Epilog 2009: The Battle for the United States

Abstract

It is the recurring tragedy of the world’s car industry that companies must bet the farm at the start of every new product life cycle. It is because the capricious consumer demands a new model at regular intervals that the manufacturers are doomed to replacing even their most popular vehicles with new offerings of unknown potential. Since the automobile industry paradigm shows that there is a monstrous production system to feed, the failure of a core model can put the company’s future in peril even after it has successfully defended its place in the industry over many decades.