Editorial Review

General Motors chairman Alfred P. Sloan was the ultimate organization man: he rose to the top of the auto industry after pioneers like Henry Ford built it, and then he transformed it with innovative management practices that today are studied and copied by business executives everywhere. In Read more

Reviews (2)

Great insight into the mind of a great strategist.
Mr. Faber has done a great job of puting together Alfred Sloan story, in a way that Mr. Sloan, himself, would accept as a balanced biography (although I think he wouldn't like to be so exposed in public!!!)
Uncovering a Man of Mystery
The frustrating thing for biographers writing about Alfred P. Sloan is the paucity of information about what made the man tick.Sloan was meticulously careful not to leave material which would provide insight into his personal life, his thoughts, or his motivations.Instead, Sloan was careful to manage information in such a way that his persona as the supremely rational corporate leader was maintained.David Farber understands that people are more complex, and he offers tantalizing hints into Sloan's motivations.Farber focuses on two important chapters in Sloan's career--his crucial role in the stabilizing of General Motors, the creation of the quixotic Billy Durant, and the impact of the New Deal on corporate America, specifically GM.As for the first, Farber details Sloan's career development after his graduation from MIT and after his father secured a position for him with Hyatt Roller Bearing Company.Hyatt's relationship with GM led Sloan to that company at a crucial point, when the DuPont family had secured their investment by forcing out Billy Durant.Sloan seemed the opposite of Durant, making decisions in a supremely rational way and focusing on the bottom line.Symbolic of this is Sloan's decision to place each car in the GM line to appeal to particular income levels.So is his development of a master plan for GM, which ultimately led the corporation to unprecedented profitability, even during the Depression.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Corporate & Business History - General    4. General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Industries - Automobile Industry    8. Biography: general    9. History / United States / 19th Century    10. Road vehicle manufacturing industry    11. USA   

Subjects:  1. Automotive    2. Motorcycles - History    3. Transportation    4. Leicestershire    5. Motorcycles: general interest    6. Road vehicle manufacturing industry    7. Transportation / Motorcycles / History   

Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Competition, International    5. Industrial Production    6. Industrial productivity    7. Industries - General    8. Technological innovations    9. United States   

Reviews (2)

Doing Car Design DNA
Retrofuturism presents two essays and an interview with the designer of the "New Beetle," the 2005 Mustang and other striking car designs with strong roots in earlier versions of those models.The book was published as the museum "catalog" for a show of "retrofuturism" in the car designs and drawings of Mays and designers in his studios at the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art. "Retrofuturism" is the derivation of new designs such as the New Beetle, from concepts and visual principles established in an earlier design, e.g., the original VW Beetle. The designers' rough sketches and drawings illustrating evolution of their designs are interesting.But the photos try too hard to be art in themselves and present minimal visual information about the design of the cars pictured.Buy this book for the "J. Mays, Designer" essay by C. Edson Armi and the "Q&J" interview with Mays himself, not for its pictures.
Retrofuturism: The Car Design of J Mays
Tracey Shiffman has designed this catalogue to look as though it's going from 0-60 in a few seconds, and has given it a sexy energy that perfectly matches its subject. In some ways it works better than the exhibition that's on view at the Geffen Contemporary... There, the concept cars are at rest and can't be touched; here they emerge suggestively from shadows, stretch, and zoom off in a blur of light. A perceptive essay by curator Brooke Hodge and candid remarks from Mays make this an irresistible treat for lovers of automotive architecture. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Automotive    2. Automotive - General    3. Automotive - History    4. Motor Vehicle Design And Construction    5. Transportation    6. Antiques & Collectibles / Cars    7. Art / Design / Product    8. Product design    9. Road vehicle manufacturing industry   

Subjects:  1. Automotive    2. Automotive - Miscellaneous Vehicles    3. Automotive - Repair & Maintenance    4. Automotive Maintenance And Repair    5. General    6. Transportation    7. Automotive (motor mechanic) skills    8. Motor cars: general interest    9. Technology / Technical & Manufacturing Industries & Trades    10. Vehicle maintenance   

Reviews (1)

Tome of Excellence
Well written, great lithograpy and paper, amazing research.
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Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Automobiles, Racing    3. Biography    4. History    5. Miller, Harry A    6. United States   

Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Business & Economics    3. Business/Economics    4. Corporate & Business History - General    5. Europe - Germany    6. Germany    7. History    8. History - Military / War    9. Industries - Automobile Industry    10. Military - World War II    11. Opel AG    12. American history: Second World War    13. European history: Second World War    14. History / General    15. Jewish studies    16. Road vehicle manufacturing industry    17. USA   

Reviews (2)

Fascinating
This has to be the ultimate bathroom reader or coffee table book for the trivia buff. Quick, fact filled reads on topics as diverse as Model T Fords, crash test dummies, Route 66, Rock City, Mustangs, GTO's and the evolution of the gas gauge plus fantastic vintage advertisements, colorful pictures equals 315 pages of never put down, water cooler conversation starting fun.

FABULOUS
I just received my copy of this book and have found that it far exceeds my expectations.It is not just a sit down and read a bunch of boring history about cars book.It is loaded with short and interesting factoids on all sorts of miscellaneous auto-related subjects.I'm not a huge fan of classic cars but I am a fan of trivia and "useless knowledge" and I am justthoroughly enjoying this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Automobiles    3. Automotive    4. Automotive - General    5. Automotive - Pictorial    6. History    7. Social aspects    8. Transportation    9. United States    10. Motor cars: general interest    11. Transportation / Automotive / Domestic / History   

Reviews (13)

Sound, Practical Advice for Business Managers
As the founder and CEO of a successful market research-based consulting firm, I'm privy to the inner workings of a number of Fortune 500 companies. One of my perennial frustrations with books on business strategy is that the theories they present don't often correspond to the practical realities involved in running a large organization. The beauty of this book is that Vince Barabba's strategic guidance is informed by his first-hand experiences at General Motors. In drawing on his time at GM, Barabba makes compelling and insightful links between theory and practice.
"Surviving 'Personal' Transformation"
The strength of Vince Barabba's "Surviving Transformation" comes in how one personalizes transformations so that she or he not only survives the transformation, but develops into a learning and adapting individual striving to achieve the "Idealized Design."The stories Vince uses throughout the book help the reader to understand the principles and practices that worked and did not work throughout the GM transformation.
Clear , Concise & Compelling
I would like to begin by taking exception to the first line in forward by C.K. Prahalad..."The focus of this book is "how to think": not just to survive a large-scale transformation, but to start, sustain, and thrive in a world of continuous change." The exception I wish to take is that Vince Barabba has taken a large organizations problem and translated it in a way that all organizations (large or small) can benefit equally. Organizations are all about having the right strategy,dealing with complexity and risk, making the right decisions, and making the right decisions right.
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Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Case studies    6. General Motors Corporation    7. Management    8. Management - General    9. Organizational change    10. Structural Adjustment    11. United States    12. Business & Economics / Management    13. Business strategy    14. Business | Management    15. Road vehicle manufacturing industry   

Editorial Review

Commuters, here's some food for thought: collectively, Americans spend more than 8 billion hours each year stuck in traffic. This is just one of the horrifying statistics mentioned in Jane Holtz Kay's Read more

Reviews (26)

A Muddled Mess
Let me first say that I completely agree with Kay's main point: Our car culture has huge costs, costs which are way out of whack with their benefits.
A little more of this, a little less of that...
Less a book than a book-length sort of reportage, Asphalt Nation builds the case against the automobile to almost absurd heights. After reading the first half of the book, you wonder why cars are even legal in this country! Cars pollute, pollution is toxic, OK, we get that. Enough already.
A worthy thesis, well presented
I've noticed how much design caters to car traffic for some time now. Not only are bus systems left behind in plans, but it is also difficult to walk anywhere these days. I'm not crazy about her ideas like raising gas prices, or anything that raises the misery factor for low income people struggling to keep their jalopy running (like harsh smog test requirements) but the idea of making alternative transportation easier and more attractive is good. Read more

Subjects:  1. Automobiles    2. Automotive - General    3. City and town life    4. Environmental Science    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. Social aspects    8. Sociology - Urban    9. Sociology, Urban    10. Transportation    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. American history: from c 1900 -    14. City & town planning - architectural aspects    15. Environmental economics    16. Nature / General    17. Road transport industries    18. USA   

Reviews (8)

Fear mongering?
I invite you to take a look at the NHTSA website(if I give the URL my review will not see the light of the day) and compare death rates in SUVs to compact cars. Then, price your insurance for a SUV against a small car. The price difference will tell you in which type of vehicle you are most likely to suffer a loss. These are real world data on which insurance companies are betting their money. Nothing subjective about it. Finally , let me ask you something: the SUV craze has been going on since the early to late '90s. Don't you think it would die down by now if SUVs were such dangerous vehicles? At least all the early adopters of SUVs would be dead by now.
Reads Like a Novel With Lots of Facts
This is an excellent book written by a Detroit bureau chief for the New York Times. He worked on and off on the book for almost five years and has produced a compelling and fact filled read of 440 pages plus notes. Excellent job.
BIG Auto Gets Its Comeuppance
I was picking up my kid from school one rainy day, maneuvering my Honda Civic amid a sea of cars in the drive thru. There was some jockeying for position but most everyone waited their turn. Suddenly a monstrosity known as a Ford Excursion appeared, lumbering ponderously toward us, eventually blocking a portion of the less than generous drive thru. The lone occupant seemed oblivious to the presence of others. She shed her unsightly Birkenstocks, then rummaged thru an overpriced DooneyBourke bag for her new Blackberry while awaiting her pride and joy. Thankfully, said P&J soon appeared and dove into the simmering behemoth. Soccermom chattered happily with her Suburban and Navigator-owning peers and lovingly placed the transmission into Drive. Nothing happened. Newly pedicured tootsies pressed the accelerator but all she elicited was a tired sputter and several tomatoes tossed her way by peeved parents. One kind gentlemen popped the hood, then slid behind the wheel to check the gauges for clues. Everything seemed in order. However, the FUEL gauge registered empty, the ugly guzzler having garnered its usual 8 MPG after a $75+ fill-up. She called hubby for a lift, no doubt pondering how they get away with hogging and wasting gasoline in such perilous times. All for a little ego boost in My-SUV's-Bigger-Than-Yours suburbia. Life is a puzzlement. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Business/Economics    3. Consumer Behavior - General    4. Consumer protection    5. Crashworthiness    6. Engineering - Automotive    7. General    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Sport utility vehicles    10. Technology    11. United States    12. Motor cars: general interest   

Subjects:  1. Automotive    2. Automotive - Repair & Maintenance    3. Automotive Maintenance And Repair    4. Chrysler LH cars    5. Chrysler LHS automobile    6. Concorde automobile    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Maintenance and repair    9. Transportation    10. Automotive (motor mechanic) skills    11. Technology / Technical & Manufacturing Industries & Trades    12. Transportation / Automotive / General    13. Vehicle workshop manuals   

Reviews (11)

Inside story of Rick Hendrick's Bribery Shenanigans
This was a terrific review of this book, found online:
Maybe Reviewers of this Book Should Tell the Truth
Michael Daly's review of this book (see below) is driven by his irrational hatred of Jeff Gordon.This book has way more to do with Japanese business methods than Rick Hendrick.Unfortunately, Daly cannot see the forest for the trees.Do yourself a favor.Read the book and not Daly's comments thereto.The former is much more enlightening.

Great Book!!
Arrogance and Accords is engaging, well written and at times very funny. The mainstream media missed this compelling corruption tale even though it was the biggest story in the auto industry during the 1990s. Read more

Subjects:  1. American Honda Motor Company    2. Automobile Industries (Economic Aspects)    3. Automobile dealers    4. Automobile industry and trade    5. Automotive    6. Automotive - Industry    7. Business & Economics    8. Business/Economics    9. Commercial crimes    10. Corrupt practices    11. History Of Specific Companies    12. Industries - General    13. United States    14. White Collar Crime   

Reviews (2)

Still one of the best books I've read
Some time ago there was an online bookstore called labor's online bookstore.That page now links to Amazon.In 1998 I posted the following review on that website: "I recently read this and it is one of the best books I have ever read, lucid, accessible, engaging, and an excellent account of one young Marxist putting theory into practice in the Citroen factory at Choissy in 1968."I stand by that brief endorsement today.I consider it essential reading, and recommend it to my students interested in factory discipline, unions, etc.Linhart was a young Marxist student (actually, a former student of Louis Althusser) who, after 1968, went into the Citroen factory.It is especially good on labour-discipline and racism.

"l�etabli"
"DE CADENAS Y DE HOMBRES" Read more

Subjects:  1. Assembly-line methods    2. Automation Of Industrial Production    3. Automobile industry workers    4. Careers - Job Almanacs    5. Careers / Job Opportunities    6. Case studies    7. France    8. Industrial relations    9. Job Satisfaction    10. Industry & Industrial Studies    11. Work & labour   

Reviews (1)

God of the Left
Besides leaving behind a freeway named after him, Reuther is a modern Father of the Radical Left, and has left behind a legacy of Union corruption, crooked party politics, and collective brainwashing.A fascinating book, a fascinating man, and a heck of a story, it's ideologically incorrect in that it exalts Reuther toward legacy status, and it appeases those that believe in the power of government, and the collective mentality of the masses.It's all good and well, says the author, because unions and government usurpation and regulation are all glorious.Horrible mentality, but good writing and research.Reach your own judgements. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1907-1970    2. Automobile industry workers    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Business    6. Business/Economics    7. History    8. Labor & Industrial Relations - General    9. Labor leaders    10. Labor unions    11. Officials and employees    12. Political Science    13. Reuther, Walter,    14. United States    15. Industrial relations    16. Reuther, Walter   

Editorial Review

The most significant features of our landscape are often invisible to us. For example: how often have you wondered about the evolution of the gas station? How many gas stations are there in the U.S.? Are gas stations increasing or decreasing in number? What do Bauhaus and feminism have to do with gas station architecture?Read more

Reviews (1)

Gas Stations of the past to the present
I think that this book really is a great resource to people who are interested in American history and how an industry can evolve over the decades. The information regarding the retail petroleum industry itself wasa little bit thin.I would have liked to see how the industry boomed whencars became a necessity to Americans and how the gas station industryhandled that. The pictures in the book make the book very likable even tothe everyday person picking up the book off of a coffee table.It takesolder American's back to their younger days of $.05 gas and youngerAmerican's to a time when gas wasn't over $2.00 a gallon.I enjoyed thisbook and would recommend it to a person who is interested in the industryof retail petroleum and the evolution of the gas station we all use! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Americana    2. Architecture    3. Automotive - General    4. Popular Culture - General    5. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    6. Transportation    7. Business & Economics / Economic Development    8. Cultural studies    9. Road & motor vehicles: general interest    10. Road transport industries    11. Social history    12. USA   

Reviews (1)

Must Read Automotive History
This book is truly a must-read gem.It is the first academic book about the Dodge Brothers.Though it has many in-depth footnotes the book is absolutely readable and tells a nice story all in around 200 pages.It is perfect for the professor of history or the person just curious about Detroit or automotive history.The book is also full of great photos: images showing the brothers, their families, the cars and the plants where they were built.
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Subjects:  1. (John Francis),    2. 1864-1920    3. Automobile engineers    4. Automotive - History    5. Biography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Business    8. Corporate & Business History - General    9. Dodge Brothers    10. Dodge, John F.    11. General    12. History    13. Industries - Automobile Industry    14. Transportation    15. United States   

Subjects:  1. Automobile industry and trade    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Honda of America Mfg    6. Japan    7. Motorcycle industry    8. United States   

Reviews (5)

A Must Have for Drag Racing Fans
This book is, plain and simple, the best book on what drag racing is all about. The history and facts are first rate. I learned more about the sport from this one book than all others I have read combined. This would be a fantastic documentary for TV.

HIGH PERFORMANCE the culture and technology of drag racing!!
as a lover of drag racing and a drag racer myself,i have to say this is THE MOST COMPLETE BOOK on the subject of drag racing i have ever read.it covers all aspects of the sport from the beginning to 1990 and in every detail.if you are a lover of the sport,a drag racer or even if you know nothing about the sport this book will give you new insight,new feelings and you WILL learn a new appreciation of the sport..

A "Must-Read" For Anyone Seriously Interested In Drag Racing
This is by far the best book on drag racing I have ever come across.My first season was 1961 at the track of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and to varying degrees I have followed the sport ever since.Read more

Subjects:  1. Automobile Racing    2. Drag racing    3. History    4. Motor Sports    5. Social aspects    6. Sociology Of Sports    7. Sports    8. Sports & Recreation    9. Sports Psychology    10. United States    11. Automotive technology    12. Car racing    13. Industry & Industrial Studies    14. USA    15. c 1945 to c 1960    16. c 1960 to c 1970    17. c 1970 to c 1980    18. c 1980 to c 1990   

Reviews (3)

All you ever wanted to know about Henry Ford
This book provides a comprehensive look at Henry Ford's life that is both entertaining and educational.It covers basically everything, his personal affairs, all the little side ventures he took part in in addition to his car company, even relationships with other notable people of his time, namely Thomas Edison, Dodge brothers, etc.It is overall an interesting read and at times I find it quite humorous.Highly recommended.

Sensational, Definitive and Entertaining!A Must Have!
"Ford: The Men and the Machine" is the most definitive and complete book about the life and happenings of automotive's greatest man, Henry Ford.His accomplishments as cited cannot compare to any other single figure in automobile history (or even business itself). It's an auto industry history and a soap opera!
For those who want the dish on one of the most dominant yet dysfunctional American family businesses, Robert Lacey's profile of the Ford Motor Company is a must. It's plot is pure Movie-Of-The-Week - a country boyinspired to build a cheap car for the masses, accrues wealth and fame, thenhas to deal with the giant he created. His lone son, the second generationgives his life for the company, a casualty of the tug of war between apatriarch and his ego. Just as the company is about to crash in corruptionand incompetence, the grandson, Henry II enters and saves the day, buildingthe infrastructure of a modern corporation. But, eventually Henry's hatchanges from white to shades of grey - the pitfalls of arrogance from neverending riches and successes. It's 650 pages of American history and soapopera, and it was so interesting it could have been longer. A great bookfor those who appreciate American motoring history. - Leila Dunbar,Mobilia.com ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1863-1947    2. Automobile Industries (Economic Aspects)    3. Automobile industry    4. Automobile industry and trade    5. Biography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Ford Motor Company    8. Ford family    9. Ford, Henry,    10. General    11. History    12. Sale Adult - Biography / Autobiography    13. United States    14. Ford, Henry