A Savage Factory: An Eyewitness Account of the Auto Industry's Self-Destruction [Hardcover]

Robert J. Dewar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 2009

A Savage Factory is a true memoir straight from the factory floor of an automotive giant losing the global auto war to smaller, weaker, less experienced foreign competitors that beat us at our own game on our own turf. It gives an inside look, up close, at incompetent management at war with the labor force that created a quality nightmare and caused the car buying public to lose trust and faith in American cars. It is a true story of the inner workings of Ford's largest automatic transmission plant: the people, the machines, and the never ending war between management and labor that produced low quality cars that opened the door for foreign competitors to come to our country and take our auto market. It gives real life examples of the battlefield like conditions in the auto plants that caused alcoholism, drug addition, sexual harassment, and family breakdown, while producing transmissions that received the largest recall in automotive history and would have caused Ford Motor Company to go bankrupt had the Federal Government not intervened.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert J. Dewar came from a working class family in the bituminous coal fields. He paid his own way through Penn State and receivied a full academic scholarship to earn an MBA at the University of Southern California. His first job was at Procter and Gamble, managing the Duncan Hines Cake Mix operation in Cincinnati. When he left P&G to take a supervisor's job at Ford, he was shocked at the incompetent management, the never ending war between management and labor, and the lack of real quality standards. He quickly concluded that at some future time the entire auto industry would simply collapse under its own weight, much like the old Soviet Union collapsed. Dewar wanted to give people a long, hard look behind the walls of auto plants to show people how the cars were built that lost our largest and most important manufacturing industry. So he kept a daily journal. He made copies of telltale internal memos. He made an extensive collection of defective parts that were routinely assembled into Ford C-4 automatic transmissions. When Ford received the largest recall in auto history because of defective transmissions built at the Sharonville Transmission Plant, Dewar decided to write A Savage Factory. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (April 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438952945
• ISBN-13: 978-1438952949
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #498,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was raised in the bituminous coal region of PA. Graduated from Penn State and received my MBA from the University of Southern California. I started my career at Proter and Gamble as a manager in their Duncan Hines Division. I left P&G and went to work as a supervisor at Ford Motor Company. I soon felt that the entire auto industry was destined to coallapse at some point, because you cannot manage like it is still 1930, you cannot treat people with contempt and disrespect, and you cannot sell poor quality cars in a competitive global economy. I wanted to give people a long, hard look at how we built the cars that I was certain would lose the global auto war. So I kept a daily journal of my experiences. I made copies of internal memos not meant for the eyes of outsiders. I made an extensive collection of defective parts that were routinely assembled into Ford C4 transmissions.I kept my material in my attic for 30 years, until the collapse that I was certain had to come finally arrived. Then I retrieved my material and wrote "A Savage Factory."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buckle up for a raw, jaw-dropping story of Ford driving itself to the brink, April 4, 2009

By 

Alexander - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Savage Factory: An Eyewitness Account of the Auto Industry's Self-Destruction (Paperback)

Robert Dewar captures the essence of an American auto plant in his compelling book "A Savage Factory." It's "Dilbert" meets "Lord of the Flies."

Dewar's true life, eyewitness account walks you through from his dis-orientation to his self-termination. The stories are both hilarious and harrowing, showing the greasy underside of Ford Motor Company that will forever stain your impression of the auto industry because of the managers and union workers whose battle for control puts Ford on a collision course for self-destruction.

Dewar's raw, front row seat writing offers no sugar coating because the hardened characters who threatened his life with a loaded gun, intimidate him with operational sabotage, break him psycholoigcally that sent him to recoup and re-group with a shrink, and confound him with petty managerial games are not conjourned from his imagination but are people who lived and breathed down his neck every day he walked the factory floor of Ford.

If you think you have a bad day at the office or a boss who is intolerable, think again. Reading this account of how the Detroit Mafia plays God with people's careers while jeopardizing their health and family life will certainly make you grateful that you don't have to don a Foreman's jacket that doubled as a bulls-eye for unimaginable abuse and one unbeievable story.

"A Savage Factory" will grip you with disbelief from start to finish and make you appreciate that you never had to live the experiences that Robert Dewar endured in order to take home a paycheck.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert Dewar, remembered, January 22, 2010

By 

Barbara A. Dewar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Savage Factory: An Eyewitness Account of the Auto Industry's Self-Destruction (Hardcover)

Bob Dewar passed away on Jan. 20, 2010.

Robert Joseph Dewar was born in McKeesport, PA on March 23, 1943 and spent much of his childhood working in coal mines alongside his father and brothers. Bob knew what it meant to pull himself up from his bootstraps and reach for the stars. Well-respected in the community, he embodied the entrepreneurial spirit.

Known for his wit, humor, and ideas always tinged with strong opinions, he was an animated storyteller who bristled with life when he wove tales. His lifelong dream was to write a book about his experiences.

A Navy veteran and graduate of Penn State University and University of Southern California, he was an avid gardener and lover of nature and wilderness. Bob had wanderlust and enjoyed camping and travel.

In 1986, he realized his dream of becoming a business owner and opened The Box Place on Colerain Ave.

Never one to sit on his laurels, Bob achieved another lifelong dream and became a published author in 2009. "A Savage Factory," which has received wide acclaim, details his true life experiences working as a foreman at Ford's Sharonville transmission plant. Recently, Bob toured the old plant with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal and saw first-hand the dramartic overhaul by Ford. The tour was arranged by the CEO of Ford Motor Company after receiving a copy of Bob's book.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara; three children, Richard, Sharon and David. Grandchild, Ethan; and brothers, Jim, Herb, and Harry. He is preceded by brothers Charles, Bill, Alfred and sister Mary Ann. Memorials may be made to McKeesport Heritage Center (1832 Arboretum Drive, McKeesport, PA 15132), or buy Bob's book on Amazon.com.

(Obituary from The Cincinnati Enquirer 22 January 2010)

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Real page turner, but superficial, October 14, 2009

By 

Andy in Washington "Andy" (Washougal, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Savage Factory: An Eyewitness Account of the Auto Industry's Self-Destruction (Hardcover)

Robert Dewar worked as a assembly line supervisor during both the glory days of Ford when they could sell everything they could make, and the horrible days when they couldn't give away a car. His experiences with workers and management at a transmission plant are the basis for A Savage Factory.

Dewar takes us through his career at Ford- starting with his one-hour management training program, all the way to his seniority-driven layoff years later. Along the way we meet a rogues gallery of workers, managers and union stewards, and are treated to an inside look at some of the practices that helped turn Ford into an automotive basket case in the 70's.

The high points:

Some of the stories are so incredible that they cross the line from just plain sad to hilarious. The lengths both sides (UAW/Ford) were willing to go in the battle over an illegal coffee-pot strains credibility, although I have no doubt it is true.

Dewar writes in a very easy-to-read style. I ended up reading the book in one sitting, and it captured my interest enough that I wanted to see what the next chapter included.

It provides an honest look at the motivations, confrontations and the mindsets that were present in the US automotive industry during this timeframe. While I have read a lot of the history (an interest of mine), I had never quite read about it being this bad. I have no way of knowing if Dewar has exaggerated, but the tales seem credible.


The low points:

I found the effort to be a superficial overview of what was going on. There were a few war stories and anecdotes related in the book, but the author seemed uncertain if he was trying for a serious critique of Ford/UAW management-or belly laughs. He never really attains either, and the book sort of languishes in limbo between the two.

All of the characters are very one dimensional-either lazy, drunken, UAW-protected working stiffs who don't give a darn, or idiotic, dictatorial Ford-protected managers who don't give a darn. It is hard to believe that a factory of this size didn't have some competent workers and managers.


In short, I found the book amusing while I was reading it, but found that I was more and more disappointed as I replayed the book in my mind after reading it. It came up short both on providing any analysis of what was going on and funny stories.

However, if you have ever read "Heart of Darkness", (the book that the movie "Apocalypse Now" was based on) you will recognize the parallels between Marlow/Kurtz and the author as they both descend into the madness and darkness that surrounds them. Dewar is a much different manager, and probably human being, at the end of the story that he is at the beginning. The book would have been much better had this been explored in more detail.

The book is entertaining enough that it is probably worth a read, but I will most likely give it away with no plans to ever re-read it. If you ever owned a Ford and had transmission problems, reading it will just aggravate you.