Word: knudsen
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AUTOMAKER KNUDSEN...
...enduring mysteries of U.S. business is how a product can suddenly catch fire with consumers or, at times, just as suddenly lose favor. Nearly 30 years ago, General Motors' William S. Knudsen, a Danish immigrant bicyclemaker turned automan, was the one who lit the fuse under Chevrolet and sent it out ahead of Ford as the most popular U.S. car. His reward was the presidency of General Motors. Three years ago, Big Bill Knudsen's son, Semon Emil Knudsen, took on a similar job: he was made boss of G.M.'s sputtering Pontiac division, thus became...
...Pontiac job tied all the work together. Knudsen's first move after he became general manager was to go to the styling center. He knew what was wrong with Pontiac; it had a "grandma image" in the customer's mind. He wanted to change it so "teenagers would shout, 'Cool, man, real cool.'" The 1957 Pontiac was only 30 days from pilot production, just 60 days from volume production. Walking around the car, Knudsen announced abruptly: "Let's take the silver streaks off. That's the biggest change we can make." The stylists were...
...reorganized the division (retirements and transfers were encouraged, "and we did some firing too," says Knudsen) and set out to redesign the Pontiac from the wheels up-and out-aiming to make it real cool by this year. His biggest change was to widen the car by 2^ in. and push the wheels out as well. The effect was spectacular. The car not only looked flashy, but also the wide-track wheels gave better balance and road ability. Equally important, says Knudsen, "it gives people something to talk about. They can see it and they can understand it." Where...
...Bunky Knudsen, the rewards of success are a $100,000 annual salary, a sprawling, twelve-room colonial farmhouse, with two tennis courts and a swimming pool, on 40 acres in suburban Birmingham, Mich., where he lives with his wife Florence and their four teenage children. Knudsen does not spend much time there. His work day is ten hours long, and part of every evening is spent slamming Pontiacs, a new one each day, around the roughest roads he can find. Knudsen, who fidgets when he hears his success mentioned, likes to recall one of the few pieces of advice...