It turned out to not really be a Buick, but manufactured by the German company, Adam Opel, and then sold by Buick in North America. And while I now know that the Opel was considered something of a sports car and cult classic, mine had an automatic transmission and was a "Kadett C" wagon model. It was also sold in some parts of the world by Isuzu as the "Gemini." By all current standards, it would be considered a compact car, but in those days it was marketed as a large family vehicle. I used my first car for all things teenager. It was my transportation to school, to tennis outings and beach trips, to piano lessons and to summer jobs. The storage "trunk", accessed through the back hatch door, was like Hermione Granger's magical bag. At any given time it contained school books, clothing, a field hockey stick and cleats, a tennis racket, my majorette baton and boots…
Despite this, GM kept innovating, introducing, among other things, the Chevrolet Volt concept, an electric car. However, the 2008 recession, which led to a severe credit crunch, was hard on GM which was in need of working capital. It was able to receive a loan from the government, but under the condition that it would accelerate tough restructuring measures. The General Motors Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and a new, leaner, General Motors Company was incorporated to acquire its…
Today, it is custom in America for citizens to own automobiles and use them in everyday life; this was not a normalcy until the 1920’s though. In the years previous to the 1920’s the only people who could afford automobiles were the extremely wealthy. The automobile that these upper-class citizens would often buy was the Model N from Ford. This was a very large and expensive automobile. Henry Ford knew that he had to create a smaller more affordable car to sell to the mass market (ask for help).…
In the New York Times article “Carmakers Forge Ahead With Electric Vehicles,” Bill Vlasic illustrates the changing global economy for workers and consumers in regards to major automaker’s new lineups of electric vehicles. In this article, Vlasic draws attention to the efforts by auto manufacturers like Tesla, Chevrolet, Nissan, Volkswagen, and many more, to bring the electric car from the future into your garage. Vlasic discusses in January of 2016 where auto manufacturers stole the spotlight…
This is the 21st century and people are constantly changing and making new technological advances every day. But the one thing that all of human’s have most in common is vehicles. Cars are the greatest asset to get individuals to point A to Point B so as a human society relies on these a lot, and because people are accustomed to vehicles so much they tend to do what they want with it. People tend to customize them and this causes a great debate whether to paint the car or to vinyl wrap it to…
Industry analysis Porter’s Five Forced on Automobile industry Threats of new entrants Automobile industry is very specific industry, it has higher level of entry barriers. Factory facilities, machinery, labor and technology are heavily involved for automobile industry. For a new entrants in automobile industry, they need to look for mass production to achieve economy of scale in mature automobile industry. Second, the facility for automotive manufacturing is quite specialized, it has enormous…
The automobile industry in Ontario immensely affects our society and helps develop our economy as a growing population. The automobile industry is Ontario’s biggest export industry. It produces the most vehicles per year in North America and this industry supports many services that we all rely on as well as it provides many Ontario citizens with employment. In 2014 Ontario’s automobile industry alone produced 2,3828,20 vehicles (6,527) Per day, more than any other province or state in North…
Elon Musk, CEO and owner of Tesla Motors, Inc., and leader in electric vehicles is faced with much opposition from other competitors in the automotive industry. As the industry began to fluctuate, cost to operate in the U.S increased for production, infrastructure, technology, and manufacturing. For Musk, this became a huge problem when coming up against such large automakers. Therefore, he made the decision to manufacture his brand abroad. It was vital for this innovator to reposition the…
When it comes to the auto industry, one of the largest ethical questions is whether a company can put a dollar amount on human lives. Throughout the history of the automobile industry, there is to be case after case where automotive manufactures try to walk the fine line of using specific parts in a car to try and lower their costs, but also while making the vehicle more dangerous for the passengers. The idea of safety versus cost in the industry has many factors that must be considered to fully…
The main purpose of the trunk monkey is intended for people who don’t distinguish what to do in certain situations. The button is pressed in situations not found in the operator’s manual such as handling irritated drivers in traffic, dealing with unruly children tossing eggs at the car, negotiating with highway patrol officers after being pulled over, helping deliver a child when a nearby infirmary is not accessible, or dispatching a gang in the parking lot. The trunk monkey is also portrayed as…