continued to prosper, and the U.S. produced three-quarters of all automobiles in the world by 1950, 8.0 million out of 10.6 million produced. In 1908, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one automobile, while 50 percent did in 1948 and 75 percent did in 1960. Imports from abroad were a minor factor before the 1960s.

Beginning in the 1970s, a combination of high oil prices and increased competition from foreign auto manufacturers severely affected the US companies. In the ensuing years, the US companies periodically bounced back,