Why did classic American luxury disappear?

Why did classic American luxury disappear?

(((EPA)))

>implying you can't make a big car with an engine that doesn't pollute

Because it was a pile of shit whose technological development stopped roughly in 1960 with the exception of gadgets like air conditioning, while material and assembly quality kept worsening.

A variety of factors but the biggest was the manufacturers producing junk that got worse every year.

damn i love those 75-78 Eldorados

people realized how awful they were and European cars took over

Air conditioning existed on American cars before 1960 bud.

economy tanked.

it was in the 70's when small and economical cars started gaining popularity.

luxobarges were a product of postwar opulence. once the high wore off, we can crashing back down to reality.

also population started increasing, so people in cities started wanting smaller.

I always see people going on about "technology" not being the latest in the American luxury car style but the fact is those that buy such cars don't really care that it doesn't have the latest thousand-link suspension and laps the 'ring like nothing has before. What they care about is the car being comfy, solidly built, and a good deal for the money spent. Detroit forgot all three and got it's ass handed to it by imports.

In a very rudimentary form with a huge trunk mounted unit and vents going through the cabin, and even then only since 1953 as a manufacturer option if I recall correctly. Air conditioning as we know it only became commonplace in luxury cars in the '60s, and far later in average cars.

>What they care about is the car being comfy, solidly built, and a good deal for the money spent.
Yeah, but why should I buy a 1980 Detroit brand luxury car if it's the same thing as a 1963 Detroit luxury car, only with new styling? Meanwhile import luxury is just as comfortable and doesn't squeal the tires during every turn above 5 mph.

Actually Nash had a fully engine mounted air conditioning unit in 1954 and by the end of the 50s most manufacturers followed suit. In fact air conditioning was not a super rare option and 20% of cars bought in 1960 had it

>At the summit of the automaker's craft
Translation
>This is the what we came up with with as little effort put in.

do you speaka engrish?

because what is a good luxury car?
define that and you might have your answer.
my definition is a car made of the highest quality, which is NOT what the car in op represents.

more like a Lexus LS400. this is a quality car.

pic related will break long before a Lexus LS400. sure its a personal luxury car, but its built like a mercedes

yeah but the car in OP is way more attractive than any modern plastic soap bar car

also Eldorados didn't turn to shit until 1979

Customer base died of old age

>also Eldorados didn't turn to shit until 1979

they were still kind of mundane, and while they had ~decent~ engines the accessories weren't as good as the engines were.
i really don't think they were even as good of a mercedes of the same year. and i have a low opinion of mercedes

sure the accessories weren't great but that styling gives me a hard on

Became associated with nigger drug dealers/pimps.

Can't imagine what it must be like being stupid and racist like you. The fact that you actually think this and aren't shitposting is sad.

...

is somebody trigger'd

Me gusta mi comfy lancha

Same...

>tfw I'll never get a coupe Fleetwood

Do you know where you are?

The 1940s, 50s, and 60s were booming with post war confidence. The dollar was strong, the family nuclear, and the job market was flourishing. Then a lot of social changes took root thanks to the Communist faggot kikes, and America started heading down the toilet for good. In the 70s and 80s American automakers were producing sub par unreliable vehicles. The only people buying American luxury cars where retirees, and it wasn't sustainable. They didn't have a big enough market to draw on. Then Cadillac became the black brand.
The last hurrah for Cadillac was the Sixteen. That was their crowning achievement and their death song. The era of American luxury was dead and buried for good then.

>luxury
>economy

style isn't what makes a luxury car. pic VERY related

it's a fucking landbarge, not a luxury car

best barge of all time

> Air conditioning
> A gadget

Sorry we can't still have libraries subbing for internet grandpa, but many of the changes made are for the better. OP's image shows a car that is largely inferior in safety (pancake if ever rolled over) and convenience (literal landbarge tougher to drive than a fucking suburban around town). Modern cars only need a few tweaks and they would be fine. With the right attention to detail we could turn out cars that rival the British/German luxury marks at less than half the cost, which is all we used to do.

>GM
>luxury

Another underage on Veeky Forums...

Actually compared to our euro shitboxes american cars were still great in the 70s and 80s, its the 90s and early 00s when american cars were inferior and unfortionatelly this bad rep from this short period of time still lives today

Kek

Because modern buyers want sportiness and fuel efficiency. Do you really think a normie would want to be caught dead among the acres of warm woodgrain and plush leather seats? No, they want black hard-touch plastic on all surfaces, with black cloth seats that come from the factory with lint and pet hair permanently embedded in them.

Plus government safety standards outlawed anything fun, exciting, or comfortable. Now drivers must be encased in cars that have more airbags than Indonesia has islands. With seats that are hard as rocks, to ensure the occupant is not misplaced in a crash.

ur right
vantage a shit

god that thing is hideous

The Continental is outselling all foreign full size luxury cars apart from the S-Class right now. I think it's starting to come back.

EPA yup

>Lexus LS400.
bulletproof, ran the hell outa one for a few years.
that thing went 100mph EVERYWHERE. lol

But the continental is conpetition for the 5 series, so of course it outsells full size sedans, they arent that popular

no it isnt

S class it outselling it

a car that is almost twice as expensive

its actual competition outsells it hard

Gas crisis called for smaller engines and imports filled that niche