With an updated Afterword by the author
This is the epic saga of the American automobile industry’s rise
and demise, a compelling story of hubris, missed opportunities, and
self-inflicted wounds that culminates with the president of the
United States ushering two of Detroit’s Big Three car
companies—once proud symbols of prosperity—through bankruptcy. With
unprecedented access, Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Ingrassia takes us
from factory floors to small-town dealerships to Detroit’s
boardrooms to the White House. Ingrassia answers the big questions:
Was Detroit’s self-destruction inevitable? What were the key
turning points? Why did Japanese automakers manage American workers
better than the American companies themselves did? Complete with a
new Afterword providing fresh insights into the continuing upheaval
in the auto industry—the travails of Toyota, the revolving-door
management and IPO at General Motors, the unexpected progress at
Chrysler, and the Obama administration’s stake in Detroit’s
recovery—Crash Course addresses a critical question: America bailed
out GM, but who will bail out America?