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American car companies and WWII

To: mgs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: American car companies and WWII
From: "Scott Gardner" <gardner@lwcomm.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 00:17:42 +0000
> <<  Would american manufacturers ever make a compact car if
>  the japanese hadn't done it first?
>   >>
> > The Japanese didn't do it first.......you need to read up there, Trevor.  
>The
> > Jap industry was seeded by- you guessed it!- the British after WW2.
> 
> It was my understanding that it was the Americans that sorted out Japanese 
> industry after WWII.  The British saw to Germany, particularly VW.
> 
> PaulH.
> 
Read a history of the automotive market called "Car Wars" recently, 
and found some interesting stuff. Turns out that during the 40's Ford 
and GM considered themselves "international" companies, and above 
such petty squabbles as a world war, so they continued to sell 
military vehicles to the Nazis DURING the war.  After the war, GM 
received compensation from the US government for damage to their 
plants in Germany from ALLIED bombing runs.  Not to mention Henry 
Ford's $50,000 birthday check to Hitler.  Just some of the things 
you'll NEVER see in the brochures for car companies...
Scott
Scott Gardner
gardner@lwcomm.com
www.lwcomm.com/~gardner

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