Neil Gould wrote:

Comparing apples to apples, your hypothesis wouldn't explain the fact that
auto manufacturers that saw the writing on the wall in the '70s and shaped
their businesses accordingly are now the successful companies.


Uhhh I'm not so sure I'd go that far and say they are now the most
successful companies. Since they "saw the handwriting" (I would call
more of facing the music) in the 70's as you say, Chrysler was bailed
out of bankrupcy, later General Motors stock went to junk status
over night and Ford has struggled. Plants were closed, concessions
were required of unions and quality needed upgrading to compete
with Japanese car makers (who are typically not unionized).

It would be hard to find another industry (other than the airplines)
that has struggled and suffered as much as the auto industry has
over the past 35 years. Small aviation struggled for quite a while
also in the 80's as a result of one lawsuit after another until
some protective (and very well needed) legislation was inacted.