Word: forde
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BOOKS Updike portrays a life during Gerald Ford's years...
...While GM may continue to de-emphasize the Oldsmobile nameplate, the company has no plans to shut down the division entirely, contrary to rumors that it might do so. In its new guise, Olds plans to concentrate on midsize cars to compete with the likes of the Ford Taurus and Toyota Camry, giving up most of the big- car market to Buick and Cadillac...
...American plants and cut 74,000 of its 370,000 employees over three years, directors now want to eliminate a total of 120,000 jobs during the decade. A major goal: to slash GM's labor costs of nearly $2,360 per car, which is almost $800 more than Ford's and $500 more than Chrysler's. "It's going to be brutal," warns a GM director. "If the unions won't cooperate, GM will have to play real hardball. We don't even have the luxury of thinking about a product strategy. We aren't going to be thinking...
...other U.S. models. The median ages for buyers of GM's bread-and-butter midsize lines are 45 for Chevrolet, 55 for Oldsmobile and 60 for Buick. By contrast, the ages of U.S. buyers of Japanese cars range from 35 to 40. GM has foundered while the more nimble Ford and Chrysler, which had long scrambled for niches in the GM-dominated marketplace, cut costs and brought out popular models like the Ford Taurus and Chrysler's minivans...
...consistently ignored showroom signals about its cars. The company failed, for example, to develop a new sports utility vehicle like the Ford Explorer, which represents one of the hottest market segments. When buyers yearned for minivans, GM simply slapped new plastic panels on a seven-year-old chassis and rolled out the Chevy Lumina All-Purpose Vehicle. Result: while GM has made steady improvements in car quality, its selection and styling have tended to lag far behind its U.S. and Japanese rivals. "GM hasn't listened to its dealers," says an Atlanta Buick dealer. "They haven't paid any attention...