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               John Z. De Lorean
                  
                                ISBN 0-9603562-0-7


ON A
CLEAR DAY
YOU CAN SEE

GENERAL
MOTORS
John Z. De Lorean's Look Inside
The Automotive Giant



                     By J. Patrick Wright  

 

from the fly-leaf of the book:
D
uring 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:
L
ooking 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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