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...more disciplined Toyota seems to become. Since the Camry started slipping in the quality scores, managers have drilled into the consumer surveys, reading customer comments to fix peeves as minute as the sound of the trunk latch. As for eliminating waste, says Gary Convis, president of the Georgetown plant, "we're never satisfied." Convis says Toyota has cut the delivery time for custom models from 10 weeks to 10 days, and that his facility has reduced some manufacturing costs by as much as 70%. A group of assembly workers from the plant went to Wal-Mart last year hunting...
...sport-utility vehicle, the Tucson, and later this year, the company will launch a new high-end sedan for the U.S. market, the Azera. Down the road Hyundai plans to roll out a larger SUV and its first hybrid gas-electric vehicle. In addition, the company is opening manufacturing plants around the world that should help it penetrate key markets. Hyundai is investing $600 million in a factory in the southern Indian city of Madras; due to open in 2007, the plant will be Hyundai's second in the country. And in April, Hyundai opened its first U.S. factory...
...Even with its recent success, Hyundai's market position remains insecure. The next few months will be especially challenging. With a host of new models coming out and its U.S. plant just revving up, Hyundai may have a harder time maintaining quality. "They're not out of the woods yet," says J.D. Power's Parker. Dwindling profit margins are another problem. The average Hyundai car retails for 10-15% less than a comparable Toyota or Honda in the U.S., but with rising labor costs and a weaker dollar, Hyundai must persuade customers to pay more so that profits keep growing...
Howard Fields, 56, had no intention of changing his ways just because of an unfair regulation. After all, the autoworker had parked in the front lot of Ford's Lima, Ohio, engine plant for 28 years. So when United Auto Workers Local 1219 and Ford last year signed an agreement requiring employees with foreign cars to park in a back lot more than half a mile away from the factory, the old-timer ignored the new rule and continued to leave his 1981 Nissan in the front...
...factories are being allowed to turn out consumer products along with staples ordered by the government. The 98-year-old Jianshe Machine Tool Works, for example, produces Yamaha motorcycles as well as rifles. The reforms are stimulating competition. Jianshe's Yamahas are up against Hondas assembled in another Chongqing plant. Says Jianshe Plant Manager Chen Zisheng: "The competition is good. It makes us compete on quality, and that is important...