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Japanese managers cling to quaint notions of business that are entirely out of date with the reality of the global market-place. For years Japan seemed invincible. American automakers benchmarked the [...]

The North American International Auto Show, like all such events around the world, was not only a place to see the best of the new vehicles, but also to bump [...]

I have recently written two articles regarding the risks of overly ambitious automotive assembly investment in developing countries. The risks have been high in countries where vehicle assembly capacity promised [...]

Brand image and great dealer services cannot overcome a product deficit. For many years auto companies have tried valiantly to boost customer satisfaction for their brands at the dealership level. [...]

I just spent nearly two weeks in Thailand and Japan. By the time I left. the value of the Thai baht I neglected to, spend was almost worthless. I only [...]

This year is proving to be unsetling for automakers. Until recently, they expressed complete confidence in continued growth throughout southeast Asia. The first blow came when Indonesia decided it would [...]

Every August it's been the same old story The automakers roll out new models, and with them, new prices. Typically pricing pronouncements are phrased to minimize the absolute dollar increases. [...]

The Dow-Jones Industrial Average hits 8,000 and brokers, traders and investors cheer. So do the managements of the high-flying stocks that have driven the market to such lofty levels. But [...]

A recent visit to China took me to Chongqing, a city spread out over mountain tops that are being rapidly flattened, tunneled and built upon to accommodate the fast-paced commercial [...]

Delphi likes to talk about the rapid growth in non-NAO sales. But 80% or more of its business comes from GM. In anticipation of a public offering, General Motors has [...]

Not many years Japanese consumers bought the same white sedan. A bold family might buy a white sporty coupe. That was the concept that created extraordinary wealth for Toyota, Japan's [...]

The new measure of success in the auto industry is vehicle development time. Reminiscent of game shows like Name That Tune, in which contestants won the chance to guess a [...]

Last year the combined profits of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler totaled $12.9 billion. Although the absolute level of earnings was impressive, only one auto company, Chrysler, can actually claim [...]

The North American International Auto Show, as all such events around the world, was not only a place to see the best of the new vehicles, but also to bump [...]

In 1996. light-weight trucks claimed nearly 44% of total passenger vehicle sales. In the final months of the year the percentage rose above 47% as these vehicles recorded year-over-year sales [...]

The problem with having been an automotive analyst for more than two decades is that I often frame events in an historical context. I remember the spectacular success of Ford [...]

For more than 10 years there been speculation that an auto retailer would attempt to access the public capital markets to support its growth strategy. That speculation ended with the [...]

The past two years have seen an unprecedented number of new models launched by the three American auto companies and the Japanese transplants. Although there are still some differences in [...]

Automakers must apply a 'less is more' philosophy to product planning and marketing just as they are beginning to do in other areas of the business. A decade ago, battalions [...]

In 1993 Toyota and General Motors negotiated an agreement under which the Japanese carmaker agreed to import and sell 20,000 Cavaliers a year in Japan. The plan was an outgrowth [...]

More than a decade ago automakers stated they wanted to concentrate their parts purchasing among several hundred, rather than several thousand suppliers. Having studied the Japanese model of keiretsus, the [...]

Over the years I've participated in several government sponsored studies of vehicle fuel economy. These projects typically had the, genesis in the demands of well meaning congressmen who favored a [...]

During the past four year everything in the U.S. marketplace has gone Detroit's way. Americans are in love with light-weight trucks. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler control 85% of that [...]

During the last decade vehicle technology, especially electronic gadgets, have increasingly made their way into the vehicle as add-on features. Though many of them are important and provide functionality to [...]

Throughout the 1980s General Motors and Chrysler suffered numerous crises that nearly left both companies bankrupt. Ford, however, appeared relatively immune to Japanese competition and was often praised for the [...]

Everyone in the auto industry agrees that the present retail distribution system has to change. It dates back to the earliest days of the industry and worked well then. But [...]

No one predicted 1995 sales accurately, and the automakers wonder why. Even the most conservative forecast proved optimistic by a wide margin, undermining confidence in the variables that have traditionally [...]

This year's Tokyo Motor Show was more fun and energetic than the 1993 event. Then Japan's automakers were reeling from the combined effects of the deepening recession and their own [...]

Cars are better made, more reliable, safer and filled with an array of features that improve driveability, security and convenience. But all of this has come at a price. Currently [...]

It was a different world in 1992 when Tatsuro Toyoda was named president of Toyota. The company was under heavy criticism from its Japanese rivals for forcing them into a [...]

During the first half of 1995, Ford and General Motors were at opposite extremes in the debate over market share preservation versus protection of profit margins. At no time was [...]

During the past two years U.S. automakers experienced a rash of delays as new model production ramped up. The actual causes are generally not disclosed; instead the slow launches have [...]

For as many years as I've studied the auto industry, GM has had a problem with overlapping vehicles. Not only did they compete with each other, they failed to target [...]

During the last twelve months there have been seven brief strikes at GM parts and assembly plants throughout the US. Several of them threatened to close the entire company down [...]

How does one reconcile record industry profits in 1994 and projections of even higher earnings this year with the lackluster performance of the auto stocks? Despite very good news in [...]

A must read for every auto company executive is Toyota's 1994 annual report. Forget the financial section which is skimpier than most American reports. It's the first half of the [...]

The only people who seem to think that there isn't a problem with affordability of new vehicles are the people who make them. We are told that Americans have always [...]

Raw material prices soared throughout 1994, squeezing margins for component producers that were unable to pass along the higher costs to their customers. What caused these higher prices for raw [...]

General Motor's third quarter results stunned investors and left them wondering how much progress had actually been made in transforming the world's largest car company into an efficient operation. In [...]

American auto companies are in the process of remaking themselves. We hear about platform teams, global product development, international product sharing, a restructuring of suppliers into tiers of responsibility and [...]

What's wrong with this true story? Once upon a time there was a big auto company and an important supplier company. Let's say the two main characters in our story [...]

It seems strange to me that auto parts suppliers are expected to make price concessions at the start of each model year even though wages, benefits, raw material costs and [...]

Vehicle production soared this year and profits of each of the three US auto companies soared along with it. But recently, the stock prices of each of the domestic manufacturers [...]

More than thirty years ago Taichi Ohno devised the Toyota production system, which was based, in part, upon the 'five whys.' By repeatedly asking why something was wrong, the questioner [...]

For years vehicle manufacturers agonized over the shift from cars to light trucks. was it just a fad? Or was it a permanent shift in favor of pickups, minivans and [...]

For years, the message from industry consultants and observers has been to 'go global.' Only going allows an automaker escape the maturity and limited growth expected in heavily industrialized countries, [...]

For more than a decade, US automakers have been complaining that excess capacity was a primary cause of low margins in the business. Excess capacity necessitated discounts, price cuts and [...]

During the 1980s automakers around the world pursued a variety of initiatives that seemed to be aimed at compensating problems in their core business. In retrospect, I am hard-pressed to [...]

For many years the Japanese model of keiretsu, the strong family ties between suppliers and automaker, was held up as a model for the rest of the automotive world. It [...]