1967 Motorola 9” portable

[davet753]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

Well, then what where the reasons for U.S.A. tv industry (and generally electronic consumer industry) went down?

Our conversation has drifted from the OP, but that's all right, it's been interesting.

I think the TV industry decline was multi-faceted. In the 1970's, the American brands focused on gaudy, plastic-filled, pressboard console televisions and entertainment centers while the foreign brands tended towards modern styled table models and portables. By the 1980's, consumer tastes moved away from the cheap furniture models the American brands were pushing towards the sleek styling of the imports.

In the 1980's, the import brands started innovating and were neck-and-neck with their American counterparts. Dumping hurt the small American players by the 70's, and we saw once proud brands like Motorola, Westinghouse, Admiral, and the like shrinking or selling out.

Several import TV manufacturers also done a good job of improving their quality and dependability in the 1970's, which surely helped their sales improve.

I also think evolving views on buying imported goods came about in the 60's and 70's. A good many of the older generation wouldn't have bought anything Japanese as long as there was an American made option. Lots of families who lost loved ones in WW2 would have never consider driving a Japanese or German car, but as they say, time heals all wounds.

Somebody posted a youtube link about what part Nixon's trade policies played. That's an interesting angle I hadn't considered before, so I'll watch that.