Making and Selling Cars
Innovation and Change in the U.S. Automotive Industry
Published on 31. July 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-0-8018-8853-3 (ISBN)
Description
From the creation of fast food, to the design of cities, to the character of our landscape, the automobile has shaped nearly every aspect of modern American life. In fact, the U.S. motor vehicle industry is the largest manufacturing industry in the world. James Rubenstein documents the story of the automotive industry...which despite its power, is an industry constantly struggling to redefine itself and assure its success. Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Automotive Industry shows how this industry made adjustments and fostered innovations in both production and marketing in order to remain a viable force throughout the twentieth-century. Rubenstein builds his study of the American auto industry with care, taking the reader through this quintessentially modern history of production and consumption. Avoiding jargon while never over simplifying, Rubenstein gives a detailed and straightforward account of both the production and merchandising of cars. We learn how the industry began and about its methods for building cars and the modern American marketplace.
Along the way there were many missteps and challenges-the Edsel, the fuel crisis, and the ascendancy of Japanese cars in the 1980s. The industry met these types of problems with new techniques and approaches. To demonstrate this, Rubenstein gives the reader examples of how the auto industry used to work, which he alternates with chapters showing how the industry has reinvented itself. Making and Selling Cars explains why the U.S. automotive industry has been and remains a vigorous shaper of the American economy.
Along the way there were many missteps and challenges-the Edsel, the fuel crisis, and the ascendancy of Japanese cars in the 1980s. The industry met these types of problems with new techniques and approaches. To demonstrate this, Rubenstein gives the reader examples of how the auto industry used to work, which he alternates with chapters showing how the industry has reinvented itself. Making and Selling Cars explains why the U.S. automotive industry has been and remains a vigorous shaper of the American economy.
Reviews / Votes
Surveys a wide terrain, ranging from the development of Henry Ford's production methods to the impact of globalization on the automobile markets at the end of the century... Throughout, the prose is clear and accessible. Rubenstein has the eye for a telling statistic and the ear for a pithy quotation... If this book were a car, it might be a full-sized sedan. Capacious and comfortable, it covers a lot of ground smoothly. Historians, geographers, and industrial organization specialists in economics will find it appealing... The book is carefully designed and eminently functional. Finally, it is likely to hold its value well and provide a comprehensive, reliable treatment of a pivotal industry for some time to come. Enterprise and Society The strengths of the work lie in its discussions of the early entrepreneurs and dealerships and of recent market trends. Rubenstein, who is a geographer, presents an excellent examination of regional sales and production trends... [ Making and Selling Cars] would serve as a fine text for undergraduate courses on the motor industry. Business History Review Rubenstein has written a very useful book for those of us interested in the evolution of the American automobile industry... Rubenstein manages to make sense of the evolution of key factors, at the same time as isolating elements that remain central to the success (and occasional failure) of the U.S. automotive industry. Virginia Quarterly Review The analysis within the book moves understandings of the [automobile] industry in a number of new directions... The length of the perspective taken (over 100 years), the breadth of disciplines that the author draws on, and the attractive writing and visual presentation of the book all combine to provide readers with a valuable source text. Prometheus This is a comprehensive history of the automobile industry with much data on production and the market... Rubenstein obviously loves cars... The book is fascinating. Science, Technology and Society A comprehensive and engaging survey of the history of the American automotive industry. History This is a book written for the person who wants to learn everything there is to know about the history, economics, sociology, engineering practices, marketing strategies, and biographies of leading figures associated with the automobile industry, all contained in a single, easy-to-read story. Professional Geographer 2003 James Rubenstein's new book adds to the voluminous literature on the industry. What makes his book noteworthy is that he has brought together material that is usually the preserve of different types of scholarship, and done so in a straightforward manner impressive in scope. Technology and Culture 2003 It is the best discussion of the evolution of the process of manufacturing cars that I know of. Journal of Economic History 2003 For readers seeking an overview of the industry Rubenstein's book offers a useful profile, especially for the last quarterly century. Indiana Magazine of History 2004More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
33 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 19 s/w Zeichnungen
19 Line drawings, black and white; 33 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
675 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-8853-3 (9780801888533)
DOI
10.1353/book.3208
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2003
Johns Hopkins University Press
€29.99
Available for download
Book
02/2002
Johns Hopkins University Press
€65.81
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
James M. Rubenstein is a professor of Geography at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His previous publications include The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, An Introduction to Geography: People Places and Environment, and The Changing U.S. Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis.
Content
Contents: 1. From Mass Production 2. To Lean Production 3. From Making Parts 4. To Buying Parts 5. From Deskilling the Workforce 6. To Reskilling Labor 7. From a Class-based Market 8. To a Personal Market 9. From Dealing with Customers 10. To Serving Customers 11. From a National Market 12. To an International Market