5 years or so before WW2, 1 out of 49 people owned a car in Germany, compared to 1 out of 6 people in America.
A great testimony for the Ford, not so much for the Benz.
Many of the cars in Germany was Fords - so that proves nothing, Mike. :-)
5 years or so before WWII, almost all German industry was making weapons for their military, and the people were only promised a Volks Wagen.
Now it is us sacrificing for our bloated defense industry.
F-35 can't turn, can't climb, can't run:
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/07/14/pentagons-big-budget-f-35-fight er-cant-turn-cant-climb-cant-run/
The $400 Billion cost they quote is just for the planes. Total program cost projected to be $1.5 Trillion: 10% of our national debt.
Automobile ownership is not necessarily a sign of prosperity:
We'll hold the distinction of being the only Nation in the history of the world that ever went to the poor house in an automobile.
Compared to some Americans, the Joads were rich....I know several in my family that never owned a car, much less took a ride in one.
I suspect any T owner is more than familiar with the way Americans pushed old cars into ravines or left them to rot in fields rather than keep them up. There is car ownership and there is responsible car ownership, just as there are people who procreate and there are good parents. Let's not pretend they are the same thing.