It's been suggested that the US's domination of the auto market for many decades from the 1950s onward was largely the product of the manufacturing abilities of Japan and Germany being decimated by WWII.

My parents bought their first Japanese car (a Toyota Corolla) in 1980. It had front wheel drive, which was good for driving in the snow, and it got good gas mileage because it was small. These were two things you just couldn't get in a US-made automobile at the time.

You are right, smilingcat, that the problems with Detroit start at the top, not at the bottom with the workers. I don't think it's wrong for people to expect decent wages and benefits for an honest day's work. When I was growing up a blue-collar worker could buy a house in a good school district and provide a nice but not extravagant lifestyle for his family. That's the way it should be and we shouldn't be hatin' on Detroit autoworkers for expecting that.