The American auto industry didn't exactly die, remember. It just changed the game a lot, you know. The companies may not all be based in America, but a lot of it is still out there.
I mean, Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile and Hummer got picked up by Magna, Chevrolet and Cadillac by Penske Automotive Group and Chrysler by General Dynamics and Fiat. Sure, that meant the former four became Canadian automakers and the latter a half-American/half-Italian breed, but they are still out there. They all still make cars, and after Bush's little fuckup here, Obama managed to get all he wanted through, and his health care plan's passage and the eventual coverage of everyone by government insurers made America a lot more competitive. People forget that we make more cars now than we did in 2008, you know. It's just that Magna, Penske, Chrysler General Dynamics and Ford are now also joined by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Renault, Subaru and Audi. The industry died for that while, but when it came back, it not only brought America back, it buried the Republicans. Who has forgotten Rand Paul visiting Detroit in September 2020? Whoever it was who got him in the nuts with that football, may you live long and prosper.
And by the way, I just got picked up my new Oldsmobile Aurora, the one with the ethanol-fueled V10 and the deep-tone plastic body. You could almost swim in the color on this thing, it's fast as all hell and yet so cushy to drive you could live in it. It's gonna be a great car for a long time, I think....