[.ca] Car A Drama Of The American Workplace (ISBN 0393040801)

From Amazon.com:
A whole book dedicated to the manufacture of a single model of car--and not even a sexy model, such as a Lamborghini or a Rolls Royce, but a Ford Taurus! How interesting could that be? In the hands of talented Mary Walton, it is very interesting indeed. Walton spent more than two years inside the belly of the giant Ford Motor Company researching the manufacture of the 1996 Taurus, and her account makes for surprisingly entertaining reading. Walton, who has written extensively about management theory, brings a perceptive eye and a breezy style to her critique of the automobile industry. In addition to the redesign of Ford's popular model, Walton also examines the sometimes volatile relations between the company's engineering staff and its designers, criticizes Ford's hierarchical management structure, and questions the astounding number of upper-level executives recruited from the military and their resulting martial management style. The private lives of Ford employees likewise do not escape Walton's critical eye. Twelve-hour days are common among Ford engineers, but the toll on their personal lives is high. So critical is Mary Walton of Ford's management practices that, upon seeing an early draft of Car, Ford revoked Walton's access to its top executives. For a book that provides both solid entertainment and an in-depth analysis of the auto industry, Car is the top of the line.

More than just cars - the development process:
The appeal of this book goes beyond an interest in the auto industry or an interest in cars. If you work in any kind of development process, from software to hardware, this book is both an entertaining and instructive read. It seems we're all fighting the same battles: Designers and engineers constantly at loggerheads, testers finding bugs at the last minute, division presidents saying outlandish things to the press and the sales people looking for the spin. If you don't want to read yet another boring book on how to improve the software development process, try this.

Heavy on the cliches:
I just finished this book. While it paints an interesting picture about the process to bring a car to market, the style Walton employs falls short. I understand the strategy to be the naive narrator (learning with reader how things work), but she uses too many cliches and poor analogies to make her point. I don't know how many times she said "Ugly as sin" or even "It was, like," a few times. I'd recommend David Halberstam's The Reckoning or Comeback as well-written alternatives about the same subject, especially Comeback's depiction of the Mustang overhaul, than this book.

Even non-car people will love this book:
I picked this book up and couldn't put it down, I'm not even really interested in the process of designing and producing an automobile. The writing style is fun, and while a bit simple it is highly engaging. A nice departure from the facts, figures and bone dry writing I would have expected. Kristina Osborn Acquisitions Columbus College of Art and Design, Packard Library

Anything but boring...:
I find that Mary Walton has done an outstanding job in this work. Were it simply a journal of names and events, it wouldn't entertain so well. I read and enjoy the car magazines. I've also worked for GM at a design and manufacturing facility, it could have been the Ford Ms. Walton describes. And although it appears to my fellow reviewers to be an unforgivable faux pas, I actually own a Taurus of this era and I'm quite pleased with it on it's own merits. A limited production styling and engineering exercise is exciting in it's own way, but this story is what happens with the cars actually purchased in the American market, the ones we hold on to for 14.5 years. The Japanese do things a little differently, not necessarily better. Look at the debt loads of the Japanese manufacturers today. Drive a Camray then drive a Taurus on a fast, winding mountain road. The Taurus need make no apology under this criteria. Choose your own, no car will fit them all. I don't want a Corvette, sorry. I can't afford one, it's not worth the insurance to me, I can't carry anyone in it. I'm not interested in reading about it's development. I think Mary Walton did a fine job of going to the heart of the automobile industry in America, uncovering the good and the bad. I was amazed at both the quality of her research and the pace of the book, and it was presented in a fashion that appeals to the avid automobile journal reader. I don't think this makes Ford look bad at all. It's a drama of the American workplace, repeated in other workplaces with different accents in auto manufacturers worldwide. Read the book. If you don't care for the Taurus, especially after reading this book, then think twice about the sausage you ate for breakfast, where it came from. This book is good entertainment.

Anything but boring...:
I find that Mary Walton has done an outstanding job in this work. Were it simply a journal of names and events, it wouldn't entertain so well. I read and enjoy the car magazines. I've also worked for GM at a design and manufacturing facility, it could have been the Ford Ms. Walton describes. And although it appears to my fellow reviewers to be an unforgivable faux pas, I actually own a Taurus of this era and I'm quite pleased with it on it's own merits. A limited production styling and engineering exercise is exciting in it's own way, but this story is what happens with the cars actually purchased in the American market, the ones we hold on to for 14.5 years. The Japanese do things a little differently, not necessarily better. Look at the debt loads of the Japanese manufacturers today. Drive a Camray then drive a Taurus on a fast, winding mountain road. The Taurus need make no apology under this criteria. Choose your own, no car will fit them all. I don't want a Corvette, sorry. I can't afford one, it's not worth the insurance to me, I can't carry anyone in it. I'm not interested in reading about it's development. I think Mary Walton did a fine job of going to the heart of the automobile industry in America, uncovering the good and the bad. I was amazed at both the quality of her research and the pace of the book, and it was presented in a fashion that appeals to the avid automobile journal reader. I don't think this makes Ford look bad at all. It's a drama of the American workplace, repeated in other workplaces with different accents in auto manufacturers worldwide. Read the book. If you don't care for the Taurus, especially after reading this book, then think twice about the sausage you ate for breakfast, where it came from. This book is good entertainment.