This Does Not Have To Do With Racing

Ok this has nothing to do with racing, or even cars, i only posted here because I dont know where this fits, and I talk more in this forum then any other.

I have a powerpoint presentation due for my geography class next thursday. My topic is "How the Foreign automakers affect the American Auto Industry". Lets just say I am way behind and finishing by next thursday is going to hurt big time. So I kinda need your guys' help. If anyone knows any informational websites that will help me, id greatly appreciated. Anything related to domestic to import comparison (not racing), automotive timelines, ect. THe more the better because we need at least 20 sources. Thanks for all the help guys.

so you have a week to do it? that's pleanty of time to do a powerpoint... try manufacturer's sites, or do a database search for car and driver/road and track/ etc...

Actually I have had since the begining of school...I just pushed it back to the last week. It also has to be alil bit bigger then your average powerpoint. But thanks for the suggestion....any others?

i think you should definitely look at how some cars compare in they're class....for example...how a toyota camry compares to a chevrolet cavalier...both cars from about the same price range etc. and discuss why one may be cheaper or have better fuel economy....etc....i dunno just a suggestion...

You could mention how quality has greatly improved accross the board, due to the "Japenese Imports" high quality.

Could use some JD Power figures, showing how some car makers have greatly improved (or caught up to the Japanese cars).

Couldn't make an entire presentation out of that, but you could def. get several slides out of it.

Lexus made Cadillac what it is now, and even affected the Bavarians, I can tell you that.

indeed.

I did a case study on Toyota last year and they have a lot of information that could help you out. They developed a system of Total Quality Management (TQM) that had really showed amazing results on their production line. Because of their efforts the quality of their cars increased greatly which is why Toyota has such a great reputation today. Companies across all industries have been adopting the Toyota TQM system and have shown amazing results.

I found a link to a website that has some basic information, but if you do more searches on Toyota, TQM, Total Quality Management, kanban, and kaizen, you should be able to come up with alot of information.

http://www.strategosinc.com/toyota_corporate_culture.htm

Also, it might be a good idea to break up the auto industry into classes (compact, sports, luxury) and think of the cars which best exemplify each segment and ask yourself why. For example, use the high-end sports cars. You immediately think Ferrrari and Lamborghini. The booming economy of the 90s led to increased popularity and ownership of these types of cars. What did the American Companies do? And example is Dodge created the Viper in the early 90's (if I'm not mistaken) as an American car that symbolized speed and high-wealth.

I'm sure with some digging you can come up with better examples than I have but I hope this can help give you at least a route to take with your research.

Good luck!

Sorry to double post but here is another informative site on the Toyota Production System with a pretty clear explanation.

http://www.dig.bris.ac.uk/teaching/m_o_i/studen10.htm

Thanks alot for all the help guys. :) Im kinda seeing how I can lead this project. I owe you all big time.

:cheers:

Buy a round of drinks. :sunglasse