From its origins in the Slavia bicycle company, founded by Laurin and Klement in 1895, to its present position as a vital division of the Volkswagen Group, runs an unbroken line of innovation, engineering excellence and determination in adversity that maintained it in the past and now secures its future. There are those prepared to trot out old jokes and perpetuate old prejudices; those whom reality has passed by. This work has no problem with humour, and brings a good deal to this work, designed to set the record straight. This work describes the company's singular position in the Czech republic; the unique character of its state of the art factories; and its importance in the future of the mighty Volkswagen. In the true account of the people, events and products that form its history, the Skoda company itself has the last laugh.

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.

Anybody who is a dedicated Toyota driver and admirer of the Toyota Production System would be shocked to read of Ryoji Ihara's experience as a casual worker in a Toyota factory in Japan. As the Toyota Motor Company continues on its inexorable march to become the world's biggest and most profitable carmaker, workers on the factory floor are still making sacrifices under the appalling conditions so graphically described in Satoshi Kamata's 1973 account, Japan in the Passing Lane: An Insider's Account of Life in a Japanese Auto Factory. Ihara's book is both a fearless expos and a meticulous academic study firmly situated within the context of the sociology of labor. Drawing on recent theoretical debates in Japan as well as internationally, the author challenges widely held views on the respective roles of skill, supervision, and quality control in the car industry. Specialists in car industry research unable to access Japanese language sources should welcome this English translation of Ryoji Ihara's book, now with an additional chapter update. Yet, belying its academic intent, the work is written in a relaxed, entertaining style that should appeal to any reader with an interest in car making, the sociology of work, or Japanese society in general.

Originally published in 1991, this book examines the spatial implications of the changes to the automobile industry at world, national and local levels. The volume brings together the work of North American, European and Japanese geographers, economists and sociologists, and includes perspectives from the components industry, the shop floor experience and local economic policy making.

The automobile sector is one of the most archetypal global industries and is seen by many as one of the main drivers behind the homogenization of world markets due to firms' internationalization strategies and the social practices that firms impose. This book argues that this is not entirely the case due to the heterogeneity of firms and the diversity of strategies pursued. It highlights the diversity and forms of internationalization and the preference for regionalization rather than globalization that has occurred over the past decade. This book looks specifically at the American and Asian car industry.

Autonomous State provides the first detailed examination of the Canadian auto industry, the country's most important economic sector, in the post-war period. In this engrossing book, Dimitry Anastakis chronicles the industry's evolution from the 1973 OPEC embargo to the 1989 Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and looks at its effects on public policy, diplomacy, business enterprise, workers, consumers, and firms.

Using an immense array of archival sources, and interviews with some of the key actors in the events, Anastakis examines a fascinating array of topics in recent auto industry and Canadian business and economic history: the impact of new safety, emissions, and fuel economy regulations on the Canadian sector and consumers, the first Chrysler bailout of 1980, the curious life and death of the 1965 Canada-US auto pact, the 'invasion' of Japanese imports and transplant operations, and the end of aggressive auto policy-making with the coming of free trade.

More than just an examination of the auto industry, the book provides a rethinking of Canada's tumultuous post-OPEC political and economic evolution, helping to explain the current tribulations of the global auto sector and Canada's place within it.

The automobile industry is one of the most capital- and marketing-intensive industries in the world today. Common wisdom states that the keys to sales success in the industry are no different than in any other: brand management, product positioning, and brand imaging. But what do these commonly traded buzzwords really mean, and how do they translate into a successful brand campaign? In Glory Days, Jim Wangers uses his 45-year career in Detroit as the basis for explaining successful brand marketing for automobiles: * Why brand management for cars is not the same as for other "branded" products * How to position a model for the best possible tie-in promotion-and how not to * What it takes to establish and evolve a brand image

This book presents topics on monitoring and evaluation of production processes in the automotive industry. Regulation of production processes is also described in details. The text deals with the implementation and evaluation of these processes during the mass production of components useful in the automotive industry. It evaluates the effects and results achieved after implementation in practice. The book takes into account the different methodologies of the world's automakers and applicable standards, such as standard EN ISO 9001 and the requirements of VDA and ISO/TS 16949. The content is used to those working with the development, production and quality control of new products in the demanding automotive industry. The information provided may also be useful to engineers and technical staff in organizations working with series production and production of spare parts for the automotive and other demanding industries. The content presented was written based on discussions with various companies and organizations, such as Magna Steyr (Graz, Austria), Ford (Cologne, Germany; Prague, CZ), GM Powertrain (Gyor, Hungary), VW (Skoda), ZF (Passau, Friedrichshafen, Germany), Bosch-Rexroth AG (Fellbach, Germany), John Deere (Mannheim, Germany; USA), Claas (Paderborn, Germany), Allison Transmission (USA), Landini (Reggio Emilia, Milan, Italy), Timken Polska (Sosnowiec, Poland), SNR France (Annecy, France), Sweden SKF Group (Lutsk, Ukraine), ZVL Ltd. (Hattingen, Germany), ZVL SpA (Milano, Italy), FAG Schaeffler Group (Debrecen, Hungary), VPZ (Vologda, Russia), ZKL OJSC (Brno, CZ), ZVL Auto Company Ltd. (Presov, Slovakia), ZVL (Zilina, Slovakia), MAN (Munich, Germany), FTE Automotive (Kerpen, Germany), Roesler (Untermerzbach, Germany; Vienna, Austria), Spaleck (Bocholt, Germany) and Caterpillar (USA). This comprehensive study was supported by grant VEGA 1/0409/13.

This book offers a unique perspective within the luxury automobile industry in which the author, a Ferrari dealer, recounts a lifetime with the iconic car brand. Chapters detail a wide range of experiences, like a nonstop drive in a 308GTB from Chicago to Boston; rides with important figures like Piero Ferrari and Dario Benuzzi; and a visit to the Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini factories at Maranello. This book follows one man's all-encompassing journey with Ferraris. First a fan, then a salesman and a dealer, the author offers numerous insights into the life cycle of a Ferrari, from production to sales.

The book arose from a multi-disciplinary study which looked at the development of global-local manufacturing clusters in the context of a developing, Asian economy. The study demonstrates the connection amongst theoretical perspectives such as international business, development studies, economic geography, and organisational learning clusters/production networks through an in-depth case study of the Indonesian automotive cluster. The book gives a detailed account of two automotive clusters (Toyota and Honda) and their contribution to regional economic development in emerging economies in Asian region. The book builds on existing literature to develop a theoretical framework to shed light on the study's empirical findings. The book discusses practical implications for both the business community and policy makers. The discussion on global-local networks in an Asian context supplements existing literature and case studies in the field. This is one of the few books that explicitly links regional clusters to global networks. The book offers a refreshingly international (Asian) perspective to the literature on clusters and economic geography for emerging economies.

Recent years have seen intense debates among management and academics on the rise of `lean production' and `Japanization'. This book examines in detail the actual practice of transfer and adaptation of productive models into the auto industry. Case studies cover in detail the Japanese transplant experience in North America, and the global experience of hybrid production systems in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Toyota. The name signifies greatness? world-class cars and game?changing business thinking. One key to the Toyota Motor Company's unprecedented success is its famous production system and its lesser-known product development program. These strategies consider the end user at every turn and have become the model for the global lean business movement. All too often, organizations adopting lean miss the most critical ingredient?lean leadership.

Toyota makes enormous investments in carefully selecting and intensively developing leaders who fit its unique philosophy and culture. Thanks to the company's lean leadership approach, explains Toyota Way author Jeffrey Liker and former Toyota executive Gary Convis, the celebrated carmaker has set into motion a drive for continuous improvement at all levels of its business. This has allowed for:

? Constant growth: Toyota increased profitability for 58 consecutive years?slowing down only in the face of 2008's worldwide financial difficulties, the recall crisis, and the worst Japanese earthquake of the century.? Unstoppable inventiveness: Toyota's approach to innovative thinking and problem solving has resulted in top industry ratings and incredible customer satisfaction, while allowing the company to weather these three crises in rapid succession and to come out stronger.? Strong branding and respect: Toyota's reputation was instrumental in the company's ability to withstand the recalls-driven media storm of 2010.

And what a storm it was But what looked to some to be a sinking ship is once again running under a full head of steam. Perhaps the Toyota culture had weakened, but lean leadership was the beacon that showed the way back.

In fact, writes Liker, the company is ?as good and perhaps a better model for lean leadership than it ever has been.?

Indeed, Toyota will soon be celebrating 80 years of innovation and growth. Yet, Industry Week reports that just 2 percent of companies using lean processes can likewise claim to have had long-term success. What the other 98 percent lack is unified leadership with a common method and philosophy.

If you want to get lean, you have to take it to the leadership level. "The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership" shows you how.

A history of the Citroen presence in the UK from 1923 to 2003. The history of Citroen Cars Ltd. in the UK 1923 - 2003, cataloguing the RHD vehicles built at the Slough Works from 1926 to 1966, and the models subsequently imported from France. It includes the conventional rear-wheel-drive cars of the Andre Citroen era, the Traction Avant, the Kegresse, the 2CV, the DS and ID series, and the Citroen-Maserati SM.. Also, included is the story of the Citroen factory at Slough together with some social history surrounding its opening and operation.

In March 1999, Renault bought a controlling interest in Nissan. Only months before Renault's foray into the Japanese market, Toyota, Japan's most profitable car marker, announced its decision to build its latest European production facility in northern France. Although greeted with less media attention, Toyota's investment decision was equally remarkable. The author analyzes liberalization trends in both the Japanese and the European automotive markets and the reaction of manufacturers to such trends.

Prior literature has conjectured that auditor industry specialization is an important dimension of audit quality. This book addresses the economic benefits that companies may achieve by employing auditors with industry expertise. It examines the link between the employment of industry specialist auditors, and the degree of information asymmetry and the cost of debt of a client company. More specifically, the analysis should answer the following questions: Is there a relation between the employment of an industry specialist auditor and the level of information asymmetry of client companies? Is there a relation between the employment of an industry specialist auditor and the cost of debt of client companies? Is the economic impact of the employment of an industry specialist auditor on the cost of debt larger for financially troubled client companies? The book is directed towards researchers in business, regulators, auditors, credit agencies, and investors.

This study chronicles the success of the Japanese car in America. Starting with Japan's first gasoline-powered car, the Takuri, it examines early Japanese inventors and automotive conditions in Japan; the arrival of Japanese cars in California in the late 1950s; consumer and media reactions to Japanese manufacturers; what obstacles they faced; initial sales; and how the cars gained popularity through shrewd marketing. Toyota, Honda, Datsun (Nissan), Mazda, Subaru, Isuzu, and Mitsubishi are profiled individually from their origins through the present. An examination follows of the forced cooperation between American and Japanese manufacturers, the present state of the industry in America, and the possible future of this union, most importantly in the race for a more environmentally-sound vehicle.

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.

This book, originally published in 1967, takes the automobile industry experience as a basis for a wider view of industrial relations, trends and developments of the 1950s and 60s. The study also analyses the emergence of new institutions and systems of labour-management relationships. It contains chapters on the effects of automotion and technical change, on the impact of fluctuations in the market for cars and on wage trends. There are detailed surveys of some of the biggest post-war disputes and especially of trade union organization, the shop steward system, the experience of individual firms, such as Austin, Ford and Fiat. There is also a comparative survey of labour relationships in other major car manufacturing countries such as the USA, Germany and Japan.

This comprehensive account of the past, present and future of the automobile examines the key trends, key technologies and key players involved in the race to develop clean, environmentally friendly vehicles that are affordable and that do not compromise on safety or design. Undertaking a rigorous interrogation of our global dependency on oil, the author demonstrates just how unwise and unnecessary this is in light of current developments such as the fuel cell revolution and the increasing viability of hybrid cars, which use both petrol and electricity - innovations that could signal a new era of clean, sustainable energy. The arguments put forward draw on support from an eclectic range of sources - including industry insiders, scientists, economists and environmentalists - to make for an enlightening read.

Las fbricas son organismos vivos. Los organismos se mueven y cambian en una relacion flexible con su entorno. Un ambiente sucio, desorganizado no conduce a la mejora. Un entorno deprimente no inspira a los trabajadores hacia su potencial maximo. Cuando algunos ejecutivos preguntaron a Hiroyuki Hirano lo que debian hacer para que sus empresas sobrepasaran el siglo veintiuno, les respondio: "Implementar las 5S's." Una compania que no pueda implementar las 5S's con exito, no podra integrar efectivamente el JIT, la reingenieria, ni otros cambios en gran escala. Este libro describe como las 5S's promueven eficiencia, buen funcionamiento y mejora continua.