Motor vehicles are prominent among the flows of exports and/or imports for Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United States, and these trade flows are heavily influenced by the basic relative competitiveness of the production processes for automotive manufacturing. In this book the authors analyze the factors that contributed to the comparative cost competitiviness of the four countries' automotive industries over the period 1961-1984 and disentangle the factors contributing to the Japanese cost and efficiency advantages. The authors provide estimates of comparative costs of automobile production (both short-run and long-run) and the sources of these cost differences, based on the econometric cost function methodology. An innovation is the careful treatment of capacity utilization, one of the most important sources of short-run cost and efficiency differences. This methodology is also used effectively in an analysis of the Canada-U.S. Auto Pact, a unique experiment in trade liberalization. Previous estimates of cost and efficiency differences using the plant inspection and comparison of company financial reports methodologies are also evaluated.

Originally published in 1999 after a decade of research and extensive interviews with some of Toyota's top executives, this book examines organizational purpose: what it is, how it is crafted, how does it relate to strategy and objectives and how does it relate to decisions and actions that ultimately produce organizational results. The author explains why Toyoto Motor Corporation was selected to study corporate purpose and examines the various factors that influence purpose. An overview is given of Toyota in the 1990s and its operating environment, particularly outlining the importance of the Japanes motor industry to Japanese society. Operational objectives of Toyota are analyzed and research findings, data and analysis related to Toyota's purpose are presented and the implications described. In the appendix, the detail of the research methodology of this study is included.

A 2017 Michigan Notable Book After World War II, the American automobile industry was reeling. Having spent years building tanks and airplanes for the army, the car companies would need years more to retool their production to meet the demands of the American public, for whom they had not made any cars since 1942.    And then in stepped Preston Tucker. This salesman extraordinaire from Ypsilanti, Michigan, had built race cars before the war, and had designed prototypes for the military during it. Now, gathering a group of brilliant automotive designers, engineers, and promoters, he announced the creation of a revolutionary new car: the Tucker '48, the first car in almost a decade to be built fresh from the ground up. Tucker's car would include ingenious advances in design and engineering that other car companies could not match. With a rear engine, rear-wheel drive, a safety-glass windshielf that would pop out in case of an accident, a padded dashboard, independent suspension, and automatic transmission, it would be more attractive and aerodynamic—and safer—than any other car on the road.    But as the public eagerly awaited Tucker's car of tomorrow, powerful forces in Washington were trying to bring him down. An SEC commissioner with close ties to Detroit's Big Three automakers deliberately leaked information about an investigation the agency was conducting, suggesting that Tucker was bilking investors with a massive fraud scheme. Headlines accused him a perpetrating a hoax and claimed that his cars weren't real and his factory was a sham.  In fact, the Tucker '48 sedan was genuine, and everyone who saw it was impressed by what this upstart carmaker had achieved. But the SEC's investigation had compounded the company's financial problems and management conflicts, and a superior product was not enough to keep Tucker's dream afloat.  Here, Steve Lehto tackles the story of Tucker's amazing rise and tragic fall, relying on a huge trove of documents that has been used by no other writer to date. It is the first comprehensive, authoritative account of Tucker's magnificent car and his battles with the government. And in this book, Lehto finally answers the questions automobile aficionados have wondered about for decades: Exactly how and why was the production of such an innovative car killed?

This contributed volume collects insights from industry professionals, policy makers and researchers on new and profitable business models in the field of electric vehicles (EV) for the mass market. This book includes approaches that address the optimization of total cost of ownership. Moreover, it presents alternative models of ownership, financing and leasing. The editors present state-of-the-art insights from international experts, including real-world case studies. The volume has been edited in the framework of the International Energy Agency's Implementing Agreement for Cooperation on Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (IA-HEV). The target audience primarily comprises practitioners and decision makers but the book may also be beneficial for research experts and graduate students.

Strategic success of industry depends upon manufacturing competencies (i.e., the competitive advantage to ensure better quality and reliability), which will increase sales and create a sound customer base. Competitive priorities are the operating advantages that are assessed, evaluated, and measured within the parameters of cost, quality, time, design, and flexibility. The book explains the manufacturing competencies upon which the strategic success of the automobile industry depends. The impact of manufacturing competency on strategic success is analyzed and modelled using suitable qualitative and quantitative techniques. Key Features Outlines manufacturing competencies in correlation with successful strategic planning for current manufacturing environment Provides methodology or guidelines for linking defined strategic plans with manufacturing competencies Defines strategic success in the context of the automobile industry Analyses and models manufacturing competency impacts using qualitative and quantitative techniques Develops qualitative models with real-time case studies

Praise from "Industry Week," January 2003
,,"."In Henry Ford's Lean Vision...Levinson shows how the father of American mass production toiled to eliminate waste, instituted just-in-time delivery of inventory, and applied many other tools now identified with lean...""

Japanese manufacturers have made concepts like "kaizen" (continuous improvement), "poka-yoke" (error-proofing), and "just-in-time" famous. When the Japanese began to adopt these techniques from the Ford Motor Company during the early twentieth century, they knew exactly what they were getting: "proven methods for mass-producing any product or delivering any service cheaply but well."

Henry Ford's methods, however, went well beyond the synergistic and mutually supporting techniques that constitute what we now call lean manufacturing. They included the "soft sciences," the organizational psychology that makes every employee a partner in the drive for success.

In "Henry Ford's Lean Vision," William A. Levinson draws from Henry Ford's writings, the procedures in his factories, and historical anecdotes about the birth of lean in Japan to show that the philosophy that revolutionized Japanese manufacturing was the same philosophy that grew the Ford Motor Company into a global powerhouse -- and made the United States the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. Levinson reveals how Ford was ahead of other modern visionaries and discusses why the very ideas that made his company such a success were abandoned in his own country, and why they finally found acceptance in Japan.

"Henry Ford's Lean Vision" is a hands-on reference that provides the reader with proven principles and methods that can be applied in anybusiness or service enterprise. It covers all aspects of building and running a successful enterprise, including Ford's principles for human relationships and the management of physical resources.

This is a comprehensive look at automobile manufacturing during its heyday in Cleveland and the remainder of Ohio, and illustrates what it took to succeed in an industry that was in the process of inventing itself. Over 550 early Cleveland and Ohio automobile manufacturers are given recognition, and the field is covered from A to Z: Abbott to Zent. Not surprisingly, there are familiar names such as Jordan, Baker, Peerless, and White of Cleveland, and well-known Ohio marques like Packard, Stutz, Crosley and Willys. Also noted are vehicles with such charming and unexpected names as the Auto-Bug, Darling, and Ben-Hur. These, and numerous other lesser-known automotive ventures, are all given attention, even though many of them never got beyond the concept stage. This is truly a researcher's source book. Substantial attention is also paid to the various ancillary industries, services and organizations which nurtured, evolved with, and in many cases endured after Cleveland's automotive industry. Liberally illustrated with over 100 historical images and conveniently presented in a dual-alphabetical arrangement which treats Cleveland and the remainder of Ohio separately, this is an eminently readable history of an important part of America's automobile heritage.

Over the past forty years, state/provincial and local governments in the United States and Canada have provided foreign automakers with approximately $4.80 billion in incentives in order to lure light vehicles assembly plants to their areas. This has included tax abatements, infrastructure construction, land giveaways, job training programs, and other subsidies. As of early 2015, ten foreign vehicle makers operated 20 light vehicles in developed North America. Despite the fact that all ten of these automakers have pursued a similar pattern-first exporting vehicles into the United States and Canada before launching vehicle plants in developed North America-each has followed its own specific historical development path and has created its own unique growth trajectory. This book provides a unique historical and qualitative review of these ten vehicle makers, from their early beginnings to their export entry into the United States and/or Canada through early 2015. In addition, it chronicles the histories of more than a dozen former automakers and potential future foreign light motor vehicle assembly plants in the United States and Canada. This includes the first foreign automaker to build its cars in the United States, De Dion-Bouton of France in July 1900, the early 20th Century endeavors of Fiat, Mercedes, and Rolls Royce, and the present day hopes of Chinese and Indian automakers. In the process, the text also provides an assessment of the top competing states and sites for any future plants, the possible incentives packages governments may offer to attract such facilities, and an estimated incentive value for each automaker. Overall, the goal of this book is to expand the knowledge of policymakers at all tiers of government in the United States and Canada and to help them take a more holistic look at the pros and cons of attracting Automobile Manufacturing FDI. It is hoped that this will enable them to make more informed decisions when pursuing a new foreign motor vehicle assembly plant. Its findings should also prove informative to urban and regional planning, political science, sociology, economics, labor, and international development scholars and students in North America and worldwide.

Car Safety Wars is a gripping history of the hundred-year struggle to improve the safety of American automobiles and save lives on the highways. Described as the "equivalent of war" by the Supreme Court, the battle involved the automobile industry, unsung and long-forgotten safety heroes, at least six US Presidents, a reluctant Congress, new auto technologies, and, most of all, the mindset of the American public: would they demand and be willing to pay for safer cars? The "Car Safety Wars" were at first won by consumers and safety advocates. The major victory was the enactment in 1966 of a ground breaking federal safety law. The safety act was pushed through Congress over the bitter objections of car manufacturers by a major scandal involving General Motors, its private detectives, Ralph Nader, and a gutty cigar-chomping old politician. The act is a success story for government safety regulation. It has cut highway death and injury rates by over seventy percent in the years since its enactment, saving more than two million lives and billions of taxpayer dollars. But the car safety wars have never ended. GM has recently been charged with covering up deadly defects resulting in multiple ignition switch shut offs. Toyota has been fined for not reporting fatal unintended acceleration in many models. Honda and other companies have-for years-sold cars incorporating defective air bags. These current events, suggesting a failure of safety regulation, may serve to warn us that safety laws and agencies created with good intentions can be corrupted and strangled over time. This book suggests ways to avoid this result, but shows that safer cars and highways are a hard road to travel. We are only part of the way home.

This work examines the responses of unions and workers to regional integration and restructuring in the automobile industry in North and Central America. The focus is on the automobile industry in Mexico, which, because of its size and importance, is viewed as a strategic sector of the Mexican economy and was the focal point of talks between the US, Canada and Mexico during negotiations on NAFTA. Focusing on the period from 1980, John P. Tuman examines the changes implemented by firms to promote export production, he explores reasons for the variation in labour responses to restructuring, and he discusses the prospects for cross-border organizing and co-operation among automobile workers in Canada, the US and Mexico.

Car Safety Wars is a gripping history of the hundred-year struggle to improve the safety of American automobiles and save lives on the highways. Described as the "equivalent of war" by the Supreme Court, the battle involved the automobile industry, unsung and long-forgotten safety heroes, at least six US Presidents, a reluctant Congress, new auto technologies, and, most of all, the mindset of the American public: would they demand and be willing to pay for safer cars? The "Car Safety Wars" were at first won by consumers and safety advocates. The major victory was the enactment in 1966 of a ground breaking federal safety law. The safety act was pushed through Congress over the bitter objections of car manufacturers by a major scandal involving General Motors, its private detectives, Ralph Nader, and a gutty cigar-chomping old politician. The act is a success story for government safety regulation. It has cut highway death and injury rates by over seventy percent in the years since its enactment, saving more than two million lives and billions of taxpayer dollars. But the car safety wars have never ended. GM has recently been charged with covering up deadly defects resulting in multiple ignition switch shut offs. Toyota has been fined for not reporting fatal unintended acceleration in many models. Honda and other companies have-for years-sold cars incorporating defective air bags. These current events, suggesting a failure of safety regulation, may serve to warn us that safety laws and agencies created with good intentions can be corrupted and strangled over time. This book suggests ways to avoid this result, but shows that safer cars and highways are a hard road to travel. We are only part of the way home.

* Focus on seven critical, fast-paced industries where innovation capability is essential * Written by two prominent thought leaders with 50 years of combined experience working with hundreds of companies across industries * Provides templates to immediately put the book's frameworks in place to develop an organization's innovation plan

Contrary to the explanations offered by the theory of non-reflexive, path-dependent institutionalism, the U.S. and the German automotive industries undertook strikingly similar patterns of industry modification under tough international competition during the 1990s, departing from their traditional national patterns. By investigating the processes of the U.S. and German adjustments, the author critically reconsiders the prevalent paradigms of political economy and comes to the conclusion that the evidence does not confirm the neoliberal paradigm. In order to better account for the recomposition of new market relations, which the author terms "converging but non-liberal" and "diverging but not predetermined" markets, he proposes an alternative model of "politics among reflexive agents," emphasizing different kinds of problem-solving practices among those reflexive agents. He argues that different forms and regimes of market are established in the process of recomposition, in which agents reflect upon not only market rationality but also upon their own institutions, creating new norms.

A fascinating and well-researched look at the British motor industry which will appeal to both academic readers and practitioners alike. Why are there now no major car manufacturers in Britain? Whisler considers this and the surrounding issues, making valuable comparisons with overseas manufacturers operating both in the UK and abroad, which provide us with additional interest and insight. Based upon careful use of company archives, this book covers in particular the issues of product development, quality, design, and range, ensuring that The British Motor Industry is destined to make a distinctive contribution to our understanding of the performance of UK manufacturers.

This is the inside story of the workings of the MG Design and Development Office in Abingdon, from 1956 until MG's closure in 1980, as told by Chief Design & Development Engineer, Don Hayter. This book explains how the various models were conceived, drawn, planned and developed by a small team of engineers. It also shows how the constant evolution of BMC, including the Triumph-Austin merger, frequently changed input to, and control of, the department. Safety legislation, mainly imposed by the United States, could have killed MG, but detailed here are the design changes that allowed the MGB, and other models, to survive. Trying to remain as individual as possible, MG developed record-breakers and a unique Competition Department during the period covered by this book. Special cars were built and tested, and prototypes for the MGB replacement, using engines from any part of the group, were drawn up. The continuing support of the American market was essential and much valued, but holding company, British Leyland, prioritised the TR7 - a decision that, ultimately, led to the closure of a successful, happy MG company.

"Ford at Dagenham" is a fascinating record of car production techniques and processes at Ford as they have evolved over the years. This illustrated history gives a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into the past and present of Ford's Dagenham factory, famous for producing some of Britain's favourite family cars - the Anglia, Cortina, Consul and Zephyr. A revealing record of the evolution of Ford in Britain, it offers an intimate portrait of the people who have worked at Dagenham and depended on it for their livelihood over the past 70 years. Burgess-Wise tells the story of the fluctuating fortunes of the company and provides a revealing account of the relationship between Dagenham and the American headquarters of Ford at Dearborn. His book is a fascinating record of car production techniques and processes at Ford as they have evolved over the years, and it offers an intimate portrait of the people who have worked at Dagenham, and depended on it for their livelihood, for generations.

First published in 1980, this book considers the British Motor industry over the period between 1945 and 1979, analysing the ways in which the industry suffered a considerable decline in the post-war era, when compared to motor industries of other countries or to most other British industries. Rather than blaming labour and management, as has frequently been the case, the author argues that the decline can be traced back to poor government policy. Tracing how, when and where government policies affected the industries the book examines policies clearly directed at the motor industry, such as transport legislation and motor taxation. In addition the work considers the consequences of many policies which were targeted only indirectly at the motor industry as the author argues that whilst government policy may have succeeded in its aim, e.g. improving employment for the balance of payments, the motor industry may have suffered as a consequence. Written in non-technical language, the reissue will be of interest to those concerned with post-war UK economic development, the UK motor industry in particular and the history of government policy in general.

This book examines the experiences of the globalizing Korean automobile industry, with particular focus on the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), one of the most prominent of the new Korean multinational corporations. It provides an overview of the changing nature of the global automobile industry, before considering in depth the globalization processes that the Korean automobile industry has undertaken. Tracing the development of HMC as it recovered from the failure of its first venture overseas, in Canada, and tried again in India, the authors explore the similarities and differences between the practices which HMC implemented in India and Korea. They highlight the importance of production systems and employment relations as part of HMC's growth, and argue that if Korean companies such as HMC are to compete successfully as global automobile producers they will need to increase the proportion of overseas production, establish global supply chains and improve co-ordination between head office and subsidiaries. Based upon extensive fieldwork in India and Korea, this book is a detailed account of the globalization of the Korean automobile industry and Hyundai Motor Company. Its findings will be of importance to all those who seek to understand the challenges faced by firms that attempt to become global players.

Written by actual Toyota team members, One Team on All Levels: Stories from Toyota Team Members, Second Edition is not another technical explanation of the Toyota Production System (TPS). Rather, it illustrates the culture it creates. The stories, told by employees from various levels of the organization, illustrate how Toyota's presence in Kentucky has transformed the professional and personal lives of those who worked for the company. Demonstrates the culture created by the Toyota Production System Examines how the TPS principles and precepts serve as models for servant leadership Presents valuable insights from a wide range of Toyota team members-from hourly to management-level Shows how Toyota partnered with the city of Georgetown and its community Supplying a first-hand look at the principles that have transformed Toyota into one of the leading manufacturers in the world, the book includes chapters that address how this manufacturing giant was able to survive and improve in the midst of a down economy and recent recalls. The real-life stories supply an unprecedented look at how the Toyota precepts and the fourteen Toyota Way principles can help you improve morale, avoid layoffs, and create a culture of continuous improvement within your organization.

First published in 1980, this book considers the British motor industry over the period between 1945 and 1979, analysing the ways in which the industry suffered a considerable decline in the post-war era, when compared to motor industries of other countries or to most other British industries.

Rather than blaming labour and management, as has frequently been the case, the author argues that the decline can be traced back to poor government policy. Tracing how, when and where government policies affected the industry, the book examines policies clearly directed at the motor industry, such as transport legislation and motor taxation. In addition the work considers the consequences of many policies which were targeted only indirectly at the motor industry as the author argues that whilst government policy may have succeeded in its aim, e.g. improving employment for the balance of payments, the motor industry may have suffered as a consequence.

Written in non-technical language, the reissue will be of interest to those concerned with post-war UK economic development, the UK motor industry in particular and the history of government policy in general.

Through developing an original analytical framework that, for the first time, systematically relates productive, market and financial variables, the authors are able to rewrite the history of the car business since Henry Ford.

This history tells the relatively unknown story of how the Detroit automobile industry played a major role in the 1933 banking crisis and the subsequent New Deal reforms that drastically changed the financial industry. Spurred by failed decision making by automobile industry leaders, Detroit banks experienced a critical emergency, precipitating the federal closure of banks on March 4, 1933, the first in a series of actions by which the federal government acquired power over economics previously held by states and private industrial and financial interests.

This book examines the experiences of the globalizing Korean automobile industry, with particular focus on the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), one of the most prominent of the new Korean multinational corporations. It provides an overview of the changing nature of the global automobile industry, before considering in depth the globalization processes that the Korean automobile industry has undertaken.

Tracing the development of HMC as it recovered from the failure of its first venture overseas, in Canada, and tried again in India, the authors explore the similarities and differences between the practices which HMC implemented in India and Korea. They highlight the importance of production systems and employment relations as part of HMC's growth, and argue that if Korean companies such as HMC are to compete successfully as global automobile producers they will need to increase the proportion of overseas production, establish global supply chains and improve co-ordination between head office and subsidiaries.

Based upon extensive fieldwork in India and Korea, this book is a detailed account of the globalization of the Korean automobile industry and Hyundai Motor Company. Its findings will be of importance to all those who seek to understand the challenges faced by firms that attempt to become global players.

This book examines China, the world's largest auto market since 2008 and the story of how Chinese auto-makers developed is the story of the Chinese economy in microcosm. It focuses on China's systemically important automobile sector, this book reveals how local institutions have moderated structural changes at national and global levels, and consequently generated significant organizational diversity in the production sphere.This book begins with the intriguing observation that individual Chinese car makers have been evolving in different directions despite a shared context; what factors led to these diverse choices and positioning? It is the central aim of this book to explain the variety of institutional forms used by Chinese car manufacturers in navigating the market transition and answering the challenges posed by globalization.

This title was first published in 2001. The emergence and development of automobile production in Australia was a long, drawn out and costly business for car buyers and taxpayers. Wheels and Deals, is the story of some of the causes and effects of Australian Government policies on the local development of one of the most significant industries of the 20th century.