18 Books on Cars and the Automotive industry

Title: Driven: Inside BMW, the Most Admired Car Company in the World

Driven not only tells the story of BMW, but also the story of one of the most powerful families in Europe. Excepting the occasional speed bump, BMW has seen more than four decades of steady growth and success. BMW is arguably the most admired carmaker in the world. It's financial performance is the envy of its competitors, and BMW products inspire near-fanatical loyalty. While many carmakers struggle with falling sales, profits and market share, demand for BMWs continues to grow, frequently outpacing production. Now, David Kiley-Detroit Bureau Chief at USA Today and author of Getting the Bugs Out, which covered Volkswagen's demise and rebirth, goes inside the fabled German automaker to see how it does what it does so well. With unprecedented access to BMW executives, Kiley goes behind the walls of BMW's famed "Four Cylinders" headquarters in Munich at a time when the company is in its most aggressive, and some say riskiest, expansion in its history and when some of the company's new products, like the 7 Series sedan and Z4 roadster, are for the first time drawing as many barbs from critics as bouquets. Kiley covers intimate details of the boardroom drama surrounding the company's nearly disastrous acquisition and subsequent sale of the British Rover Group and its expansion into selling MINI and Rolls Royce cars. Besides being a world-class carmaker, BMW is also considered one of the smartest consumer marketing companies and Kiley explores the extraordinary value and management of the BMW brand mystique. He also takes a revealing look at the mysterious and ultra-private Quandt family of Bad Homburg Germany, which owns a controlling stake in BMW: Johanna and Susanne Quandt, two of the wealthiest women in Europe and Stefan Quandt, one of the wealthiest bachelors on the continent.

Author(s): David Kiley

ISBN 13: 9780471269205
Pages: 310

This book is in (2) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Drive!: Henry Ford, George Selden, and the Race to Invent the Auto Age

From the acclaimed author of Birdmen comes a revelatory new history of the birth of the automobile, an illuminating and entertaining true tale of invention, competition, and the visionaries, hustlers, and swindlers who came together to transform the world. In 1900, the Automobile Club of America sponsored the nation’s first car show in New York’s Madison Square Garden. The event was a spectacular success, attracting seventy exhibitors and nearly fifty thousand visitors. Among the spectators was an obscure would-be automaker named Henry Ford, who walked the floor speaking with designers and engineers, trying to gauge public enthusiasm for what was then a revolutionary invention. His conclusion: the automobile was going to be a fixture in American society, both in the city and on the farm—and would make some people very rich. None, he decided, more than he. Drive! is the most complete account to date of the wild early days of the auto age. Lawrence Goldstone tells the fascinating story of how the internal combustion engine, a “theory looking for an application,” evolved into an innovation that would change history. Debunking many long-held myths along the way, Drive! shows that the creation of the automobile was not the work of one man, but very much a global effort. Long before anyone had heard of Henry Ford, men with names like Benz, Peugeot, Renault, and Daimler were building and marketing the world’s first cars. Goldstone breathes life into an extraordinary cast of characters: the inventors and engineers who crafted engines small enough to use on a “horseless carriage”; the financiers who risked everything for their visions; the first racers—daredevils who pushed rickety, untested vehicles to their limits; and such visionary lawyers as George Selden, who fought for and won the first patent for the gasoline-powered automobile. Lurking around every corner is Henry Ford, a brilliant innovator and an even better marketer, a tireless promoter of his products—and of himself. With a narrative as propulsive as its subject, Drive! plunges us headlong into a time unlike any in history, when near-manic innovation, competition, and consumerist zeal coalesced to change the way the world moved.

Author(s): Lawrence Goldstone

ISBN 13: 9780553394184
Pages: 384

This book is in (3) other book lists, learn more.

Title: The Great Race: The Global Quest for the Car of the Future

The Great Race recounts the exciting story of a century-long battle among automakers for market share, profit, and technological dominance—and the thrilling race to build the car of the future. The world’s great manufacturing juggernaut—the $3 trillion automotive industry—is in the throes of a revolution. Its future will include cars Henry Ford and Karl Benz could scarcely imagine. They will drive themselves, won’t consume oil, and will come in radical shapes and sizes. But the path to that future is fraught. The top contenders are two traditional manufacturing giants, the US and Japan, and a newcomer, China. Team America has a powerful and little-known weapon in its arsenal: a small group of technology buffs and regulators from California. The story of why and how these men and women could shape the future—how you move, how you work, how you live on Earth—is an unexpected tale filled with unforgettable characters: a scorned chemistry professor, a South African visionary who went for broke, an ambitious Chinese ex-pat, a quixotic Japanese nuclear engineer, and a string of billion-dollar wagers by governments and corporations. “To explain the scramble for the next-generation auto—and the roles played in that race by governments, auto makers, venture capitalists, environmentalists, and private inventors—comes Levi Tillemann’s The Great Race…Mr. Tillemann seems ideally cast to guide us through the big ideas percolating in the world’s far-flung workshops and labs” (The Wall Street Journal). His account is incisive and riveting, explaining how America bounced back in this global contest and what it will take to command the industrial future.

Author(s): Levi Tillemann

ISBN 13: 9781476773506
Pages: 368

Title: American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline, but Ford decided to save itself. Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally, Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations, transform its lackluster product lineup, and overcome a dys­functional culture of infighting, backstabbing, and excuses. It was an extraordinary risk, but it was the only way the Ford family—America’s last great industrial dynasty—could hold on to their company.

Author(s): Bryce G. Hoffman

ISBN 13: 9780307886064
Pages: 422

This book is in (2) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Garbology explores the hidden and costly wonders of our buy-it-now, get-it-today world of transportation, revealing the surprising truths, mounting challenges, and logistical magic behind every trip we take and every click we make. Transportation dominates our daily existence. Thousands, even millions, of miles are embedded in everything we do and touch. We live in a door-to-door universe that works so well most Americans are scarcely aware of it. The grand ballet in which we move ourselves and our stuff is equivalent to building the Great Pyramid, the Hoover Dam, and the Empire State Building all in a day. Every day. And yet, in the one highly visible part of the transportation world—the part we drive—we suffer grinding commutes, a violent death every fifteen minutes, a dire injury every twelve seconds, and crumbling infrastructure.

Author(s): Edward Humes

ISBN 13: 9780062372079
Pages: 384

This book is in (2) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Car Guys Vs. Bean Counters

A forefront car industry leader describes how he was pulled out of retirement to turn around a bankrupt General Motors in 2008, recounting how he transitioned the company away from office politics and penny pinching. 35,000 first printing. When Bob Lutz got into the auto business in the early 1960s, CEOs knew that if you captured the public’s imagination with innovative car design and top-quality crafts­manship, the money would follow. The “car guys” held sway, and GM dominated with bold, creative leadership and iconic brands like Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, GMC, and Chevrolet. But then GM’s leadership began to put its faith in numbers and spreadsheets. Determined to eliminate the “waste” and “personality worship” of the bygone creative leaders, management got too smart for its own good. With the bean counters firmly in charge, carmakers, and much of American industry, lost their single-minded focus on product excellence and their competitive advantage. Decline soon followed. In 2001, General Motors hired Lutz out of retirement with a mandate to save the company by making great cars again. As vice chairman, he launched a war against the penny-pinching number crunchers who ran the company by the bottom line and reinstated a focus on creativity, design, and cars and trucks that would satisfy GM’s customers. Lutz’s commonsense lessons, combined with a generous helping of fascinating anecdotes, will inspire readers in any industry.

Author(s): Bob Lutz

ISBN 13: 9781591846222
Pages: 241

Title: Crash course

A Pulitzer Prize-winning former bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal documents the rise and fall of the American car industry, offering insight into pivotal decisions being made in various world regions by influential manufacturers and ...

Author(s): Paul Ingrassia

ISBN 13: 9781400068630
Pages: 306

Title: Porsche 911: 50 Years

In Porsche 911: 50 Years, bestselling author Randy Leffingwell celebrates a half-century of one of the world's premiere sports cars, focusing on the major themes that have defined Porsche's rear-engined wonder. Randy tells the whole story--design and development, racing and competition, engineering and technology, style and culture. All the iconic 911 models are included: the original 901 prototype that set the standard; the legendary RS models that made the little Porsche a dominant force on the world's racetracks; the infamous Turbo, the car that kept the performance flame alight during the dark, dismal decade of the 1970s; the fabled 959, the model that redefined the term "sports car"; the 993, last of the original air-cooled models; and the 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium. Beyond telling the story of the cars, Porsche 911: 50 years also spotlights the people behind them: Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche, who co-designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, including fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. Leffingwell also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. Together, all of these facets make Porsche 911: 50 Years the most essential book in any Porsche owner or fan's library.

Author(s): Randy Leffingwell

ISBN 13: 9780760344019
Pages: 256

This book is in (3) other book lists, learn more.

Title: The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer

"This book will give you an understanding of what has made Toyota successful and some practical ideas that you can use to develop your own approach to business."--Gary Convis, Managing Office of Toyota Fewer man-hours. Less inventory.

Author(s): Jeffrey K. Liker

ISBN 13: 9780071392310
Pages: 330

This book is in (4) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Comeback

Documents the collapse and comeback of America's largest industry in a saga of greed and stubbornness, spotlighting dedicated managers, engineers, and financiers

Author(s): Paul Ingrassia;Joseph B. White

ISBN 13: 9780684804378
Pages: 512

Title: Go Like Hell

" Go Like Hell "tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company.

Author(s): A. J. Baime

ISBN 13: 9780547336053
Pages: 304

Title: Driven to Delight: Delivering World-Class Customer Experience the Mercedes-Benz Way

This is the story of how an organization became Driven to Delight. In his previous bestsellers--The Starbucks Experience, The New Gold Standard, and Prescription for Excellence--Joseph Michelli revealed customer experience practices and strategies of beloved businesses. Now, in this timely new book, he shares the greatest customer-driven insights behind one of the most iconic brand names in the world: Mercedes-Benz USA. DRIVEN TO DELIGHT reveals: How Mercedes-Benz USA launched a multi-year program to elevate their customer experience--even though their product was already “best in class.” How they activated people, improved processes, and deployed technology to emotionally engage customers. How the Mercedes-Benz approach can jump-start any customer-driven business―by accelerating your commitment to the customer experience. Filled with exclusive front-seat insights from Mercedes-Benz employees, eye-opening testimonials from passionate Mercedes-Benz fans, and solid nuts-and-bolts advice for creating your own consumer-aligned road map, Driven to Delight will help you retool your strategies, reignite your customers, and refuel your team for the long haul. Mercedes-Benz. The name alone conjures images of luxury, innovation, quality, and performance. But in today’s market, you need more than a world-class product to outpace the competition--which is why the executives at Mercedes-Benz USA set a course to create a customer experience in keeping with their legendary cars. This is the story of how an organization became Driven to Delight. It reveals the action plan Mercedes-Benz USA used to catapult the company to first place rankings in national customer satisfaction studies while at the same time growing sales and profits. With unprecedented access to company personnel, customer experience expert Joseph Michelli charts the journey the company took and identifies the all-important keys to driving delight in any customer-based organization. You’ll learn how to: Create a compelling vision for exceptional customer experiences Identify the ever changing wants, needs, and desires of your customer segments Map out your key customer journeys and high value contact points Effectively evaluate customer perceptions throughout their journey with you Resolve customer needs swiftly and constantly improve your delivery processes Link rewards and recognition to customer experience excellence throughout your organization These proven techniques are part of the Mercedes-Benz USA “Driven to Delight” culture which sets a new gold standard in customer service, employee engagement, and peak performance. You’ll find step-by-step strategies that can be customized to fit your business model and customer needs. You’ll discover invaluable tools like Vision Mapping, Customer Journey Wheels, Customer-Centric Strategy and Resource Planning Processes --plus 20 Key Questions you can use to diagnose your progress and steer your company in the right direction. Along the way, you’ll get a rare first-hand comprehensive view of a world-class company in action. You’ll see how a “best or nothing” organization became customer obsessed, mile after mile, year after year. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to ramp up your own customer experience, rev up your customer commitment, and take your customers on a journey that’s bound to delight--the Mercedes-Benz way. Joseph A. Michelli is an internationally sought-after speaker, author, and organizational consultant. His books include The Starbucks Experience, The New Gold Standard, The Zappos Experience, Leading the Starbucks Way, and Prescription for Excellence, which hit #1 on The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists.

Author(s): Joseph Michelli

ISBN 13: 9780071806305
Pages: 304

Title: The Machine that Changed the World

Documents the evolution and application of "lean production" principles within the automobile industry, drawing on an MIT global study of industrial competition while documenting how Toyota implemented the lean business system at all stages ...

Author(s): James P. Womack;Daniel T. Jones;Daniel Roos

ISBN 13: 9780743299794
Pages: 336

This book is in (3) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Iacocca

Portrays the life of Lee Iacocca, who brought Chrysler back from the brink. He’s an American legend, a straight-shooting businessman who brought Chrysler back from the brink and in the process became a media celebrity, newsmaker, and a man many had urged to run for president. The son of Italian immigrants, Lee Iacocca rose spectacularly through the ranks of Ford Motor Company to become its president, only to be toppled eight years later in a power play that should have shattered him. But Lee Iacocca didn’t get mad, he got even. He led a battle for Chrysler’s survival that made his name a symbol of integrity, know-how, and guts for millions of Americans. In his classic hard-hitting style, he tells us how he changed the automobile industry in the 1960s by creating the phenomenal Mustang. He goes behind the scenes for a look at Henry Ford’s reign of intimidation and manipulation. He recounts the miraculous rebirth of Chrysler from near bankruptcy to repayment of its $1.2 billion government loan so early that Washington didn’t know how to cash the check.

Author(s): Lee A. Iacocca;William Novak

ISBN 13: 9780553050677
Pages: 352

Title: Once Upon a Car

Once Upon a Car is a uniquely American tale of success, failure, and redemption, chronicling a vitally important chapter in an astonishing story that is still unfolding—a story no one is more qualified to tell than Bill Vlasic.

Author(s): Bill Vlasic

ISBN 13: 9780061845635
Pages: 416

Title: Driven

A biography of Henry Ford, the industrial visionary who changed the automobile from rich man's toy into affordable necessity. Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford is a riveting profile of the man whose invention revolutionized American life: the industrial visionary who changed the automobile from rich man’s toy into affordable necessity. Don Mitchell weaves archival images from the Benson Ford Research Center with quotes from Ford’s writings, speeches, and interviews to create a lively, comprehensive profile of this intriguing individual. Fiercely independent, and a man of complex contradictions, Henry Ford is revealed above all as a man driven to achieve his dream of building "a motor car for the great multitude," accessible to all. Driven includes a time line, resource list, and index.

Author(s): Don Mitchell;Lee Iacocca

ISBN 13: 9781426301551
Pages: 64

Title: Four Rings: The Audi Story

Covers the complete history of Audi from 1899-2009, in fascinating text and 1,000 illustrations From the very start, the four interlinked rings were the brand emblem of Auto Union AG, the second-largest German motor-vehicle manufacturer when the company was formed in the town of Chemnitz in 1932. The rings symbolized the indissoluble character of the entity created by the merger of four motor-vehicle brands from the German state of Saxony: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. This emblem summarized the tradition of car and motorcycle construction in that region, already many decades old, and was also evidence of the companies' determination to continue shaping the future of the motor vehicle. Today, Audi AG makes the same statement with its four-ring emblem: awareness of tradition, orientation toward the future. Four Rings: The Audi Story presents the history of Audi comprehensively and in a stimulating, highly informative manner, and includes company and product history data. The reader will be taken on a journey through a century of modern history and will experience the profound economic changes that occurred during this period. More than a thousand illustrations bear witness to the developments during this exciting period, and there are tables that round off the factual information provided and give the book the character of a work of reference.

Author(s): Audi

ISBN 13: 9783768826747
Pages: 368