I'm Not Asking for Sympathy

Q. When you came into office 18 months ago, you were a quiet team player who was going to take a noncombative approach to invigorating morale. Have circumstances changed?

A. What got to me was that I really hadn't planned on the invasion of Kuwait my second day on the job. I supported the President, but I told my colleagues, "This is not good for car and truck sales." It was not good for the country.

My timetable? Yeah, it's moved up. It's going to be a lot faster than it was because I don't see the actions in this country that can really get us roaring ahead again. What I did see in this period of time was a challenge coming from Japan that indicated they weren't going to stop. They weren't interested in a portion of this market. They were interested only in the total market. I became convinced that we are targeted, just like television, just like video cameras, radios and cameras. I don't mind sharing the market. I do object to being told that "we're going to take you out." I'm not asking for sympathy. I just want to compete fair and square.

Q. Your colleague Lee Iacocca has made it sound like a declaration of war. Do you agree?

A. Iacocca was right on target. What really focused our attention during this downturn was the fact that all manufacturers brought their production in line with demand. Only one group, the Japanese, didn't do it that way. Only one group steadily increased its inventory of vehicles. I'm sure those vehicles aren't going to get thrown in the ocean -- they're going to get sold. And so there's no question about it, their penetration of the U.S. market is going to increase. We told the President and his people back last March that we could see the trend developing. That kind of behavior, in my view, really shouldn't continue.

Q. What happened on the trade mission in Japan? Did anything take place behind closed doors that convinced you something has to be done more urgently?

A. As you know, I was not among the first to accept. I was not particularly revved up for it because I was worried that there would be a focus on autos vs. a focus on trade. I went to our board. I went to the White House. It sounded like it was going to be a pretty positive mission, and so we decided to go. It was nice to be in Japan with the U.S. Government and U.S. business on the same side. I was really cheered by that. I think I saw an honest effort by the President to open up their markets.

Q. When you met your Japanese counterparts, did you feel there was an impasse, or a degree of reasonableness?

A. Those meetings were hard. The Japanese are good businessmen. They're solid. They have one position. They all know it. So those were not easy discussions, but they were meaningful. The numbers are very small -- the size they're talking about is a drop in the bucket. The point is, they are talking about what it would mean to sell cars through their dealers and to reduce the cost of distribution. The other part is up to us. We've got to display our goods, sell our goods, work very hard at whatever it takes.

Q. A popular idea is that Detroit hadn't really tried in the past. It didn't tailor cars to the Japanese market -- for example, by putting the steering wheel on the right side of the car.