American car makers famously unsubsidized and holding up their own pants.

Pretty sure big oil and car companies have been bailed out by the US government in the past. Plus america designs most of its cities so that you need to own a car. Seems like both markets are equally "free" at the end of the day.

Alternatively we could start subsiding local car makers

We have been. Bailout after bailout. For the longest fucking time, and have had insane trade rules and tarrigs in place for decades and decades. I'd argue this is what it looks like to have another country finally being able to play on a level playing field.

They have never considered actually competing have they?

Well they wouldn't if not for that hefty bailout by the American taxpayers that they got back in 2008.

„Free market“? Speaking of hypocrisy. Chinese car brands are so heavily subsidized they probably cost the Chinese economy more than they make selling them at the moment. China is clearly trying to drown the global market with cheap cars so they can ramp up prices immensely once they have killed the competition and have become a monopoly. China hasn‘t been the extreme low income country to produce super cheaply for a long time and they couldn‘t produce cars this cheap in a free market situation.

Many countries and the EU have measures against such practices because state run operations with the sole purpose to destroy an industry (which this is) undermine the very idea of the free market or even trade relationships.

Alternatively we could start subsiding local car makers and play the same little game China is playing but more cars is honestly the last thing we need right now. Tariffs are a much smoother option to deal with this even when they have a bad rep.

Ideally we use that generated money from tariffs to subsidize public transport so we don‘t get cheaper cars but cheaper alternatives but that‘s still just a dream I‘m afraid.

Whatever the case, one should look at super cheap cars and what that means in the long run more critically.

Really, why is that? Is it maybe you are too greedy and make garbage? Is it? Hun?

Fuck executives.

A one time loan which made money is hardly a subsidy by comparison to China right now. That's an absurd comparison. Apples to oranges. Hell apples to baseballs.

Pretty sure big oil and car companies have been bailed out by the US government in the past. Plus america designs most of its cities so that you need to own a car. Seems like both markets are equally "free" at the end of the day.

That's part of it, but it also helps that the Chinese government heavily subsidizes their auto industry.

Thus, not sustainable, as I said.

First the enshittified the food

Then the health care

Then every consumer product

Finally they enshittified the nation itself

It worked for Wal-Mart

Which isn't really a sustainable business model, but it's quite successful

There is also CAFE standards that made small, effecient vehicles require extremely high emissions standards while allowing looser standards for larger, less effecient vehicles. Effectively limiting foriegn market influence while increasing both the price and size of the average vehicle on American roads.

Ford was the only one not to take a buyout, FYI.

Ford wouldn't survive BYD either, though.

Greed rules the Western world.

the Chinese are really good at low cost manufacturing

They're not "good" at it, they just have no minimum wage and no semblance of annoying things like worker protections or unions to be concerned with.