Trust and power : consumers, the modern corporation, and the making of the United States automobile market

Sally H. Clarke

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From the Collections of the Henry Ford. Negative number P.833.49148.

The Fifteenth Millionth Model T (the last one) with Henry and Edsel Ford, 1927. Henry Ford was forced to shut down production because the Model T’s market share had slumped. The experience served as a painful lesson that the low price of the Model T did not sustain the brand’s sales.

Figure 3.1 The Fifteenth Millionth Model T (the last one) with Henry and Edsel Ford, 1927. Henry Ford was forced to shut down production because the Model T’s market share had slumped. The experience served as a painful lesson that the low price of the Model T did not sustain the brand’s sales.

Courtesy of the Detroit Public Library, National Automotive History Collection.

Olds Motor Works Factory, circa 1901.

Figure 1.01 Olds Motor Works Factory, circa 1901.

Sources: For the market share of GM’s five brands, see Ronald Henry Wolf, “General Motors: A Study of the Firm’s Growth, Its External Relationships, and Internal Organization” (Ph.D. dissertation, Vanderbilt University, 1962), Appendix C, Table 2, 479-80; for the 1954 median prices of the five brands, see Table .

Market Share and Median Prices for General Motors’ Five Brands, 1954 Notes: The pyramid represents the market share for new cars held by the five GM brands in 1954, beginning with Chevrolet and moving up to the top brand, Cadillac. GM’s total market share was 50.7 percent, and the five brands each claimed the following shares: Chevrolet, 25.6 percent; Pontiac, 6.5 percent; Oldsmobile, 7.4 percent; Buick, 9.3 percent; and Cadillac 2.0 percent. The pyramid is stylized since the market shares do not represent an exact pyramid. My pyramid is based on a revised model of a price pyramid created by James M. Rubenstein in Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Automotive Industry (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 206.

Figure 7.2 Market Share and Median Prices for General Motors’ Five Brands, 1954 Notes: The pyramid represents the market share for new cars held by the five GM brands in 1954, beginning with Chevrolet and moving up to the top brand, Cadillac. GM’s total market share was 50.7 percent, and the five brands each claimed the following shares: Chevrolet, 25.6 percent; Pontiac, 6.5 percent; Oldsmobile, 7.4 percent; Buick, 9.3 percent; and Cadillac 2.0 percent. The pyramid is stylized since the market shares do not represent an exact pyramid. My pyramid is based on a revised model of a price pyramid created by James M. Rubenstein in Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Automotive Industry (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 206.

From the Collections of the Henry Ford. Negative number P.O. 18458.

General Motors Art and Colour Section, late 1920s. Although the Art and Colour Section went on to be a large division within GM, it began with a modest staff of ten designers.

Figure 5.3 General Motors Art and Colour Section, late 1920s. Although the Art and Colour Section went on to be a large division within GM, it began with a modest staff of ten designers.

Volkswagen, 1965.

Figure 7.02 Volkswagen, 1965.

Buick Automobile Dealership, circa 1909. This photograph was taken around the time when Donald MacPherson purchased his Buick runabout.

Figure 2.3 Buick Automobile Dealership, circa 1909. This photograph was taken around the time when Donald MacPherson purchased his Buick runabout.

Courtesy of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum.

Cord 810.

Figure 5.05 Cord 810.

Cord 810.

Figure 5.03 Cord 810.

Adam Smith

Figure I.01 Adam Smith

Walter P. Chrysler, 1924. Chrysler had mimicked GM’s marketing strategy, but he also counted on close ties to suppliers to break into the low-price, high-volume segment of the market.

Figure 3.3 Walter P. Chrysler, 1924. Chrysler had mimicked GM’s marketing strategy, but he also counted on close ties to suppliers to break into the low-price, high-volume segment of the market.

Women’s New York to Philadelphia Run, 1909.

Figure 1.06 Women’s New York to Philadelphia Run, 1909.

Automobile Accident.

Figure 2.01 Automobile Accident.

A Curved-Dash Oldsmobile, 1902. Manufacturers conducted many stunts during the early 1900s. The events served different purposes which ranged from displaying vehicles’ novelty to convincing potential car buyers of the machines’ sound operation.

Figure 1.1 A Curved-Dash Oldsmobile, 1902. Manufacturers conducted many stunts during the early 1900s. The events served different purposes which ranged from displaying vehicles’ novelty to convincing potential car buyers of the machines’ sound operation.

Importing VW Bugs, 1962. As an affordable and sturdy vehicle, the Bug offered an important alternative to Detroit’s price ladder of brands.

Figure 7.4 Importing VW Bugs, 1962. As an affordable and sturdy vehicle, the Bug offered an important alternative to Detroit’s price ladder of brands.

Cord 810.

Figure 5.02 Cord 810.

Roy D. Chapin, with curved dashed Oldsmobile.

Figure 1.02 Roy D. Chapin, with curved dashed Oldsmobile.

Sources: For the distribution of income in 1954, including the lower limit income for each quintile, see Table ; and for purchases of cars by income groups, see “1955 Survey of Consumer Finances: Purchases of Durable Goods in 1954,” Federal Reserve Bulletin 41 (May 1955): 475.

Distribution of Car Sales by Income Groups, 1954. Notes: New cars were concentrated among the richest thirty-eight percent of the population; families in the top and middle income groups accounted for most used car sales; and families in the bottom twenty percent of the population bought few cars. My pyramid is based on a revised model of a price pyramid created by James M. Rubenstein in Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Automotive Industry (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 206.

Figure 7.3 Distribution of Car Sales by Income Groups, 1954. Notes: New cars were concentrated among the richest thirty-eight percent of the population; families in the top and middle income groups accounted for most used car sales; and families in the bottom twenty percent of the population bought few cars. My pyramid is based on a revised model of a price pyramid created by James M. Rubenstein in Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Automotive Industry (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 206.

HEB Id	Title	Authors	Publication Information
heb04041.0001.001	The Art of American Car Design: The Profession and Personalities.	Armi, C. Edson .	University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988.
	A Consumer's Republic: The Politics of Mass Consuption in Postwar America.	Cohen, Lizabeth.	New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.
heb04043.0001.001	Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States.	Hirschman, Albert O.	Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970.
heb04049.0001.001	From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States.	Hounshell, David A.	Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.
	Twentieth-Century Limited: Industrial Design in America, 1925-1939.	Meikle, Jeffrey L.	Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979.
heb04045.0001.001	Ford: The Times, the Man, the Company.	Nevins, Allan, and Frank Ernest Hill.	New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1954.
HEB94045.0002.001	Ford: Expansion and Challenge, 1915-1933.	Nevins, Allan, and Frank Ernest Hill.	New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1957.
heb04045.0003.001	Ford: Decline and Rebirth, 1933-1962.	Nevins, Allan, and Frank Ernest Hill.	New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964.
	My Years with General Motors.	Sloan, Alfred P.	New York: Doubleday, 1963.

Trust and power : consumers, the modern corporation, and the making of the United States automobile market

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The Fifteenth Millionth Model T (the last one) with Henry and Edsel Ford, 1927. Henry Ford was forced to shut down production because the Model T’s market share had slumped. The experience served as a painful lesson that the low price of the Model T did not sustain the brand’s sales.

Olds Motor Works Factory, circa 1901.

General Motors Art and Colour Section, late 1920s. Although the Art and Colour Section went on to be a large division within GM, it began with a modest staff of ten designers.

Volkswagen, 1965.

Buick Automobile Dealership, circa 1909. This photograph was taken around the time when Donald MacPherson purchased his Buick runabout.

Cord 810.

Cord 810.

Adam Smith

Walter P. Chrysler, 1924. Chrysler had mimicked GM’s marketing strategy, but he also counted on close ties to suppliers to break into the low-price, high-volume segment of the market.

Women’s New York to Philadelphia Run, 1909.

Automobile Accident.

A Curved-Dash Oldsmobile, 1902. Manufacturers conducted many stunts during the early 1900s. The events served different purposes which ranged from displaying vehicles’ novelty to convincing potential car buyers of the machines’ sound operation.

Importing VW Bugs, 1962. As an affordable and sturdy vehicle, the Bug offered an important alternative to Detroit’s price ladder of brands.

Cord 810.

Roy D. Chapin, with curved dashed Oldsmobile.

A Packard’s 1903 Transcontinental Tour.

Canongate Church

Chicago Floral Parade, 1910.

Trust and power : consumers, the modern corporation, and the making of the United States automobile market

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