It would hardly be an understatement to say the U.S. auto industry has historically been one of the country’s primary economic growth engines. The assembly line of the Model T days would go on to permanently reshape manufacturing work, and transportation infrastructure and cities were built around Americans’ unrelenting car-centric culture.
But despite its outsized role in the 20th century U.S. economy, the nation’s once-unmatched auto industry is now struggling to keep up with global competitors. And it’s not just carmakers who are smarting. If the U.S. auto industry’s decline proves permanent, the country’s national and strategic security could be at risk, too.
