Most great figures in American history reveal great contradictions, and Henry Ford is no exception. He championed his workers, offering unprecedented wages, yet crushed their attempts to organize. Virulently anti-Semitic, he never employed fewer than 3,000 Jews. An outspoken pacifist, he made millions producing war materials. He urbanized the modern world, and then tried to drag it back into a romanticized rural past he'd helped to destroy.
As the American auto industry struggles to reinvent itself, Vincent Curcio's timely biography offers a wealth of new insight into the man who started it all. Henry Ford not only founded Ford Motor Company but institutionalized assembly line production and, some would argue, created the American middle class. By constantly improving his product and increasing sales, Ford was able to lower the price of the automobile until it became a universal commodity. He paid his workers so well that, for the first time in history, the people who manufactured a complex industrial product could own one. This was "Fordism"--social engineering on a vast scale. But, as Curcio displays, Ford's anti-Semitism would forever stain his reputation. Hitler admired him greatly, both for his anti-Semitism and his autocratic leadership, displaying Ford's picture in his bedroom and keeping a copy of Ford's MyLife and Work by his bedside. Nevertheless, Ford's economic and social initiatives, as well as his deft handling of his public image, kept his popularity high among Americans. He offered good pay, good benefits, English language classes, and employment for those who struggled to find jobs--handicapped, African-American, and female workers. Such was his popularity that in 1923, the homespun, clean-living, xenophobic Henry Ford nearly won the Republican presidential nomination.
This new volume in the Lives and Legacies series explores the full impact of Ford's indisputable greatness, the deep flaws that complicate his legacy, and what he means for our own time.

For many years the British motorcycle industry was the largest in the world, not counting low-powered mopeds and scooters and the like. After World War II the motorcycle industry was the third largest source of foreign exchange for the United Kingdom after motor cars and Scotch whiskey. Yet by 1975 the industry was essentially dead. What led to the fall of the motorcycle industry in Britain, after virtually defining the country for so long? Shooting Star: The Rise and Fall of the British Motorcycle Industry is the first comprehensive look at the motorcycle industry with a critical look at business and trade practices that led to its demise. The full romance, beauty and excitement of the machines and especially the top racers who rode them is captured here, but it's all blended for the first time with information about the lesser known businessmen who built the companies and then ran them into the ground, as well as a critical look at some of the engineers and designers who were brilliant and badly flawed at once. The failures of the British motorcycle industry are a painful object lesson for the badly strapped American automobile industry at the present time.

Junk to Gold is about one man's journey from humble beginnings to unimaginable success. Willis Johnson, the founder of Copart CPRT], offers up a personal and inspirational account of this journey to the top including lessons he learned from love, war and building a global, multi-billion dollar business. Even at the pinnacle of success, Willis remained grounded in his family-first values. His stories will inspire and provoke the entrepreneur in everyone to start building their dream.

Like it or not, the automobile industry is now and will remain an overwhelming factor in the lives of most people - if not an owner and driver, then as a pedestrian or a breather of air, which is being polluted by the gas-guzzling and vile-air belching monsters created for our individual hedonistic pleasure. This book presents issues of current interest to those who cannot ignore their presence.

Going postal. We hear the chilling phrase and think of the rogue employee who snaps. But Blood, Sweat, and Fear shows that on-the-job bloodshed never occurs in isolation. Using violence as a lens, Jeremy Milloy provides fresh insights into the everyday workings of capitalism, class conflict, race, and gender in the United States and Canada. The result is a study that reveals the workplace as a battleground--one that saw a late-century paradigm shift from the collective violence of strikes and riots to the individualized violence of assaults and shootings. Explosive and original, Blood, Sweat, and Fear brings historical perspective to contemporary debates about North American workplace violence.

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.

Japanese manufacturing in the US elicits much speculation. Concentrating on autoparts production, these studies show not only how Japanese manufacturing has brought change to East Tennessee but also how it has changed through its experience in America.The book gives a cross-cultural perspective on Japanese investment.

In mid-2015, Volkswagen proudly reached its goal of surpassing Toyota as the world's largest automaker. A few months later, the EPA disclosed that Volkswagen had installed software in 11 million cars that deceived emissions-testing mechanisms. By early 2017, VW had settled with American regulators and car owners for $20 billion, with additional lawsuits still looming. In Faster, Higher, Farther, Jack Ewing rips the lid off the conspiracy. He describes VW's rise from "the people's car" during the Nazi era to one of Germany's most prestigious and important global brands, touted for being "green." He paints vivid portraits of Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech and chief executive Martin Winterkorn, arguing that the corporate culture they fostered drove employees, working feverishly in pursuit of impossible sales targets, to illegal methods. Unable to build cars that could meet emissions standards in the United States honestly, engineers were left with no choice but to cheat. Volkswagen then compounded the fraud by spending millions marketing "clean diesel," only to have the lie exposed by a handful of researchers on a shoestring budget, resulting in a guilty plea to criminal charges in a landmark Department of Justice case. Faster, Higher, Farther reveals how the succeed-at-all-costs mentality prevalent in modern boardrooms led to one of corporate history's farthest-reaching cases of fraud-with potentially devastating consequences.

This collection includes evaluations of and responses to the contributions made by Henry Ford and the ways in which his influence helped shape the understanding of management practices.
Henry Ford was an eccentric, and occasionally enlightened, thinker and remains a controversial figure today. He developed F.W. Taylor's ideas of scientific management (the subject of another four volume collection in this series), turning them into a whole 'system of production'. Ford's system was characterized by highly efficient, high volume and vertically integrated production, with high wages and low prices. His methods helped make the motor car the defining product of the twentieth century and also ensured his own iconic status.

The Standard Motor Company grew to be one of the biggest companies in Coventry and employed some 11,000 people at its height. Based at its huge factory at Canley, Coventry, it produced cars for sixty years. The purchase of the Triumph marque in 1945 added a second brand to the stable and all post-war Triumphs were designed, developed and built in Standard factories. This book covers the formative years of the company from 1903 to 1912 and describes the vintage Standards produced between 1913 and 1930, as well as the post-vintage and Flying Standards of 1931-1939. The author discusses the acquisition of Triumph and covers the post-war Standards and Triumphs produced between 1945 and 1961 as well as the Leyland takeover and the company demise. This concise introduction includes descriptions of the cars built by Standard, and includes a fascinating variety photographs of surviving cars, period factory photos and brochure material.

This comprehensive text/reference presents an in-depth review of the state of the art of automotive connectivity and cybersecurity with regard to trends, technologies, innovations, and applications. The text describes the challenges of the global automotive market, clearly showing where the multitude of innovative activities fit within the overall effort of cutting-edge automotive innovations, and provides an ideal framework for understanding the complexity of automotive connectivity and cybersecurity. Topics and features: discusses the automotive market, automotive research and development, and automotive electrical/electronic and software technology; examines connected cars and autonomous vehicles, and methodological approaches to cybersecurity to avoid cyber-attacks against vehicles; provides an overview on the automotive industry that introduces the trends driving the automotive industry towards smart mobility and autonomous driving; reviews automotive research and development, offering background on the complexity involved in developing new vehicle models; describes the technologies essential for the evolution of connected cars, such as cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things; presents case studies on Car2Go and car sharing, car hailing and ridesharing, connected parking, and advanced driver assistance systems; includes review questions and exercises at the end of each chapter. The insights offered by this practical guide will be of great value to graduate students, academic researchers and professionals in industry seeking to learn about the advanced methodologies in automotive connectivity and cybersecurity.

One of the most acute books about management and how companies work in practice that I have read in a long time. If anyone wants to know exactly how the U.S. auto industry got into trouble, here is your guide. John Gapper, FINANCIAL TIMES When Bob Lutz got into the auto business in the early 1960s, CEOs knew that if you captured the public s imagination with innovative car design and top-quality craftsmanship, the money would follow. The car guys held sway, and GM dominated with bold, creative leadership and iconic brands like Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, GMC, and Chevrolet. But then GM s leadership began to put its faith in numbers and spreadsheets. Determined to eliminate the waste and personality worship of the bygone creative leaders, management got too smart for its own good. With the bean counters firmly in charge, carmakers, and much of American industry, lost their single-minded focus on product excellence and their competitive advantage. Decline soon followed. In 2001, General Motors hired Lutz out of retirement with a mandate to save the company by making great cars again. As vice chairman, he launched a war against the penny-pinching number crunchers who ran the company by the bottom line and reinstated a focus on creativity, design, and cars and trucks that would satisfy GM s customers. Lutz s commonsense lessons, combined with a generous helping of fascinating anecdotes, will inspire readers in any industry."

In an era when automotive companies are being propped up instead of profiting, many firms are revisiting this award winning book and the wise approach it takes to improvement. The second edition of this bestselling text, one of the most popular ever written on Lean, facilitates the Lean implementation process by emphasizing practicality and a can do attitude in the face of all challenges, big and small. Winner of a 2006 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research Based on the author's personal experience with Toyota's master teachers, Andy & Me is a business novel set in a failing New Jersey auto plant focusing on the tribulations of Tom Pappas, the plant manager. The situations, characters and plant politics will ring true with many readers. The book follows Tom's relationship with Andy Saito, a reclusive retired Toyota guru whom Tom persuades to help save his plant through the teaching of the legendary Toyota Production System (TPS). On this journey, the reader learns that TPS is more than just a collection of tools; it entails a new way of thinking and behaving. Though Tom finds success -- both in his plant and in his personal life -- he learns from Andy that successful improvement is endless and eternal. This edition adds end-of-chapter study questions that highlight critical Lean and leadership lessons. It also includes corresponding notes that provide up-front guidance. The author is a Toyota veteran with more than two decades of professional experience as a consultant in Lean management and manufacturing.

The car - once everybody's dream and a key status symbol in most countries and cultures - has been extensively questioned in the last decades and in the last few years particularly. Urbanisation, traffic congestion, pollution problems, heavy reliance on scarce oil supplies, safety issues and ever-growing competition, have all provided significant business challenges for the automotive industry. Many car manufacturers have had to fundamentally rethink their design, brand and marketing strategies to thrive in a savvy, consumer-led culture, and markets that are becoming increasingly restrictive in size and opportunity. Auto Brand provides a roadmap to branding and marketing success in the automotive industry from a leading industry expert, featuring case studies from major car brands including Audi, BMW, Holden, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Porsche, Saab, Seat, Skoda, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, and Volvo. It includes findings from 100 interviews conducted with CEOs, marketing managers, sales managers and sales people, from manufacturer level to small rural dealers, as well as industry experts, policy makers, free-stranding repair shops and professional organizations. Auto Brand is essential reading for marketing managers, sales managers, CEOs, development managers and dealers in all types of companies in the car industry including: manufacturers, national sales companies/importers, dealers, finance companies, insurance companies, free-standing repair shop channels and more. It is the first book to specifically address how to deal with the challenges facing the automotive industry and illustrates how companies can take advantage of new technologies, adapt to emerging trends in consumer behaviour, improve profitability and build even more successful brands in the future.

This book focuses on the relationship between the auto industry and the built environment at multiple scales, a topic of particular interest now as the industry is going through a period of major transformation. Drawing from multiple perspectives, including architecture, urban design and urban planning, the authors examine the changing form of the auto factory itself, the changing geography of auto production, and the challenges faced by communities as the auto plants that once brought them prosperity, and often a sense of identity, leave town. They examine four places that are dealing in different ways, and with varying success, with the aftermath of a decommissioned auto plant in their midst. These are Janesville, Wisconsin, and Willow Run, Michigan, in the U.S., and Bochum, Germany, and Genk, Belgium, in Europe. Together these four cases provide some clues about what the future might look like for places that were once intimately connected with the manufacture of cars.

In 1903, before the Ford Motor Company was even incorporated, Stephen Tenvoorde signed a contract to sell "Fordmobiles"at his bicycle shop in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Four generations later, the Tenvoorde family still operates what is now the oldest Ford dealership in the world. Brian McMahon chronicles how the fortunes of the company and the state became intertwined during that century. Ford assembled Model T cars in the world's tallest automobile plant in Minneapolis and a three-story structure in St. Paul-both still standing. These factories quickly became functionally obsolete after the development of the moveable assembly line. The hunt for a new site to build a modern, single-story plant stirred intense rivalry between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Henry Ford took a rare personal interest in the search and selected a 125-acre parcel in St. Paul overlooking the recently built High Dam on the Mississippi River, which allowed for navigation and hydroelectric power. The Twin Cities Assembly Plant would go on to manufacture millions of cars, trucks, tractors, and military vehicles until its closure in 2011. Henry Ford's large-scale experiments with every aspect of the industrial economy sent ripples and shockwaves through the lives of Minnesotans-management and assembly line workers, dealers and customers, families and communities. First-person accounts of more than forty retired auto workers share what it was like to work at Ford-from the early years of the Minneapolis plant to the final hours of the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul. McMahon documents the company's transformation-through the Depression, the rise of the United Auto Workers Union, World War II, women joining the workforce, competition from imported cars, globalization, outsourcing, and the closing of the plant. This publication was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Any views, findings, opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, or the Minnesota Historic Resources Advisory Committee.

In Velocity: From the Front Line to the Bottom Line, retail automotive expert Dale Pollak reveals how dealers in today's pre-owned automotive marketplace can shift out of low gear toward accelerated profits. Today's dealers are facing increased competition brought on by Internet shopping. Pollak delivers a gut check to dealers employing traditional used car disciplines while revealing new strategies that turn money-losing departments into profit-generating winners. "The used vehicle marketplace is less giving and less forgiving than it's ever been before. Astute, investment-minded management processes are essential for today's dealers to survive and thrive," says Pollak.

This is a brilliant examination of the complex processes of the post-1990 transformation in the Czech automotive industry and its selective integration into the West European system. The post-1990 restructuring of the industry is analyzed in the context of its pre-1990 development and in the context of the East European automobile industry as a whole. Specifically, the book examines the development and post-1990 restructuring of the Czech car, components, and truck industries.