And the American worker paid a lot more for that 1958 Chevy. Slick Madison Avenue advertising, ever-larger tail fins, and chrome trim served to hide the reality. U.S. industry had been persuaded to commit systematic suicide, cheating the customer to make up for falling profits. But like the drunk falling from a 20-story window, who imagines at first that he is enjoying the free flight, most would not realize the real implications of this 1960s ‘post-industrial’ drift for another ten or twenty years.