Updated 8/11: Looks like the plant has a tentative agreement.
Last post before vacation… still sounds like there could be a labor stoppage at NUMMI. I found this interesting:
“While GM and Toyota own the plant equally, most of its capacity is used by Toyota. In this year's first half, 84 percent of the 205,563 vehicles the California plant produced were Toyota models.”
I remember, at one point, at the Toyota Corolla, while being practically identical to the GM Geo/Chevy Metro, sold at a nice ($500?) price premium over the GM product. People said this was due to Toyota's quality reputation and reliability. GM was being punished by the market for poor quality.
That's a great illustration of the Profit = Market Price – Cost principle. Although the “Cost” for the GM and Toyota NUMMI products were the same, I'd guess, Toyota's profit was higher because the market placed a higher value on the Corolla over the Metro.
Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Let’s work together to build a culture of continuous improvement and psychological safety. If you're a leader looking to create lasting change—not just projects—I help organizations:
- Engage people at all levels in sustainable improvement
- Shift from fear of mistakes to learning from them
- Apply Lean thinking in practical, people-centered ways
Interested in coaching or a keynote talk? Let’s start a conversation.
The Prizm is the Geo/Chevy Corolla equivalent. The Metro is a Suzuki Swift.