Once Upon A Car

Author : Bill Vlasic
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 006204222X
Total Pages : 375 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Once Upon a Car written by Bill Vlasic and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once Upon a Car is the brilliantly reported inside-the-boardrooms-and-factories story of Detroit’s fight for survival, going beyond the headlines to chronicle how the country’s Big Three auto companies—General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—teetered on the brink of collapse during the 2008 financial crisis. In a tale that reads like a corporate thriller, Bill Vlasic, who has covered the auto industry for more than fifteen years, first for the Detroit News and now for the New York Times, takes readers into the executive offices, assembly plants, and union halls to introduce a cast of memorable characters, many of whom are speaking out for the first time, including the executives who struggled to save their companies but in the end had to seek a controversial, last-gasp rescue from the U.S. government. Vlasic goes behind the scenes to portray the men at the top during Detroit’s last stand. Rick Wagoner, the CEO of General Motors, tried to turn around a dying company, only to be forced to resign as a condition of the government bailout. Bill Ford, great-grandson of the legendary Henry Ford, had the will to keep Ford alive but needed the guts to hire an unknown outsider, Alan Mulally, to transform the company before it crashed. At Chrysler, leadership was constantly changing as new owners tried in vain to fix the smallest of the beleaguered Big Three. And through it all, the president of the United Auto Workers union, Ron Gettelfinger, fought to save the jobs of the men and women who build American-made cars and trucks. This tale of an iconic industry in crisis is more than a big business drama and provides a rich, unvarnished portrait of how Detroit’s decline affected tens of thousands of workers and dozens of communities nationwide. The story moves from the gleaming corporate skyscrapers and massive auto plants to the halls of the U.S. Congress and into the Oval Office, where President Obama and his aides wrestled with how to keep General Motors and Chrysler from going out of business. Vlasic shows why the bailout worked, and how Detroit can succeed under new leadership and build automobiles equal to any in the world. Once Upon a Car tells a uniquely American tale of success, failure, and redemption. It is an important and illuminating chapter in an astonishing story that is still unfolding. And no one is more qualified to write it than Bill Vlasic.

Author : Bill Vlasic
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062088602
Total Pages : 624 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Once Upon a Car LP written by Bill Vlasic and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once Upon a Car is the brilliantly reported story of Detroit’s fight for survival, chronicling how the country’s Big Three auto companies—General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—teetered on the brink of collapse during the 2008 financial crisis. Bill Vlasic takes readers behind closed doors and into the executive offices, assembly plants, and union halls to introduce a cast of memorable characters, many of whom speak out for the first time, including the executives who struggled to save their companies but in the end had to seek a controversial, last-gasp rescue from the American government. The story moves from the gleaming corporate skyscrapers and massive auto plants to the U.S. Congress and into the Oval Office, where President Obama and his aides wrestled with how to keep General Motors and Chrysler from going out of business. Vlasic shows why the bailout worked, and how Detroit can succeed under new leadership and build automobiles equal to any in the world.

Author : Paul Ingrassia
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 0812980751
Total Pages : 333 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Crash Course written by Paul Ingrassia and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2011-01-11 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A definitive account . . . It’s hard to imagine anyone better than Paul Ingrassia to ‘ride shotgun’ on a journey through the sometimes triumphant, often turbulent, history of U.S. automaking. . . . [A] wealth of amusing, astonishing and enlightening nuggets.”—Pittsburgh Tribune-Review This is the epic saga of the American automobile industry’s rise and demise, a compelling story of hubris, missed opportunities, and self-inflicted wounds that culminates with the president of the United States ushering two of Detroit’s Big Three car companies—once proud symbols of prosperity—through bankruptcy. With unprecedented access, Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Ingrassia takes us from factory floors to small-town dealerships to Detroit’s boardrooms to the White House. Ingrassia answers the big questions: Was Detroit’s self-destruction inevitable? Why did Japanese automakers manage American workers better than the American companies themselves did? Complete with a new Afterword providing fresh insights into the continuing upheaval in the auto industry—the travails of Toyota, the revolving-door management and IPO at General Motors, the unexpected progress at Chrysler, and the Obama administration’s stake in Detroit’s recovery—Crash Course addresses a critical question: America bailed out GM, but who will bail out America? With an updated Afterword by the author Praise for Crash Course “In order to understand just how much of a mess it was—not to mention how it got that way and how, if at all, it can be cleaned up—you really need to read Crash Course.”—The Washinton Post “Ingrassia tells Detroit’s story with economy, vigour and restrained fury.”—The Economist “A delightful mix of history and first-person reporting . . . Employing superb storytelling skills, Ingrassia explains in head-shaking detail the elements of a wholly avoidable collision.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Author : Bill Vlasic
Publisher : William Morrow
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Taken for a Ride written by Bill Vlasic and published by William Morrow. This book was released on 2000-05-30 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was the deal heard round the world. In May 1998, a stunning $36 billion merger was announced by Chrysler, the all-American automaker, and Daimler-Benz, the German manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz luxury sedans. The Wall Street Journal christened the deal "the biggest industrial merger of all time." The marriage of Daimler and Chrysler promised to rock the global auto industry and draw up a blueprint for international consolidation on an epic scale. But the union of Chrysler, the blue-collar maker of Jeeps and minivans, with Daimler, the crown jewel of German industry, didn't turn out to be a merger made in heaven. When the dust settled, Daimler had bought Chrysler, and the shock waves reverberated on both sides of the Atlantic. An American icon lost its independence, and a German giant grew in power and influence. The DiamlerChrysler deal brough together two automotive superpowers and triggered a chain reaction among competitors seeking partners around the world. In a gripping narrative ripped from the daily headlines, Bill Vlasic and Bradley A. Stertz of the Detroit News go behind the scenes of the defining corporate drama of the decade. With groundbreaking reporting, they reveal the untold story behind the unsuccessful attempt to take over Chrysler by its biggest shareholder, the reclusive billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, and its legendary retired CEO, Lee Iacocca. Their startling grab for the smallest of Detroit's Big Three automakers sparked secret talks between Chrysler and Daimler on a massive joint venture. The first deal collapsed, but it set the stage for the final, intense negotiations between Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton and Daimler chairman Jürgen Schrempp. It was hailed as a historic "merger of equals," but the euphoria evaporated amid a clash of cultures, identities, and personalities. The action moves feverishly around the world with larger-than-life characters in the high-stakes arena of international automaking. Taken for a Ride follows the twists and turns in the road to DaimlerChrysler and, in the end, emerges as a cautionary tale of the risks and rewards of going global.

Author : Alex Taylor
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300158882
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.85/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sixty to Zero written by Alex Taylor and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2010-05-04 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The collapse of General Motors captured headlines in early 2009, but as Alex Taylor III writes in this in-depth dissection of the automaker's undoing, GM's was a meltdown forty years in the making. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience and insight as an automotive industry reporter, as well as personal relationships with many of the leading players, Taylor reveals the many missteps of GM and its competitors.

Author : Elizabeth Berg
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 1588368939
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.35/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Once Upon a Time, There Was You written by Elizabeth Berg and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-04-05 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BONUS: This edition contains a Once Upon a Time, There Was You discussion guide. Even on their wedding day, John and Irene sensed that they were about to make a mistake. Years later, divorced, dating other people, and living in different parts of the country, they seem to have nothing in common—nothing except the most important person in each of their lives: Sadie, their spirited eighteen-year-old daughter. Feeling smothered by Irene and distanced from John, Sadie is growing more and more attached to her new boyfriend, Ron. When tragedy strikes, Irene and John come together to support the daughter they love so dearly. What takes longer is to remember how they really feel about each other. Elizabeth Berg’s immense talent shines in this unforgettable novel about the power of love, the unshakeable bonds of family, and the beauty of second chances.

Author : Al Roker
Publisher : Touchstone
ISBN 13 : 9780684868943
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Don't Make Me Stop This Car written by Al Roker and published by Touchstone. This book was released on 2001 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The weatherman from the Today show tells of his wife Deborah and their daughters Courtney and Leila and of how the joys and challenges of parenting have caused him to be more appreciative of his own parents.

Author : Bob Lutz
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1591846226
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters written by Bob Lutz and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of the most acute books about management and how com­panies work in practice that I have read in a long time. If anyone wants to know exactly how the U.S. auto industry got into trou­ble, here is your guide.” —John Gapper, FINANCIAL TIMES When Bob Lutz got into the auto business in the early 1960s, CEOs knew that if you captured the public’s imagination with innovative car design and top-quality crafts­manship, the money would follow. The “car guys” held sway, and GM dominated with bold, creative leadership and iconic brands like Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, GMC, and Chevrolet. But then GM’s leadership began to put its faith in numbers and spreadsheets. Determined to eliminate the “waste” and “personality worship” of the bygone creative leaders, management got too smart for its own good. With the bean counters firmly in charge, carmakers, and much of American industry, lost their single-minded focus on product excellence and their competitive advantage. Decline soon followed. In 2001, General Motors hired Lutz out of retirement with a mandate to save the company by making great cars again. As vice chairman, he launched a war against the penny-pinching number crunchers who ran the company by the bottom line and reinstated a focus on creativity, design, and cars and trucks that would satisfy GM’s customers. Lutz’s commonsense lessons, combined with a generous helping of fascinating anecdotes, will inspire readers in any industry.

Author : Walter Wick
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780545019705
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.02/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Can You See what I See? written by Walter Wick and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young readers are asked to find different kinds of vehicles in the photographs.

Author : Maggie Barbieri
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 125001168X
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Once Upon a Lie written by Maggie Barbieri and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2013-12-10 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maeve Conlon's life is coming apart at the seams. Her bakery is barely making ends meet, and one of her daughters spends as much time grounded as the other does studying. Her ex-husband has a new wife, a new baby, and a look of pity for Maeve that's absolutely infuriating. Her father insists he's still independent, but he's slowly and obviously succumbing to Alzheimer's. And now, her cousin Sean Donovan has been found dead, sitting in his car in a public park in quiet Farringville, New York, shot through the head. There was never much love lost between Maeve and Sean and she's not exactly devastated by his death, but suddenly the police are poking around asking the family questions. It's just one more hassle Maeve doesn't have time for, until she realizes that her father, whose memory and judgment are unreliable at best, is a suspect in the murder. Maeve is determined to clear his name, but is she prepared to cope with the dark memories and long-hidden secrets that doing so might dredge up? Maggie Barbieri will mesmerize readers with Once Upon a Lie, a gripping novel about family, justice, and the choices we make that define who we are.