I didn't mention the unions, I suppose that the bad labor relations had a lot to do with problems regarding inertia. At the same time, I think we shouldn't blame only unions, labor relations depend on both unions and the company's administration. At the very least, strong unions don't seem to have hurt the Germans much, even if they sit at the table where decisions are taken regarding the company.
I agree that Asian cars didn't influence much, I only mentioned the Asian cars in the context of the Big 3, ie the American car industry. The Asian cars did to the American industry what the French, German and Italian cars did to the British industry, expose its weaknesses and lack of innovation and steal its market share.