Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Join this channel to get early access to new videos a week ahead of their public release:
youtube.com/channel/UCC8R7kmt-W14zWUcr8mymEQ/join
This is a reworked and reuploaded version of the original video.
Howdy! :D
In a major reworking of my original video on the Malaise Era, which I felt a little unsatisfied about, I have now created this two-part series on the Rise and Fall of the American Motor Industry, with Part 2 starting at the height of the Malaise Era, immediately in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, and follows the development of the American carmakers on a year-by-year basis through the trials of CAFE, the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the early 1980s recession.
Throughout all these owes, the American car industry, alongside having to fight off the wider geopolitical and economic situation, had to contend with the arrival in significant quantities of foreign builders in the form of Honda, Volkswagen, Datsun, Mercedes-Benz and more, which set up permanent factories within the United States itself, allowing them to overcome transportation costs and import tariffs, meaning the US domestic builders would have to evolve in order to face a market where their rivals were now in their own heartland, thus demanding according changes to their models, practices and policies in order to remain relevant.
Chapters:
0:00 - Preamble
0:33 - 1975 - The Rise of CAFE
9:30 - 1976 - Subcompact Scramble
17:14 - 1977 - Full Facelift
22:35 - 1978 - Fledgling Resurgence
29:33 - 1979 - The Iranian Revolution
41:35 - 1979 - Chrysler Faces Collapse
51:50 - 1980 - Hard Realignment
55:48 - 1981 - Reaganomic Reorganisation
1:01:49 - 1982 - The Japanese Make Landfall
1:08:57 - 1983 - The Road to Recovery
1:14:40 - The Long Hard Road to Today
1:21:55 - Conclusion
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated YouTubers. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
Press the Join button to get access to new videos a week ahead of schedule by becoming a channel member for just £2.99 a month!
Paypal: paypal.me/rorymacve?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/rorymacve
Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Car and Driver (and their respective sources)
- Hemmings (and their respective sources)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
Join this channel to get early access to new videos a week ahead of their public release:
youtube.com/channel/UCC8R7kmt-W14zWUcr8mymEQ/join
This is a reworked and reuploaded version of the original video.
Howdy! :D
In a major reworking of my original video on the Malaise Era, which I felt a little unsatisfied about, I have now created this two-part series on the Rise and Fall of the American Motor Industry, with Part 2 starting at the height of the Malaise Era, immediately in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, and follows the development of the American carmakers on a year-by-year basis through the trials of CAFE, the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the early 1980s recession.
Throughout all these owes, the American car industry, alongside having to fight off the wider geopolitical and economic situation, had to contend with the arrival in significant quantities of foreign builders in the form of Honda, Volkswagen, Datsun, Mercedes-Benz and more, which set up permanent factories within the United States itself, allowing them to overcome transportation costs and import tariffs, meaning the US domestic builders would have to evolve in order to face a market where their rivals were now in their own heartland, thus demanding according changes to their models, practices and policies in order to remain relevant.
Chapters:
0:00 - Preamble
0:33 - 1975 - The Rise of CAFE
9:30 - 1976 - Subcompact Scramble
17:14 - 1977 - Full Facelift
22:35 - 1978 - Fledgling Resurgence
29:33 - 1979 - The Iranian Revolution
41:35 - 1979 - Chrysler Faces Collapse
51:50 - 1980 - Hard Realignment
55:48 - 1981 - Reaganomic Reorganisation
1:01:49 - 1982 - The Japanese Make Landfall
1:08:57 - 1983 - The Road to Recovery
1:14:40 - The Long Hard Road to Today
1:21:55 - Conclusion
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated YouTubers. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
Press the Join button to get access to new videos a week ahead of schedule by becoming a channel member for just £2.99 a month!
Paypal: paypal.me/rorymacve?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/rorymacve
Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Car and Driver (and their respective sources)
- Hemmings (and their respective sources)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
