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Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster by Paul Ingrassia
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
3.0
Ingrassia does an admirable job of keeping the corporate intrigue interesting in this account of the rise and fall (and rise and fall) of the America automobile industry. His tone rubbed me the wrong way at times; he makes it sound like the errors of executives were obvious at the time rather than imagining why they refused to "change with the times."
causearuckus's review against another edition
3.0
Its ironic that the big three keep repeating their same mistakes every 20 years or so (doubling down on SUVS, not being progressive in the industry).
Well researched and written with a smooth narrative, but the author puts way too much blame of the big three's problems on the union. Yes, the UAW has a lot of problems, but there is an ethical argument to be made that workers deserve pensions and healthcare without deductibles or other costs. A lot of space is dedicated to the issue of the union's job banks, but why should workers be punished by losing jobs/not getting paid for management's mistakes, especially since it is made clear the union has no say in how the companies are run.
Well researched and written with a smooth narrative, but the author puts way too much blame of the big three's problems on the union. Yes, the UAW has a lot of problems, but there is an ethical argument to be made that workers deserve pensions and healthcare without deductibles or other costs. A lot of space is dedicated to the issue of the union's job banks, but why should workers be punished by losing jobs/not getting paid for management's mistakes, especially since it is made clear the union has no say in how the companies are run.
mdrfromga's review against another edition
3.0
Hindsight is always 20/20, but reading this book makes me feel better about some of the dumb decisions I've made over the years. It's hard to believe that executives at the big three car companies focused on anything but quality and profitability, but they did. And they sometimes did it with gusto. The UAW didn't help, with a focus on lining their own pockets at the expense of the companies with such gems as the 'job bank.' Pride cometh before the fall, and the near collapse of the big three was testament to that axiom.
If I can nitpick, the accounts read more like a textbook at times, and I found myself wanting Ingrassia to flesh out the tension even more.
If I can nitpick, the accounts read more like a textbook at times, and I found myself wanting Ingrassia to flesh out the tension even more.
jstuartmill's review
5.0
A must read for anyone who wants to hear the full-story behind the American Automobile Industry. The author gives stunning detail and walks your through all the missteps made and the continued trials they face.
johnmarlowe's review
4.0
I read this book like it was a good fiction book, non-stop, probably because of my own personal experience with the auto industry. There were so many familiar things in it, such as the Jobs Bank, where I got 95% of my pay when I was laid off from GM Norwood, and it was still happening in 2009. The book was a story of the insularity of the automobile industry, where no executive or executive retiree ever had to buy a car or pay for gas, or wash it; it was all provided. They knew what they had to do to save the industry; they just couldn 19t do it until it was too late. It was a sad book, and made even sadder because I just bought two foreign Toyotas.
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