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A good friend of mine from GM recently visited our nation’s capital and, this being his first DC trip in years, was appalled by the automotive scene. In this town, the center of US government, the repository of political intelligence (excuse the oxymoron), the seat of Congress, the White House, the Pentagon and countless government agencies employing teeming thousands of federal employees (theoretically our servants), the roads are fairly awash in imported cars of every size, body style, brand and price range.
“I saw more Porsches than Chevrolet Cruzes,” he sadly noted.
It does seem that a lot of Washington‘s manifest sense of “We’re special” is reflected in vehicle choices: Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus, plus a plethora of minor players, dominate the scene. Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick or Chrysler and other worthy US brands are rare sights indeed.
So, here are our exalted federal employees, some of whom arguably merit the term “ineptocrat”, who feel that high-end imported cars (and low end ones, too for that matter) are more befitting of their station than the much-scorned “American Iron”. They seem oblivious to the fact that the US automobile industry, with its tendrils reaching into almost every branch of commerce, pays a lot of their generous compensation, retirement and healthcare.
Decades ago, exercising my usual tact, I would routinely ask members of congress why they owned a foreign make.
The answer was usually “I’d love to buy an American car, but the quality just isn’t up to import standards”. It is now at least the equal of the best of the imports.
“I’d buy American in a heartbeat, but American cars use too much gas”. They now, category by category, meet or beat the best of the imports. “I’ll buy an American car when they exhibit European ride and handling”. News Flash: road manners have almost become a Detroit area of superiority. “I want to buy a Detroit brand, but the styling is lousy and the interiors are a cheap”. Open your eyes, guys: styling, paint, interiors, panel fits, detail finish of many US brands now put lots of German cars to shame.
There is near unanimity among automotive journalists that the impossible has happened: the three best compact sedans on the market are produced by Chevrolet, Ford and, based on early evaluations of the “Dart”, Chrysler. And yet….and yet…. Washingtonians blindly buy their Civics and Corollas, as if nothing had changed.
Ladies and Gentlemen of DC, all your historic excuses have evaporated: the American car companies are building vehicles that are world-class in every respect. And yet…the seat of our government continues to worship imports.
I guarantee that you will NOT encounter that situation in Berlin, Paris, Seoul or Tokyo. Their “elites” feel a sense of pride and obligation to their domestic industry and the wealth it produces. A German member of the Bundestag would be ashamed to drive other than a German car.
Not so here, not in Washington. (I find I can almost excuse it in the case of California, they feel detached from the rest of the country anyway….but isn’t there some of that sentiment in the grown-up Disney World we call “Washington”?)
As I see it, there is only one reason now to prefer import brands to American: social acceptance, snobbery and the need to enhance one’s inadequate sense of self.
Full article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/boblutz/2012/05/31/irritating-the-foreign-cars-of-washingtons-elite/2/
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