70s Recollection

Over the past four to six decades, many changes have occurred in all industries. Some industries survived the changes while others disappeared from our environment.  Those that survived, have gone through some major changes.  Both in their processes and the way their business is managed.

For over thirty years, I've primarily worked in the automotive industry and have personally seen drastic changes throughout this timespan.  It's amazing how this reflects in the amount of cars seen on the roads today from all over the globe, including North America (Canada, USA, Mexico), Europe, United Kingdom, Asia and Japan.  (I'm separating Japan from the rest of Asia because they were the first country to produce and export vehicles to both North America and Europe).

When I first started working in the automotive industry, there was far less a variety of choice in vehicle models compared to what's out there today.  I started driving in Belgium during the mid 70s and remember most of the cars on the road being European built.  We had a small availability of North American "muscle cars", which was something every European guy was just dreaming to drive.  Unfortunately, high gas consumption and taxes on big powered engines prohibited our access to these cars.  

I recall small Japanese vehicles starting to penetrate the European market back in the late 70s.  Those cars were made by Toyota and Datsun (known as Nissan today). Although everyone was sceptical about the quality, durability and performance of these cars, the price was so attractive that people started buying them anyways.  Yes, there were some disappointments with these vehicles, but customers were still pleased with their Japanese vehicles nevertheless.  Toyota has since worked hard on improving these issues and over time has reached their present success.