HomeStocks564 Defunct U.S. Motor Vehicle Manufacturers
564 Defunct U.S. Motor Vehicle Manufacturers
May 14, 2009 Mark J. Perry
There's an interesting Wikipedia listing of the 564 "Defunct Motor Vehicle Manufacturers of the United States."
More than 500 American automobile manufacturers have failed, or were acquired, over the last 100 years for one reason or another, primarily due to the Schumpeterian forces of "creative destruction." As far I know, none of those 500 defunct auto manufacturers asked for, or was granted, government assistance, or received a government (aka taxpayer) bailout or loan. The now-defunct automakers (like Studebaker, see the 1953 Commander model pictured above) probably went through the bankruptcy and liquidation process like thousands of other firms that have not surviced in hundreds of different industries over the last hundred years.
Q: Why should there now be an exception for GM (GM), Ford (F) or Chrysler to get a government/taxpayer bailout when none of the 564 defunct companies received similar taxpayer assistance?
About Mark J. Perry	262 Articles
Affiliation: University of Michigan
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan.
He holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University in Washington, D.C. and an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Since 1997, Professor Perry has been a member of the Board of Scholars for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a nonpartisan research and public policy institute in Michigan.
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