Word: auto
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...statistical evidence of wealth was deceiving; the vast empire was actu ally as shaky and ready to col lapse as a 25-year-old model T trying to make its way through deep sand. Once the world's biggest automaker. Ford had seen its share of U.S. auto sales drop from 40% in 1930 to 21% in the first postwar year of car production. What was more, in 1946, Ford was losing money at such a clip-$55 million in six months-that even its vast reserves might soon be exhausted...
...loan was granted (to become a Lustron executive). Young and his wife (who wore the Truman Administration's original mink coat when she was a White House stenographer) now operate a swank Florida motel known to its clientele as "the Royal Pastel Mink Auto Court...
...boost the profits, Nance has turned Packard upside down. When he took over, Packard had several things to its credit: a solid cash position, a restyled car, and one of the best engineering divisions in the auto industry. But dealers were overloaded with cars, sales were slow, and the payroll was heavy with deadwood...
...ones who couldn't keep up with the Nance pace to be pensioned off. In the plan's first month of operation, 400 supervisory employees were put out to pasture. Nance set about filling the vacancies with younger men from Packard's own ranks, from other auto companies or Hotpoint, and set them all to work cutting production costs. Then he toured the U.S. giving dealers pep talks and listening to their complaints. He weeded out 200 weak dealerships and added 400 new ones (present total: 1,685). One of Packard's troubles, Nance found...
Said he: "The auto industry is currently producing at a rate of 7,000,000 units a year while the latest registration figures show that dealers are selling at a rate of 5½ million units . . . The auto industry must get back into the business of selling.'' Some makes, said Nance, are already backing up in dealers' showrooms, but not Packard. Three months ago, Packard inventories averaged eleven cars per dealer, now they are down to six. Says Jim Nance: "We've got a long way to go, but we've made some real progress...