One of my favorite newspaper writers is Ed Wallace of my local Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Wallace appears in the Sunday automotive section and usually writes about broader business issues beyond cars. His most recent column (“The Fall and Rise of…
Bob Lutz spent 47 years in the auto industry at GM, Ford, BMW, and Chrysler, and in this 2011 conversation he talks about his book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters, the “blanderizer” effect on product design, and why he thinks…
In the news yesterday, a General Motors recall over what could be just one isolated steering wheel problem in an Ohio-built Chevrolet (don’t call it Chevy) Cruze. Most news stories, like this one, about the recall just mention that one…
I’m finally blogging about a Wall Street Journal article from just before Christmas – it’s still a generally interesting topic, I think. The article was “Holiday Help: People vs. Robots” It compares the labor and productivity strategies of two retailers…
As I blogged about on Friday, I was back at my alma mater, Northwestern, for a football game this weekend– well, actually, I was at Wrigley Field instead of our usual home stadium. The “confines” of “The Friendly Confines” (as…
People often ask “So where did the term ‘lean’ come from?” It didn’t come from Toyota. And the term isn’t an acronym (so no need to type it as LEAN or L.E.A.N.). The term came from John Krafcik, who was…
Mark’s note: It’s great to welcome Andy Wagner back to the blog. Read his older posts here. General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota have been dominating the headlines in recent months with their financial and, now, quality troubles, while some surprising…
Random thought related to those from the Big 3 Detroit 3 who are happy to see Toyota suffer, I think I’m coining a term (I can’t find it, or this spelling, via google anywhere): I think I’m coining a phrase:…
I had a great opportunity a few weeks back, seeing former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich give a talk at the Ontario Hospital Association annual event in Toronto. I had a chance to meet him briefly and had a…
Hat tip to blog reader Steven H. for sending this video my way. It’s always nice to see Lean featured in the mainstream media, including CNN. Click here for the video at cnn.com. The story says that the company, a…
I ended up having the chance to flip through a LIFE magazine from August 1980 and, given that was also a major recessionary period, it wasn’t huge surprise to see articles about joblessness and the decline of the auto industry…
The infamous “Jobs Bank” was created in the 1980s to protect UAW members from job losses that would otherwise result from automation and robotics. An excellent summary is found here: The Jobs Bank was created as GM made its plants…
