Tuesday Open Line


For well over a century, Americans have been smitten with motor vehicles, and new models have long been a point of interest. Our appetite for cars was put on a crash diet this date in 1942 when the manufacturing of private vehicles was shut down for the duration of World War II. The auto companies instead were retooled to build tanks and planes and — of course — jeeps for the GIs. Sedans, trucks and ambulances were also made for military use. Production for civilian-use cars and trucks surged back to over 4 million units in 1946. Lately, America’s 257 automobile and light-duty motor vehicle manufacturing establishments employ nearly 130,000 workers. Annual sales of over 15 million passenger vehicles and trucks are valued at $205 billion. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.