more efficient one at that. Did I mention that made the entire car cheaper? All of a sudden the trusty sedan became the big car around the block, and a more expensive one at that.

Of course, families could not rely on small cars. Because of that, the sedan remained a viable option for quite some time. It was big enough for a family of four (or five, even), but not a workhorse like a pickup.

The real issues for the sedan began when car designers started experimenting with bigger bodies. They tried with estate cars, though they did not catch on in the States. Then came the minivan, which was quite popular (and still is in some circles). Still, for a lot of folks, it was too much “family” and not enough “business”. So car manufacturers scratched their heads and came up with the straw that broke the camel’s back – the SUV. Or did they?

Is it too soon to write the sedan off?

I know that many people see the rise of the crossover (or SUV) as the main cause of the sedan’s demise. However, I believe things are a bit more complicated than that. It can actually be the case that the sedan is not dying – perhaps it is just now finding its niche.

The main issue of the sedan is simple – it is a jack of all trades and master of none. You could argue that that the leap to an SUV is not that big if you are not concerned about size. Alternatively, the sedan body will be too bulky for a person, who wants a more compact vehicle.

So on the surface, it seems like this body design is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Dig a bit deeper though, and you will see things in a different light. Sometimes people just want a car that looks classy, gets the job done, and does not feel like a truck.

Do not get me wrong, sedan sales are indeed trending downward overall. Yet a lot of people refuse to give up on those vehicles. In fact, certain companies are actually keeping their sedan production up. It does not take a lot of research to see that there are plenty of that body type among the best selling cars of 2018. Honda and Toyota, for example, are having a blast. But are you reading between the lines? There are no American sedans there…

Why American car manufacturers ditched the sedan

Does it not seem weird that no American companies want to pursue the sedan market? They are doing great with their SUVs. Their pickups also take top spots. So what is stopping them from crushing the sedan market too? Well, a couple of things.

For starters, you have to look at the overall picture. The Japanese manufacturers sell their sedans just fine, alright. But you know what the funny part is? Their own SUVs and crossovers are selling even better nowadays. Considering Japanese sedans have quite a great reputation, that should tell you something about how the demand is shifting.

This leads us to the main reason American-based companies ditched the sedan – it was simply not worth the competition. US car manufacturers have always struggled to develop a cost-effective sedan to beat the Japanese staples. That is because the margins on these vehicles are not big at all (compared to SUVs). At the same time, investment continues to grow. That made the American sedans fall behind the competition in terms of both quality and price.

There is still some hope though. The Big Three just need to focus their efforts on the next big wave in vehicle development. Would it not be ironic if that actually turns out to be sedan EVs? If we take into account the demand for Tesla Model 3, that prediction may not be too far off. Sadly though, with all the trouble US-based companies face, they may not have that chance.

The bad situation of the Big Three

We have to mention the glaring issue, which lies underneath all the problems of the Big Three. It is the fact that they have hardly any market outside the US. We all know Europeans are not big on pickups and even SUVs. At the same time, other companies dominate the Old Continent with much better prices and reputation. Ford still manages to keep its presence there, but things are not looking good.

All in all, the Detroit-based manufacturers do not have room for error. Plus SUV and pickup sales in the US are largely dependent on the economy as well. All those factors put quite a strain on these companies. They have been virtually forced to trim their lineups to focus on safer options. Testing the market at this point has too high of a cost for them.

The light at the end of the tunnel

To be fair, car manufacturing is a tough business in general. Many companies have gone out of it through history. But as I have already said, big manufacturers do not disappear in mere seconds.

So here is the thing – something has to happen. In our age of disruptive innovation, I would not be surprised if Ford, GM, and Chrysler turned the tables. Should they come up with a high-quality sedan model that also has a good price, people will jump all over it for sure.

Personally, I am already a lost cause. SUVs are my thing, so going back to a sedan will be a hard pill to swallow. But what do you think? Will you buy a brand new sedan from one of the US companies if they bring them back? Or will you be like me and stick with your old buying habits?

The post Are we seeing the end of the American sedan? appeared first on Altered Steel.