How GM Beat Ford

About this episode

The episode discusses how General Motors outmaneuvered Ford in the automotive industry by focusing on style and consolidation.

Ford was the pre-eminent American car maker and Henry Ford was the king of modern manufacturing, until a Michigan cigar salesman decided to consolidate a bunch of small auto companies into a single firm to defeat the Colossus of Detroit.  General Motors united the likes of Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and decided to live by "the laws of Paris dressmakers" to make cars that were more stylish and fashionable than the austere, black-painted Model T that was coming out of the Ford plant.  Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics covered

• automotive history
• business strategy
• manufacturing
• competition
• branding

Keywords

• General Motors
• Ford
• Henry Ford
• automobile industry
• manufacturing
• business strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: General Motors, Ford, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac

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