Automotive News - September 15, 2008 - (Page 4)

CONTENTS 34. What? No clutch? In the auto industry’s continual evolution, occasionally there’s a great leap forward that changes the paradigm. The automatic transmission, in the 1940 Oldsmobile, was one, and it came after 17 years of research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 51. Attention from the trustbusters GM had grown so powerful by the mid-1950s that the Justice Department began an antitrust investigation. Years of study brought no results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 35. The industry prepares for war In 1940, with the United States on the brink of war, President Franklin Roosevelt faced severe shortages of the equipment needed for the coming fight. He called on GM President William S. Knudsen, who helped turn America’s manufacturing might into a military supply line for World War II. . . . . . . . . 100 52. GM and race: Laggard to leader GM, like the rest of the auto industry, was slow to address racial issues. But several important initiatives have led to progress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 53. A model for the moon The first vehicle on the moon had a GM pedigree and a hefty sticker. The Lunar Roving Vehicle was developed for about $38 million. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 36. The GM bookshelf Peter Drucker’s Concept of the Corporation rocked GM and remains a must-read for business historians. And he was far from the only author who had a lot to say about GM. . . . . 102 54. The Daewoo strategy After several unsuccessful attempts at Asian alliances, GM thinks it has found a good fit with Daewoo of South Korea. . . . . . . 202 37. Making history with the UAW Bargainers for the UAW and the auto companies forged landmark innovations in collective bargaining. Many were funded from GM’s deep pockets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 100 years of selling the sizzle To sell the steak, you’ve got to make people hear — and crave — the sizzle. Throughout its first century, General Motors has been selling that sizzle with some of the most innovative tactics — and biggest budgets — in the marketing world. GM was an early user of big-time celebrity endorsements; its product tie-ins can be seen today in any movie theater; and it is working feverishly now to target and reach its audience in a variety of nontraditional ways. “Marketing the Dream,” a special section about GM’s first century of marketing, is tucked in the middle of our 100 stories. The section, produced by our sister publication Advertising Age, also includes interviews with some of today’s key players and suggests what lies ahead. . . . . . . . . 145-196 © GM Corp. photos 55. Not exactly a small-car star GM has made a lot of money thinking big: big vehicles, big margins. Its record with small cars over the years hasn’t been as impressive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 38. A century of innovation Because talented dreamers dared to wonder, “What if . . . ?” GM produced a steady stream of auto innovations. Here are some of them. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 56. Lordstown: Man vs. machine It was a lesson in how not to automate. GM’s highly mechanized factory made the workers feel like machines, too — and the result was disastrous. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 39. Health care benefits: A history Employee health care benefits began in the 1940s, and would have long-term financial implications for GM and other automakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 57. Somehow, the solutions appeared After bitter fights against government safety, emissions and fuel economy regulations, GM always found a way to get the job done. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 40. The Motorama years From 1949 to 1961, glamorous road shows displayed “dream cars” that leapt from the imaginations of Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell. Many consider it the golden age of GM styling. . . . 1 10 58. Pete Estes: Autos better than butter When Elliott Estes was a kid, churning butter for $3.20 a day at a Michigan creamery, he thought he’d give General Motors Institute a try. He picked up the “Pete” nickname — and a career that took him to the GM presidency in the 1970s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 41. Corvette: 55 years of star power Since its 1953 debut, the Chevrolet Corvette has been GM’s halo car and a powerful force in U.S. popular culture. . . . . . 114 42. Where big ideas are born GM’s Technical Center, honored as an architectural gem, has been home to some of the company’s top innovators since the 1950s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 59. Kneecapping the streetcars? GM has been accused of acquiring streetcar systems for the purpose of killing them — and the concept of public transit. But evidence suggests that the antiquated systems were living on borrowed time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 43. Fabulous facades On several continents, GM buildings have won architectural acclaim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 60. Downsizing in the 1970s When fuel prices soared in the 1970s, GM designers rushed to shave pounds and inches from vehicles. The crash program had mixed results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 44. Dealers get clout from Congress The Automobile Dealers Day in Court Act of 1956 gave franchise holders more leverage in what had been a one-sided relationship with the factory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 61. The punching-bag years For decades, GM was an American icon. Then it was open season on the auto giant. John DeLorean, Ross Perot and Michael Moore were among the highest-profile critics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 45. The Donner era Frederic Donner, a bean counter who rose to the top of GM, reshaped the automaker in the 1960s. Sales and profits soared, but critics say his reorganization weakened the divisions and began to blur the distinction among GM’s brands. . . . . . . . 128 62. Roger Smith: Adversity in the ’80s CEO Roger Smith envisioned a diverse GM — not just cars, but robots, electronics, computer technology. Critics say that under his watch GM took its eye off the ball and neglected its core mission: creating interesting, well-made products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 46. Buick’s venerable V-6 When oil prices spiked in the 1970s, Buick engineers dusted off some mothballed technology to help ease the pain. . . . . . 130 47. Pontiac flexes its muscles Taking a cue from street racers of the 1960s, Pontiac stuffed a big engine into a small car, giving birth to the GTO and the era of the muscle car. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 63. Pressure from the Japanese The Japanese, long ignored in the U.S. market, began eating GM’s lunch in the 1980s by building reliable cars that customers liked. GM’s market share plunged, but there was an upside: It was forced to begin a long-overdue mission to improve product quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 48. The rise and fall of John DeLorean John DeLorean cut a swath through the staid gray flannel world of GM — as a rising star who revived Pontiac; a disgruntled senior exec who ruffled feathers and made his own rules; and as a headline-grabbing, scandal-plagued alum. . . . . . 134 64. Cookie-cutter catastrophe They called it “badge engineering,” and it certainly cut productdevelopment costs in the 1980s. But when you can’t tell the Buicks from the Oldsmobiles from the Pontiacs, you’ve got a problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 49. Ralph Nader and the age of scrutiny Upset by the safety activism of Ralph Nader, GM hired gumshoes to investigate him. Nader used the publicity — and the fat settlement from a lawsuit – to fund an auto safety watchdog group and give impetus to a wave of government regulation of automotive safety and emissions. . . . . . . . . 140 65. A parade of two-seaters The Corvette led the way and remains the biggest success. But it wasn’t the only two-seater in the GM story. Read about some hits and misses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 50. The difficult reign of Jim Roche Jim Roche led GM in the late 1960s, a challenging period of government regulation. A crippling strike in 1970 made his job even tougher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 66. Roger Smith’s reorganization CEO Roger Smith wanted to revamp the division system and create a unified GM. On paper, the 1984 plan made sense; in practice, it was a disaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 September 15, 2008 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

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Automotive News GM 100 Supplement Contents 25 Game-Changers for GM Marketing the Dream

Automotive News - September 15, 2008

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