Word: carly
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...which analysts put at $11,500 an auto, compared with $9,800 at Ford and $9,300 at Chrysler. A prime reason, ironically, is GM's multibillion-dollar rush to reduce labor costs by installing robotic factories, many of which still have bugs. Example: at Detroit's Poletown luxury-car plant, the taillights on some models tended to melt in the automated paint-hardening ovens. The technology * should gradually become a financial advantage as it begins to operate more smoothly. Says Chairman Smith: "You know we are not making clothespins. We are making a car with 15,000 parts...
...company intends to bring back its product differentiation, so that Chevrolet will once again be perceived as the bargain-price brand, Pontiac the high-powered car, Buick and Oldsmobile the posher models and Cadillac the top of the line. The new stylings may provide added motivation for GM's network of 9,720 car dealers, many of whom have been clamoring for stronger GM brand identities. Observes Joseph Cappy, president of rival American Motors: "That Chevrolet dealer network is so strong they can sell anything. You give them a good product, and they'll just knock the doors...
...car buyers and investors are a bit impatient with GM, one reason is that the company has so heavily touted its new high technology without delivering much in the way of specifics. Many Wall Street experts see few major contributions so far from GM's acquisitions of EDS, Hughes Aircraft in 1985 and Britain's Group Lotus, the maker of rakish sports cars, this year. But as cars and auto factories become more electronic, GM's space-age alliances could help the company pass its competition. Indeed, none of GM's rivals have taken the giant's poor third-quarter...
...subcompact has sold more than 130,000 units so far in 1986, a record for an imported auto's first year. Much less ; successful was the invasion of Yugoslavia's Yugo, a remodeled Fiat that sells for $3,990 and is billed as the cheapest new car in the U.S. The monthly Consumer Reports urged its readers to buy a good used car instead. So far in 1986, fewer than 28,000 Yugos have been sold...
...million -- a formidable achievement, considering that the value of the Japanese yen is more than 20% higher in relation to the U.S. dollar than it was a year ago. The currency hike, experts believe, has added about $1,300 to the average production cost of an imported Japanese car. Even so, industry executives estimate that Japanese compacts and midsize cars still cost roughly $700 less to produce than their American equivalents...