Page 105 - Accelerating out of the Great Recession

ACCELERATING OUT OF THE GREAT RECESSION

attempt to catch up, Ford rushed a new V8 model to market in
1932. However, the new model was poorly positioned for the
value-conscious Great Depression market—it was both more
expensive and less reliable than its competitors.
Ford survived the Great Depression, of course, but not with-
out scars. It took years for the company to recover some of the
share loss that it suffered in those turbulent years.

■ THE REST OF THE MARKET: ■
ALSO-RANS

Virtually all the smaller companies competed in the expensive
or midpriced segments of the market. They were highly exposed
to sharp drops in sales as demand fell away. They were slow to
cut costs and introduce low-priced models. Apart from
Chrysler, the small players either went out of business or lost so
much market share that they could no longer compete effec-
tively. Packard, a luxury brand, did not introduce a midpriced
model until 1935.
The year 1937 saw the creation of the most unlikely combi-
nation when Nash Motors merged (presumably for misguided
reasons of synergy) with Kelvinator—a refrigeration and appli-
ance company—and created the hot-water car heater and a vac-
uum gear-change system. But with little market share and a
substantial scale disadvantage, the company was unable to
exploit its inventions.
By the mid-1950s, unable to make up the ground they had
lost during the Great Depression, none of the smaller brand
names remained as stand-alone automobile companies.

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