Volume One traces the history of Opel and Vauxhall separately from inception through to the 1970s and thereafter collectively to 2015. Special attention is devoted to examining innovative engineering features and the role Opel has taken of providing global platforms for GM. Each model is examined individually and supplemented by exhaustive supporting specification tables. The fascinating history of Saab and Lotus begins with their humble beginnings and examines each model in detail and looks at why these unusual marques came under the GM Banner. Included is a penetrating review of Saab through to its unfortunate demise. Volume Two examines unique models and variations of Chevrolet and Buick manufactured in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia but never offered in North America. Daewoo, Wuling and Baojun are other Asian brands covered in detail. This volume concludes with recording the remarkable early success of Holden and its continued independence through to today. Volume Three covers the smaller assembly operations around the world and the evolution of GM’s export operations. A brief history of Isuzu, Subaru and Suzuki looks at the three minority interests GM held in Asia. The GM North American model specifications are the most comprehensive to be found in a single book. Global and regional sales statistics are included. GM executives and management from around the globe are listed with the roles they held. An index ensures that these volumes serve as the ideal reference source on GM.
In Comeback, Pulitzer Prize-winners Paul Ingrassia and Joseph B. White take us to the boardrooms, the executive offices, and the shop floors of the auto business to reconstruct, in riveting detail, how America's premier industry stumbled, fell, and picked itself up again. The story begins in 1982, when Honda started building cars in Marysville, Ohio, and the entire U.S. car industry seemed to be on the brink of extinction. It ends just over a decade later, with a remarkable turn of the tables, as Japan's car industry falters and America's Big Three emerge as formidable global competitors. Comeback is a story propelled by larger-than-life characters -- Lee Iacocca, Henry Ford II, Don Petersen, Roger Smith, among many others -- and their greed, pride, and sheer refusal to face facts. But it is also a story full of dedicated, unlikely heroes who struggled to make the Big Three change before it was too late.
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.
"The authors go on to show that these changing employment patterns are closely related to the decline of unions and growing income inequality. Drawing on plant-level evidence of emerging employment practices, they provide a comprehensive analysis of changes in employment systems and labor-management relations."--Jacket.
The field of business history has changed and grown dramatically over the last few years. There is less interest in the traditional `company-centred' approach and more concern about the wider business context. With the growth of multi-national corporations in the 1980s, international and inter-firm comparisons have gained in importance. In addition, there has been a move towards improving links with mainstream economic, financial and social history through techniques and outlook. The International Bibliography of Business History brings all of the strands together and provides the user with a comprehensive guide to the literature in the field. The Bibliography is a unique volume which covers the depth and breadth of research in business history. This exhaustive volume has been compiled by a team of subject specialists from around the world under the editorship of three prestigious business historians.
This two-volume collection looks at the life and work of Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr. (1875-1966), chief executive of General Motors from 1923 to 1946, whose unique and ahead-of-its-time management style left an indelible mark on business and management studies.Also featuring an extensive bibliography, this set will prove valuable to business students and researchers alike.
Provides a comprehensive history of the profession and aesthetics of American automobile design. Gartman reveals how the appearance of the automobile was shaped by the social conflicts arising from America's mass production system.