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Will America's 3 biggest automakers die?

November 18, 2008

Text: Matthew Schneeberger

Detroit's Big Three auto majors are in trouble having been buffeted by a recessionary hurricane that has played havoc with their sales and squeezed car loans. With the US sick of bailing out companies (that indulged in excesses) using taxpayer cash, these auto giants face death.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The Big Three of the American automotive industry were, for the better part of a century, symbols of assembly line-driven efficiency, US industrial might and American technological innovation.

In short, they were the envy of carmakers the world over. Sure, there were blips and hiccups along the way, including a bailout for the floundering Chrysler in 1979. But as recently as 1990, after decades of domestic dominance, the Big Three still accounted for over 75 per cent of the immense US automobile market (GM roughly 40 per cent, Ford 25 per cent and Chrysler 12 per cent).

Image: The US automobile majors are heading for a crash as they grapple with the worst sales slump in more than 25 years, along with frozen consumer credit. Gert Eggenberger/Getty Images

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