Car crash ahead

THERE has always been something special about cars and the making of them. Henry Ford turned the car-assembly line into an enduring symbol of industrialisation. Later, Alfred Sloan made General Motors into a model for the modern corporation: the inventor of operating divisions, marketing plans and planned obsolescence. More recently, Toyota's invention of “lean production” ushered in a general revolution in manufacturing. Today the industry seems poised once again to become an example for other businesses, as car manufacturers grapple with the opportunities and challenges of globalisation. What a pity that this looks set to be an example of exactly the wrong way for an industry to become global.