Effect of Foreign Car Companies on the American Auto Industry

The development of the automotive assembly line by Henry Ford in 1908 increased the success of the American car industry exponentially, helping it become one of the most prominent industries in the world. The increased manufacturing efficiency and affordability of the Ford Model-T made the American industry the first industry to mass produce affordable automobiles. Another technological development that benefitted the American car industry was the interchangeability of car parts pioneered by Henry Leland. This added to the practicality of owning a car because now if a part was broken in any way, it could be replaced with an identical piece. The development of the battery-operated ignition by Charles Kettering in 1910 was another benefactor to the success of the American car industry in the early 20th century. The battery-operated ignition system provided a more user friendly substitute to earlier ignition systems. Although there were many technological developments that helped the American automotive industry keep its position as the most successful in the world for decades, when the Japanese car industry was formed in the 1950s they introduced more innovative, efficient, and consumer friendly vehicles that were especially appealing to consumers during and after the fuel crisis in the 1970s. Not only did these Japanese manufacturers consistently introduce more appealing cars than the American companies, but they also kept their pride in their products and their passion for the automotive industry as a whole.
Although the first car built in Japan was assembled in 1902, most of the Japanese car manufacturers began producing cars in the '50s and '60s; the exceptions being the two largest manufacturers, Toyota and Nissan. Toyota began experimenting with cars in 1935. Their first models were essentially copies of American and European models, as were most of the other Japanese cars that emerged from this era of manufacturing. Nissan started manufacturing cars in the...