On September 11, 2001, Michael Campbell watched the horrific sight of two planes crashing into the World Trade Center in New York City on television.

The first thing he did was call Adrian Robinson, then chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).

"He said, 'are you watching the start of World War III'?" Campbell recalled asking. "I said to him, 'everything change now'."

Campbell's ominous prediction was spot on.

At the time, he was president of the Jamaica U-Drive Association and managing director of Island Car Rentals. He said the terrorist strike's impact on the local rent-a-car sector was devastating.

"Those were very nervous times. The uncertainty was the most un-nerving thing," Campbell said.

The Jamaica U-Drive Association was formed in 1969. Its lifeline has always been the tourism industry which provides the bulk of its clientele, many of whom live in the United States.

With the fear of another strike weighing on the minds of Americans, flying was the last thing on their minds eight years ago. The tourist sector, Jamaica's biggest earner of foreign exchange, suffered from the massive drop in arrivals.

huddling frantically

Campbell was also a member of the JTB. He remembers the U-Drive Association huddling frantically with other tourism interests to find ways to survive.

"Our members had to be pro-active. I remember several of them had to sell down their fleet," Campbell said.

Not all areas of the local auto industry buckled in the aftermath of 9/11.

Marjorie Borough, marketing manager at Stewart's Auto Sales, the local dealer for Suzuki, said it was business as usual.

"There were no delays, our shipments came in on time every month," she told Automotives. relief effort

The United States auto industry was one of few that came away from 9/11 unscathed. In fact, the country's leading manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, donated millions of dollars to the relief effort.

Michael Campbell, who is still managing director at Island Car Rentals, says it would be some time before the Jamaica U-Drive Association's members began experiencing some form of stability.

"It was not until 2003 that things started picking up. Even a year after, the airlines were still getting things back in place and flying was still a traumatic thing for people," he said.