This conspiracy is part of the American public transportation history: the idea General Motors company conspired to destroy the streetcar systems in the United States cities to increase the sales of the automobiles produced by the company.
Evidence for
The market saturation led GM to lost $65 million, that those who desired cars already owned them, and the only way to increase GM's sales and restore its profitability was by eliminating its principal rival: electric railways.
General Motors tried to reduce competition from electric railways through a variety of measures, including the use of freight leverage. Using its influence and threats, GM persuaded railroads to abandon their electric rail subsidiaries and to convert its electric street …show more content…
Additionally, buses shared the cost of infrastructure with other vehicles, such as cars and trucks. On the other hand, streetcar owners had to pay the total costs of their infrastructure.
When the local companies converted streetcar into buses, the National City Lines (incorporated by General Motors, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California and Phillips Petroleum, as mentioned before) made sure the buses were from General Motors, the tires from Firestone, and the fuel from Chevron or Phillips, depending on the region of the country. (American Dream Coalition, 2002)
In 1949, GM had been convicted of conspiring with others in the automotive industry "to monopolize the sale of supplies used by the local transportation companies controlled by the City Lines defendants." (Slater, 1997)
Several local companies controlled by National City Lines still operated streetcars when GM left the company, so it is possible to conclude that GM was not pushing National City towards abandoning its streetcar lines faster than it would have done anyway. From more than 800 cities that had streetcars in the early 1900s, only 6 still had them in 1966. Moreover, only about 24 were owned by National City when GM and its partners controlled that company. (American Dream Coalition,
Evidence for
The market saturation led GM to lost $65 million, that those who desired cars already owned them, and the only way to increase GM's sales and restore its profitability was by eliminating its principal rival: electric railways.
General Motors tried to reduce competition from electric railways through a variety of measures, including the use of freight leverage. Using its influence and threats, GM persuaded railroads to abandon their electric rail subsidiaries and to convert its electric street …show more content…
Additionally, buses shared the cost of infrastructure with other vehicles, such as cars and trucks. On the other hand, streetcar owners had to pay the total costs of their infrastructure.
When the local companies converted streetcar into buses, the National City Lines (incorporated by General Motors, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California and Phillips Petroleum, as mentioned before) made sure the buses were from General Motors, the tires from Firestone, and the fuel from Chevron or Phillips, depending on the region of the country. (American Dream Coalition, 2002)
In 1949, GM had been convicted of conspiring with others in the automotive industry "to monopolize the sale of supplies used by the local transportation companies controlled by the City Lines defendants." (Slater, 1997)
Several local companies controlled by National City Lines still operated streetcars when GM left the company, so it is possible to conclude that GM was not pushing National City towards abandoning its streetcar lines faster than it would have done anyway. From more than 800 cities that had streetcars in the early 1900s, only 6 still had them in 1966. Moreover, only about 24 were owned by National City when GM and its partners controlled that company. (American Dream Coalition,