Why the Most Profitable Cars Made in the U.S.A. Are Japanese and German
(4 of 4)
As for Chrysler, some analysts say it has little chance of becoming a low-cost producer any time soon. A handful of its new vehicles the Pacifica wagon and Crossfire sports car incorporate the prized engineering of its corporate sibling, Mercedes-Benz. By 2005, Chrysler will start using a Mitsubishi small-car platform. (DaimlerChrysler owns a controlling stake in Mitsubishi.) But Chrysler's annual run of 2.5 million vehicles comes from 15 plants and incorporates 11 platforms an inefficient scheme.
Though the UAW has resisted manufacturers' attempts to outsource much production to lower-paying suppliers, GM may have set a precedent with its new Cadillac plant in Lansing, Mich., which opened last year. Be more flexible about work rules, and let us outsource more, GM said, or we'll set up shop in Mexico or Canada (where the Canadian Auto Workers split from its American parent in 1985). The plant is now a model of Detroit lean and mean. Its vehicles rate second, to Lexus, in initial quality. Suppliers deliver components every four hours (vs. every two weeks at some GM plants), and management lets workers freeze the lines if they notice a component or assembly flaw.
One of Detroit's toughest problems is that as its vehicles and plants improve, so do those of its foreign-based competitors. Today's global auto industry is a race in which it's difficult not only to win but also to survive a contest that Chrysler, in a sense, lost when it gave up its independence. That prospect stalks other U.S. automakers and keeps them running hard.
- « PREV PAGE
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Most Popular »
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extra-Terrestrial
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- Temple of Doom: Scientists Discover Peruvian Tomb Filled with Mummies, Infants
- Before and After D-Day: Rare Color Photos
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- A Diamond Jubilee
- Marilyn Monroe: Early Unpublished Photos
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Etan Patz: After 33 Years, an Arrest in the Disappearance of the 'Milk-Carton Boy'
- Vintage Vegas: Rare Photos of a Desert Boomtown
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do




