Brad Edmonds pens an interesting article at Mises.org on the phenomenon that is Honda, from it's historical roots to it's near-domination of the automotive market in the late 1980's to present day, and how the union- and regulation-dominated American automotive industry has almost uniformly responded with heavy handed bullying rather than simply make competitive products.
An interesting point made is that many of the key ideas Honda and other Japanese automotive companies have used to propel themselves to success were actually American in origin, such as the seminal work in the 1950's by Edwards Deming, which was largely ignored by American industry but embraced by the Japanese with a fever (in fact, the highest industrial honour in the Japanese automotive industry is named for Deming -- an American. How's that for irony?)
An excerpt:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
We invent great ideas, and the Japanese—Honda in particular—adopt them and put them to work. We should have the advantage in the auto industry, but our automakers want profits without sweat. Hey, it's easier to get the government to hurt the competition. One example: In the 1980s, we passed a $2000 tariff on Japanese minivans. Our automakers immediately raised our prices by $2000. It's too bad for us that our corporations would rather stiff us than learn from their own great ideas. Until they change their habits, get yourself a Honda.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Full story here.
Phaedrus
An interesting point made is that many of the key ideas Honda and other Japanese automotive companies have used to propel themselves to success were actually American in origin, such as the seminal work in the 1950's by Edwards Deming, which was largely ignored by American industry but embraced by the Japanese with a fever (in fact, the highest industrial honour in the Japanese automotive industry is named for Deming -- an American. How's that for irony?)
An excerpt:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
We invent great ideas, and the Japanese—Honda in particular—adopt them and put them to work. We should have the advantage in the auto industry, but our automakers want profits without sweat. Hey, it's easier to get the government to hurt the competition. One example: In the 1980s, we passed a $2000 tariff on Japanese minivans. Our automakers immediately raised our prices by $2000. It's too bad for us that our corporations would rather stiff us than learn from their own great ideas. Until they change their habits, get yourself a Honda.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Full story here.
Phaedrus
