In the 1970s, Americans shifted their attention to smaller, more reliable, high-mileage foreign imports. In fact, more than a million imports were registered by 1969. Meanwhile, American automakers were slow to respond. The U.S. auto industry, blinded by its own record of success, would lose customers by being unable to recognize sweeping changes in the global automobile market. Detroit exhibited arrogance. "We know what's best". That attitude blinded them, causing them to fail to manufacture products of uniformly high quality. In fact, in the 1970s, the Big Three continued to focus on their strengths: gas-hungry muscle cars; large, luxurious sedans; and mid-sized cars. Despite the impressive performance of the Volkswagen and other small foreign imports, U.S. automobile manufacturers continued to view the compact car car as a risky investment. In their thinking, the profit margin was too slim to justify an increase in production.