During his 17 year career at General Motors, John De
Lorean was one of the automotive industry's most
controversial figures, and also one of it's most talented
and successful executives. So his resignation from GM in
April, 1973 shocked the business community. When word
leaked out that he was writing a book about life at
General Motors, with journalist J. Patrick Wright, GM
and the auto industry anxiously awaited it's arrival.
But in a jolting new move, De Lorean refused to let the
book be published saying he feared the reprisals from
GM would sink his attempts to launch a new car com-
pany. He continued to block publication of On A Clear
Day You Can See General Motors for four years.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maverick General Motors executive skewers GM management,
By Tom Gregg(greggth@umdnj.edu) (East Orange, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors (Paperback)
Excellent book detailing the failings of GM. Mismanagement, inefficiency, illegal tactics and blatant disregard for the public interest are described. This book ranks with Ralph Nader's work. De Lorean describes his rise from Packard to Pontiac division of GM, where he made a failing division successful, then to the Chevrolet division, where he greatly boosted profits through sound business practices. He was then promoted to the "14th Floor" at GM, where he was a good candidate to become the head of GM. But he gave up. He could not stomach all the problems that he saw. Instead, he left GM to set up his own company. Good book to read if you are interested in why big corporations act as they do. It reveals the inner workings of GM. It is broadly applicable to many corporations. A classic.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Introduction to a "Zombie" Organization,
By
This review is from: On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors (Paperback)
DeLorean is a very observant individual: it takes about one page of this book to figure out how smart DeLorean is. His critique on GM is often incisive and leaves you feeling that he was the only rational man in an irrational organization. His deconstruction of the GM organization leaves little unscathed: the browbeating of dealerships by the GM salesman; the planning committees that designed cars whose front ends would fall off after 8 miles; management's unwillingness to incur even minor expenses to make the infamous Corvair safer. More than anything, GM management comes off as incredibly rigid and totally unable to adapt to a changing marketplace where its big cars were seen as inefficient dinosaurs. Gripping like few books are, reading this book can only leave you more enlightened about how not to run an organization. This is one of the most enlightening management books I've ever read and I recommend it highly. DeLorean's subsequent downfall only adds to the tragedy of this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just De Lorean.,
By
This review is from: On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors (Paperback)
John Z De Lorean is far more than just the name sake to his car.
John Z De Lorean is quite possibly one of the most intelligent and organized people that ever worked for GM.. ever. And if he would have been alive today, and been able to see through the clouds at GM, GM could have been profitable. But their own undoing, is their own work.. he just staved off the inevitable. Opening the book, you expect to hear about his own car company... But it delves into operations, his thought process, how he ran two divisions at GM. He talks openly about how he turned errors and problems in the company into positive cash making operations. Nearly everything that he was put in charge of would turn to gold, through his smart and knowledgeable background and something else that didnt exist at GM.. common sense. This book.. absolutely parellels the problems GM was facing 30yrs ago, with the problems of today. A fantastic book.. that deserves to be read, and re-read hundreds of times over.
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