Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
The wildcat strike at an Indian parts plant that shut two assembly plants in North America this fall brought to mind an old Czech contact, Ladislav Glogar. Glogar has a firsthand philosophy about long supply chains. He calls it the “cost of distance.”
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Dec 28 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
Once again, most of the North American auto business has shut down between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Factories and offices are closed, and assembly lines have stopped. But don’t think for a minute that this industry is closed.
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Dec 28 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
We know auto sales in China this year will likely total 13 million units, since 11 million units have already been sold in the first ten months. Yang Jian is the managing editor of Automotive News China
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
November marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the reunification of East Germany and West Germany. It was not only a milestone in history but also a momentous time for the auto industry.
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
Akio Toyoda might be able to pick up a few tips from Sergio Marchionne on how a new CEO can handle a carmaker in crisis. Both took charge in June, but look at them five months later.
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
One of the big problems you have when an automotive credit company turns into a bank is that it starts acting like a bank. A bank’s job is to make money, not sell cars — and there’s the rub.
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
In the new Detroit, it’s all about the CEO, all about having the right guy in command at the right time. We are in the era of the outsider hero. The relative calm at Ford Motor Co.
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
Five things to keep in mind as yet another changing of the guard takes place at General Motors: 1. Fritz Henderson did a heck of a job; 2. Ed Whitacre needs to be dynamically conservative in his new role; 3.
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
Sergio Marchionne’s five-year restructuring plan for Chrysler Group is as ambitious as the plan he presented for Fiat Group in November 2006. But there seems to be less wishful thinking in the Chrysler plan.
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Dec 07 2009
Posted: under Automotive Columnists.
Once again the General Motors board of directors — chosen mainly by its No. 1 shareholder, the U.S. government — is exerting its power and responsibility. Make no mistake: Fritz Henderson was the right guy for the time.
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Dec 07 2009