Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America's Big Three Automakers—GM, Ford, and Chrysler

This is an excellent book and anyone with an interest on how and why the American auto industry fell and rose again should read this book. Vlasic expertly and professionally gives you an insider's perspective of what was said during all those corporate meetings, and gives you a look on how those executives were feeling at the time (a period from 2005-2011). If you want to know why Daimler dumped Chrysler, why some executives left #1 Toyota for jobs at Ford and Chrysler, how Alan Mulally got recruited by Bill Ford, how Kirk Kerkorian and Jerry York played (or tried to play) a role in the resurrection of the Auto Industry, how mergers between companies were contemplated and abandoned, and why Rick Wagoner got ousted as CEO of GM, read this book.What you might also like about this book is that not only does Vlasic interview the top players and CEOs within the companies but he also interviews blue collar line workers to get and show their perspective on what was going during this major shake up in the American auto industry. What you receive is a well-rounded picture of what happened during this time in history.The thing I liked the most about this book is that it is a professionally written book and is written like a story or a fly on the wall during the fall and resurrection of the Auto Industry. So many books I have read on the subject are just one person pontificating on his opinion of what happened. What Vlasic does is he tries to give a complete and unbiased account of what happened.Some have stated that Vlasic is too pro-Ford, or too pro-Mulally. While this might be the case, Vlasic accurately shows how Ford avoided bankruptcy by betting the farm including all their assets and even the Ford logo to secure additional financing that was able to stave off bankruptcy. Of course this made Ford look like the smartest team in the room, but not even they could have predicted such a sour turn of events would happen during the Great Recession of 2008. So, yes, I agree that the book is pro-Ford and pro-Mulally, but I think Vlasic is giving credit where credit is due and that the praise is well-deserved.

You know it is good when the book ends and you wish it didnt.The author brings to life a drama in American business that might otherwise be dry. I confess I am a "car guy" from way back so there is probably some fertile ground for this account to be enjoyed.I am also a lawyer. As such I have an appreciation for the roles the various players had legally, in particular the position of the creditors of these woebegon corporations. I was shocked at the difference between how the Bush adminstration handled the crisis from that of the Obama approach.For Bush and his people, there was a distance any creditor might have, a sense that the government had a role in preserving these institutions that supported so much of the economy. Lend some money, then see how it goes. It ended there.For Obama and his people being a creditor named The United States of America meant they could take over. I know of no other creditor who could usher the CEO of a corporation into the office one day and effectively fire him. I know of no other creditor that could go on television and give another corporation 30 days to make a deal with Fiat, ( thereby boosting the negotiating position of that Italian car maker immeasurably ) or DIE. I know of no other creditor who could bully the other creditors into taking less than what was owed. I admit they were going to get less anyway, but the idea of one creditor being able to force the issue seemed to run counter to the Rule of Law.The story of the negotiations of UAW, Chrysler and GM resembled a struggle in the cockpit for the controls while the plane flew into the mountain.Bill Ford and Allan Mulally look like the kind of corporate leadership this country needs repeated over and over in order to compete in the modern global economy. These guys are heros. My next car will be a Ford.

By the time I'd gotten about a quarter of a way through Bill Vlasic's "Once Upon a Car," I was ready to throw my Kindle across the room. It wasn't because of the writing -- Bill Vlasic, who knows the U.S. auto industry about as well as anyone who doesn't actually WORK for one of the Big Three, was spot-on with his analysis in so many ways. No, the reason for almost wrecking my Kindle was because I couldn't believe the stupidity of the entire industry, from the UAW, to management at the Big Three, to mega-investor Kirk Kerkorian, who seemed to be dabbling in the industry for the sheer joy of making mischief.In this book, Vlasic tells the full story of why Chrysler and GM imploded (and why Ford came close to doing so) when the Great Recession hit. He starts with General Motors, nicely outlining the very insular and out-of-touch culture of that organization then moves onto Ford's slow turnaround. He handles one of the highlights -- the breakup of DaimlerChrysler -- with enough drama to keep readers riveted. Vlasic fills out his tale-telling with interviews with many of the principals. For example, thanks to his positioning of Dieter Zeitsche with DaimlerChrysler (and Mercedes-Benz), I no longer think that the Germans were soulless creatures, determined to "Germanize" Chrysler into becoming Mercedes-Benz/US. He added color to these people whom most of us know from the press. Vlasic even lends a sympathetic brush to Rick Wagoner of GM -- though Wagoner was so hopelessly out of touch with his actions, he was, at least, humanized.Why only three stars? A couple of things. First, I was a little taken aback at the portrayal of Alan Mulally as Ford's savior. Vlasic brushes by the fact that Ford was in just as much trouble as GM and Chrysler by 2008-2009. Certainly Ford didn't go to the government begging for a bailout, but it struggled. Still, because Vlasic was a cheering squad for Mulally, this really wasn't explored as much in depth as it should have been. I kept wondering, as I read Vlasic's comments about Mulally, if this guy could do no wrong. I thought it was a bit much.Second, I thought Vlasic put too much blame on the union. I noticed another reviewer thought Vlasic championed the union, but I don't agree. Certainly it was legacy costs and healthcare benefits that were impacting the Big Three -- but how did the Big Three get to that position in the first place in which they had to foot the billions to fund healthcare benefits for retirees AND their families? One can point the finger at Ron Gettelfinger (who headed the UAW) and talk about the tough stance he had to take, but ultimately, if the Big Three had taken the stance some years ago NOT to continue funding those benefits, things might have been different. Vlasic implies the union was unwilling to bend at all. I agree that the union was a little too rigid in its stance, but blaming the entire fiasco on legacy costs is pretty one-sided.These flaws were fairly large in my mind, which is too bad. I thought the book itself shed a lot of light as to why the U.S. auto industry struggled so much and why it ended up failing.

What a brilliant book. Well written and I could not put it down. Any petrol head or any person interested in the dark days for the US car market in the 2000s must buy it. Well written and never dull. The research that went into the book must be applauded.

very interesting good about the big 3. Love these industry books what i read as "novels". higly recommend it .

Specific gift for person employed by one of "the big three" car makers.

This book is extremely well written and the author clearly had access to a great deal of information.A classic case study on the different approaches of 3 huge organisations to the same problems.Once started you will not want to put it down until completed.

Well written and interesting book.