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Management culture
Quotes
Lynn Townsend’s hubris led to Chrysler’s decline in 1969-70
“It has become fashionable to assume that when a company does a multibillion-dollar business, there is little that one man — even the man at the top — can do to sway its fortunes. ‘These […]
Ad Nauseam
DeBest ad for the 1981 Pontiac Trans Am that was never printed
Pete DeBest thought he had it made. He followed his dad into the car business by landing a gig at Pontiac’s ad agency as a copy writer. Things went great at first. For example, one […]
Media Analysis
Why does Auto Extremist’s Peter DeLorenzo put himself up on a pedestal?
Automotive pundit Peter DeLorenzo (2023a) likes to needle industry executives such as Ford’s Jim Farley, whom he has dubbed the “I’m a genius just ask me” CEO. Thus, I was struck by how he presented […]
Quotes
Postwar U.S. auto industry was ‘largely complacent’ until forced to change
“The hubris of its executives related to consumer needs, an obsession with big cars, garish designs coming from its studios, the neglect of safety and air pollution matters, and rising prices all played into the […]
History
Late-1960s Ford car design film shows US automakers losing it
(EXPANDED FROM 10/8/2021) A late-1960s Ford promotional film offers a fascinating glimpse into the car and truck designs being worked on at the time. Perhaps more than intended, The Design Makers — Inside Ford Design, […]
Quotes
Popular Science questions Chrysler Corporation’s blame game
“Chrysler says its financial troubles are caused, in part, by safety and emissions laws that penalize it more than GM or Ford. It costs Chrysler ‘almost twice as much as it will cost GM’ to […]
Quotes
Maryann Keller: General Motors once again punished its media critics
“GM’s old critics were sharpening their knives. In January [1992] David E. Davis, editor and publication director of Automobile magazine, gave a biting speech to the Washington Auto Press Association in which he blasted past […]
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Quotes
Gordon Buehrig on Ford’s attitude about small cars circa 1960
“Fred Hooven was a very good friend of mine and had a much bigger job at Ford than I did. He worked for Mike Ference. Henry Ford asked Ference — this was in 1960. He […]