John Z. De Lorean
ISBN 0-9603562-0-7
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ON A
CLEAR DAY
YOU CAN SEE
GENERAL
MOTORS
John Z. De Lorean's Look Inside
The Automotive Giant
By J. Patrick Wright
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from the fly-leaf of the book:
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 its 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 its
arrival. But in a jolting new move, De Lorean refused to let the book be published
saying he feared that reprisals from GM would sink his attempts to launch a new car
company. He continued to block publication of On A Clear Day You Can See
General Motors for four years. The book was nevertheless published
without the cooperation of John be Lorean, General Motors or the original publisher.
De Lorean's disclosures of the inside workings of General Motors were nothing
short of shocking. His highly critical assessment blew the lid off of some of
Detroit's most closely held secrets such as
- Horrendous product decisions
- Sinister business practices
- Serious management blunders
John De Lorean's story is more
than an expose, however. It is a personal account of one modern executive's struggle
with big business management. As the antithesis of the traditional, stodgy,
dark-suited GM executive, De Lorean operated with flare and panache. He openly
criticized his company and his industry when he felt they deserved it. He avoided
the corporate social scene in favor of a cadre of friends that included professional
athletes and movie stars. And he dated models and actresses who were often younger than
the daughters of his fellow executives. While his life style chafed his superiors,
his exceptional talents as an engineer and a crack executive, produced business success
after success, and filled GM's coffers with profit. |
Short Review, Editor of the Museum Of The
Future:
Looking back in time, it does
appear that John De Lorean stepped on more peoples feet than he could have imagined.
His company got into financial difficulties due to late deliveries of parts and much
longer than expected prototype lead-times. His suppliers also charged him higher
than expected rates for material. The book on his life is presently out of
print. I am nowadays working in the car-industry myself and intend to follow up on
this story... At first glance not much does appear to have changed in the industry since
De Lorean's resignation. Nor has anything much changed in the car industry for the
past 100 years, since the invention of the internal combustion engine, despite viable
alternatives to this polluting technology. |
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