Rating: 
Summary: Still true after all these years
Review: Some people below have said that while Halberstam was right in 1986, things have since changed with the American auto industry. I have to disagree. While American cars are better than they were in the 1970s and early 80s (could they get any worse?), they are still vastly inferior to Japanese and German cars, and the main reason American manufacturers aren't even worse off than they are has more to do with aggresssive accounting (0% financing, 0 money down) and marketing (fleet sales, rentals) than about attracting new, loyal, lifetime buyers. (Just as people used to buy Fords as their first cars and then as they became older and more affluent moved on to GM, people now buy American cars first and then step up to Toyotas, Acuras, Audis and BMWs.) American automakers haven't learned--not much anyway.It's true, however, that since this book was written, the Japanese have made many of the same mistakes they once criticized U.S. business for: buying trophy properties, overspending, not facing economic reality. However, through all this, the amazing thing--often overlooked--is their quality has not slipped. They still make excellent cars (and cameras and TVs and stereos and...). Their school kids still do math that fatigue our graduate students. Their factories are still models of efficiency. What's fascinating about this book, though is how it shows the ways culture dictates success and failure. We were not willing to change our ways, even when it was obvious that, by not doing so, we were sacraficing our future. But the same was true of the Japanese for much of Nissan's history. Many of their best ideas--cars with stronger engines, cars with better styling, the Z--were almost accidents rather than planned. Just as with Henry Ford a generation earlier, they thought they could dictate the market. It wasn't true then and it's not true now. Halberstam is a gifted writer, and although he may have been a little snowed at times, seeing the Japanese, as so many did then, as invincible supermen, he still penetrates the mysteries of both U.S. and Japanese big business in ways few other writers ever have. This is a fascinating look behind corporate closed doors--both Asian and American. For that reason alone it is required reading for anyone interested in the business world. And the way Halberstam writes, it is never dull reading, either, even though the book is close to 800 pages.
Rating:
Summary: Still true after all these years
Review: Some people below have said that while Halberstam was right in 1986, things have since changed with the American auto industry. I have to disagree. While American cars are better than they were in the 1970s and early 80s (could they get any worse?), they are still vastly inferior to Japanese and German cars, and the main reason American manufacturers aren't even worse off than they are has more to do with aggresssive accounting (0% financing, 0 money down) and marketing (fleet sales, rentals) than about attracting new, loyal, lifetime buyers. (Just as people used to buy Fords as their first cars and then as they became older and more affluent moved on to GM, people now buy American cars first and then step up to Toyotas, Acuras, Audis and BMWs.) American automakers haven't learned--not much anyway. It's true, however, that since this book was written, the Japanese have made many of the same mistakes they once criticized U.S. business for: buying trophy properties, overspending, not facing economic reality. However, through all this, the amazing thing--often overlooked--is their quality has not slipped. They still make excellent cars (and cameras and TVs and stereos and...). Their school kids still do math that fatigue our graduate students. Their factories are still models of efficiency. What's fascinating about this book, though is how it shows the ways culture dictates success and failure. We were not willing to change our ways, even when it was obvious that, by not doing so, we were sacraficing our future. But the same was true of the Japanese for much of Nissan's history. Many of their best ideas--cars with stronger engines, cars with better styling, the Z--were almost accidents rather than planned. Just as with Henry Ford a generation earlier, they thought they could dictate the market. It wasn't true then and it's not true now. Halberstam is a gifted writer, and although he may have been a little snowed at times, seeing the Japanese, as so many did then, as invincible supermen, he still penetrates the mysteries of both U.S. and Japanese big business in ways few other writers ever have. This is a fascinating look behind corporate closed doors--both Asian and American. For that reason alone it is required reading for anyone interested in the business world. And the way Halberstam writes, it is never dull reading, either, even though the book is close to 800 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic Of Narrative Non-Ficton
Review: The Reckoning is not just a book about the car buisiness, or even just business as a whole. Halberstam has written a sprawling book about the human narratives that underpin every business decision, every intercorporate political machination, every glitch in the economic movement of the world. The book is as close to a novel as non-fiction can get. The characters are sharply drawn and grandly realized. Business decisions, board meetings, and car manufacturing descriptions are imbued with the crackling writing of good fiction. The style will make you want to read on. As for the subject matter, it isn't just about Ford vs. Nissan, or Japan vs. the US; this book is about people, their failings, prejudices, arrogance, stupidity, short-sightedness, intellect, brilliance, drive, ethics, love, culture, and power. It offers powerful insight into the world of multi-national corporations. If you want to know who's running the world right now and how, this book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite 10 books, ever
Review: This books works on several levels. It's more than just, Detroit vs. Tokyo, or even, the automotive industry. It's, how to suceed in business by really, really trying. It's also, personalities and quotes, up-by-the-bootstraps business accumen. It's history come alive. It's also, American hubris and where it will get us, it's how can a country with no discernable resources kick our butt, and how a monopoly contains within it the seeds of distruction.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite 10 books, ever
Review: This books works on several levels. It's more than just, Detroit vs. Tokyo, or even, the automotive industry. It's, how to suceed in business by really, really trying. It's also, personalities and quotes, up-by-the-bootstraps business accumen. It's history come alive. It's also, American hubris and where it will get us, it's how can a country with no discernable resources kick our butt, and how a monopoly contains within it the seeds of distruction.
Rating:
Summary: Still relevant after 20 years
Review: This is more than the story and comparison of two companies (Ford and Nissan, respectively the second-largest auto companies in America and Japan) intertwined into a particular period of global history. It is also an insight into the cultures of the corporate mentality in both countries, and the personalities within provide some interesting parallels; from the overbearing Katsuji Kawamata and Lee Iacocca, to the overshadowed visionaries Yutaka Katayama and Don Frey (who, despite Iacocca's claims to that title, was probably the REAL father of the Ford Mustang).
The author's intent was probably to show how Ford prospered in the 1940s to the early 1970s, then fell as it became too large and slow to react to changing economic times, and how Nissan (and the other upstart Japanese companies) in that period rose at Ford's (and General Motor's and Chrysler's) expense. But as the book was ending, in the mid 80s, Ford was on a major upward swing with the then-new Taurus and Sable; for the first time in decades, it would overtake GM in passenger car sales. Meanwhile, Nissan was about to be overtaken as the second-largest Japanese company by Honda. Halberstam also covers the burgeoning threat of the Korean auto industry, whose infancy has since paralleled Japan's to a startling degree. Even if events have made some of this book obsolete (Ford has had several upward- and downward spirals since the mid-1980's, and has since been passed as the world's No. 2 automaker--by Toyota; Nissan flirted with bankrupcy, and has since been purchased by Renault), this is a very fascinating book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of auto industry development
Review: This is one of my favorite books - I wish all history books were written this way. This is Halberstam's best, and gives an interesting and clear picture of several phases in Japanese and US auto industry development. Read this book, think back to the time when the US was scared to death of Japanese auto industry (end of the book), then examine how we got from that point to today. If you are interested in industry history, this is the first book to read. Others like "Car" (the Taurus account) are weak knockoffs of Reckoning.
Rating:
Summary: Dog's love trucks
Review: Will Nissan make a come back after experiencing a near failure. The Nissan Altima's engineering and design are impressive. Halberstam historical account of Nissan injection into American Automobile industry makes one fact clear: Nissan wanted a car with power and appeal. The original CEO realized Americans wanted a car with power. He eventually convinced Japanese management of this fact, and changed the profile of automobile industry for the next forty years. Halberstam explorers the humble beginnings of Nissan Corporation, Japanese management's unwillingness to provide a non-tokyo type model, new bright marketing minds, celebrity endorsement of their product, and the rapid rise of Nissan sells reaching the number three position in the world in a matter of years. If the Altima is a reflection of Nissan's philosophy then it would seem Nissan will continue to prosper. The value of luxary automobile continues to drive the prices up as more customers covent these type of vehicles. Next, Iacocca correctly saw the automobile technology shifting to front wheel drive, but the change would not come easily. Halsterstam described the internal politics, vendors countering a possible financial collaspe, the financial condition of Chrysler when Iacocca become CEO, the technical and manufacturing line problems confronting front wheel drive, the demoralized state of the workers, and the political battles between the visionaries. Nevertheless, Iacocca forged the way for the Mini-Van brand line. A very successful move with robots and workers building millions of min-vans. The world would fall in love with the mini-van; and after a long reign eventually be lured by a more attractive vehicle the SUV. Ford's brillance was realized how to increase profit margins with new lines of SUVs (Expedition, Explorer, and Excursion). Increasing profits and wealth more than any time in history, the SUV provided a vehicle with the same structure as a truck but the functionality and moving capacity of a van. The cost of the vehicles were staggering, sometimes costing two-three times as much as a mini-van. The profit margins on the SUV were an incredible wealth creation device. Ford's assembly lines didn't need significant reinvention to create the SUV. Now, big was better. No loss of interest was experienced with America's love affair with large trucks and SUVs. The rich loved these vehicles. Resell values for these trucks continued to be marked by high resell values. It seems the automobile industry continues to offer better engineering and quality and the counter result is reduced profit margins to entice consumers to buy. As the margins decrease from intense foreign competition the automobile industry is at risk. It seems the automobile industry will continue to operate like a utility experiencing some upward and downward cycles. Innovation can cause extremely distruption and rapid redistribution of demand. For example, changes in environment regulations could cause the automobile industry to reinvent itself again. The reinvention causes companies who are slow to change to go out. This phenomenia would become the true reckoning.
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