Word: gm
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...matter how esoteric the technologies or lofty the management theory, the auto industry reduces ineluctably to a piece of hardware: a car with four wheels, an engine and thousands of little things that make you love it or hate it. For a sneak preview of Saturn, I went to GM's Milford Proving Grounds in suburban Detroit, where officials rolled out all three models: the standard sedan, the high-performance sedan and the sporty coupe. Since this was a secret mission, weeks in advance of the product launch, all traces of the company logo and the brand name were covered...
...plant and its 3,000 team members represent a grand experiment in $ American manufacturing. For General Motors, which has invested eight years and $3.5 billion to launch Saturn, the venture has a specific competitive goal: to build small cars as well as the Japanese do -- and then some. But GM's even more heroic mission for Saturn is to help the world's largest industrial company (1989 sales: $126.9 billion) break loose from rusty traditions that have dogged the company's performance for more than two decades...
...home team . . . something to be proud of." Even so, some critics complained about excessive wind noise and the raucous sound of Saturn's engine at high r.p.m., which Car and Driver described as "a chorus of Osterizers." Other critics found Saturn's styling to be too similar to other GM models...
...first time in years, GM's timing of a new product seems uncannily accurate. Saturn's debut coincides with rocketing gasoline prices and a looming recession, all of which should be a boon to a small, inexpensive car that gets 27 m.p.g. in city driving and 37 m.p.g. on the highway. In Spring Hill, Saturn executives exude a cocky optimism that their moment has arrived. They are confident enough in Saturn that they chose Southern California, the heart of import country, as one of the first launching points. Saturn's goal is to sell 80% of its cars to import...
...Saturn so revolutionary for American industry? Primarily because this attempt to reverse GM's industrial decline acknowledges for the first time on ! a large scale the real reason for Japan's manufacturing superiority over the past two decades. The secret is not advanced technology or low wages or some mystical Asian work ethic. Japan's most important advantage is its management system: the way it deals with employees, suppliers, dealers and customers. This month a historic, $5 million M.I.T. study of the world's auto companies concluded that Japan's advantages boil down to a few elements, including teamwork, efficient...