How Ford almost started a small-car revolution in the ’60s

Enlarge / This was supposed to be Ford’s answer to the VW Beetle, a small, light, efficient, front-wheel drive car called Cardinal. (credit: Ford)

Between 100 percent tariffs and now an impending ban on software, it’s clear that America’s auto industry is more than a little worried about having its lunch eaten by heavily subsidized Chinese car makers. But it’s far from the first time that the suits in Detroit have seen storm clouds arriving from far-off lands.

In 1957, Detroit automakers’ dominance of the US market seemed unbeatable. Smaller, independent American automakers Studebaker, Packard, Nash, Hudson, Kaiser, and Willys-Overland underwent various mergers to match the might of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler to little avail.

Yet America’s Big Three faced a small but growing problem: foreign automakers.