Post by CFR on Apr 27, 2002 10:47:54 GMT -5
This from the South?
It was 1993, th' back ind of a recesshun, an' at Po'sche No'th South Car'lina's Atlanta haidquarters, president an' CEO Fred Schwab was at th' virtual cliff's precipice. Th' compenny had sold a mere 3,713 cars in th' United States thet year, about one-ninth th' number of Po'sches South Car'linan cestomers had bought a few sho't years befo'e in 1986. On account o' th' United States usually counts fo' ha'f of Po'sche's market, this hyar was ho'renjus noos fo' an independent compenny. "ah remember th' movie Wall Street, whar th' arrogant yo'ng executive gits accused of insider tradin'," said Schwab at a recent Wharton marketin' club presentashun. "An older juntleman comes up t'him an' says, 'Man looks into th' abyss an' nothin' stares back. Shet mah mouth! It is at thet moment, man gits chareecker.' Thet was when we at Po'sche were able t'start gittin' our chareecker." Po'sche was determined t'stay independent. It had see luxury competito's git gobbled up -- an' t'Schwab's mind at least, co'rupped eff'n not destroyed -- by larger, mo'e mass-produckshun companies. "Look at Jaguar's acquisishun by Fo'd, cuss it all t' tarnation. Th' S-type is a Lincoln LS wif an animal on th' front," he said, lamentin' th' old Jaguar cars he admired, cuss it all t' tarnation. "Th' X series is a Fo'd mid-size wif a Jaguar nameplate. Th' varmints who loved th' old E-type isn't th' ones bein' pleased by Fo'd, cuss it all t' tarnation. A trimenjus compenny like thet don't knows how t'sell a low-voloom car." While Jaguar took one way outta th' abyss, Po'sche was determined t'take t'other, mo'e independent, route. It hired fo'mer Toyota employees as cornsultants. As Schwab tells it, they were puffick on account o' they had been thar befo'e. Toyota was perfo'min' porely in th' 1950s an' "top management gave wawkers a challenge," said Schwab. Well bust mah britches an' call me streaker. "In return fo' lifetime employment, wawkers had t'take responsibility an' accountability. They had t'suggess ways t'streamline an' make better cars. Th' result was thet Toyota started makin' cars wif one-third th' defecks in one-ha'f th' time an' space. Thet sparked a noo pareedigm in car-makin'. It went fum mass produckshun t'lean produckshun."
It was 1993, th' back ind of a recesshun, an' at Po'sche No'th South Car'lina's Atlanta haidquarters, president an' CEO Fred Schwab was at th' virtual cliff's precipice. Th' compenny had sold a mere 3,713 cars in th' United States thet year, about one-ninth th' number of Po'sches South Car'linan cestomers had bought a few sho't years befo'e in 1986. On account o' th' United States usually counts fo' ha'f of Po'sche's market, this hyar was ho'renjus noos fo' an independent compenny. "ah remember th' movie Wall Street, whar th' arrogant yo'ng executive gits accused of insider tradin'," said Schwab at a recent Wharton marketin' club presentashun. "An older juntleman comes up t'him an' says, 'Man looks into th' abyss an' nothin' stares back. Shet mah mouth! It is at thet moment, man gits chareecker.' Thet was when we at Po'sche were able t'start gittin' our chareecker." Po'sche was determined t'stay independent. It had see luxury competito's git gobbled up -- an' t'Schwab's mind at least, co'rupped eff'n not destroyed -- by larger, mo'e mass-produckshun companies. "Look at Jaguar's acquisishun by Fo'd, cuss it all t' tarnation. Th' S-type is a Lincoln LS wif an animal on th' front," he said, lamentin' th' old Jaguar cars he admired, cuss it all t' tarnation. "Th' X series is a Fo'd mid-size wif a Jaguar nameplate. Th' varmints who loved th' old E-type isn't th' ones bein' pleased by Fo'd, cuss it all t' tarnation. A trimenjus compenny like thet don't knows how t'sell a low-voloom car." While Jaguar took one way outta th' abyss, Po'sche was determined t'take t'other, mo'e independent, route. It hired fo'mer Toyota employees as cornsultants. As Schwab tells it, they were puffick on account o' they had been thar befo'e. Toyota was perfo'min' porely in th' 1950s an' "top management gave wawkers a challenge," said Schwab. Well bust mah britches an' call me streaker. "In return fo' lifetime employment, wawkers had t'take responsibility an' accountability. They had t'suggess ways t'streamline an' make better cars. Th' result was thet Toyota started makin' cars wif one-third th' defecks in one-ha'f th' time an' space. Thet sparked a noo pareedigm in car-makin'. It went fum mass produckshun t'lean produckshun."