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Rating: 
Summary: An excellent review of how Ford brings a car to market
Review: Car. A wonderfully detailed account of the development of an American car. The book captures the drama of the people involved in the styling, design, production, marketing, and sale of America's best selling car. Mary Walton did an excellent job of capturing a behind the scenes chronological portrayal of how Ford Motor Co. brings a car to market. Details such as how Ford vice-presidents intervened and decide where to locate the outside rear view mirrors on the Taurus are included. From organizational restructuring to lavish parties and media events, it's all here. This book is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the automobile industry.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent book, boring subject
Review: Having done a fair amount of reading about the auto industry, Ms. Walton's text is a welcome addition to my bookshelf. However, in writing about the darling of rental fleets everywhere, you can imagine what the results are like: Interesting in some places, but largely dull. Come to think of it, the same could be said of the '96 Taurus. But I digress. There are better (and worse) reading choices about product development in the auto industry. "All Corvettes Are Red" which chronicles the development of the C5 Corvette is a better choice. This may be in part because the subject inspires a bit more passion than the average rental mule. But on the other hand, "The Critical Path" is a good cure for insomnia. Thankfully out of print, this text occasionally detailed the 3rd generation Chrysler minivans while covering numerous other subplots and distractions. In conclusion, "Car" was just average. Not much "drama", but enough content to hold my interest.
Rating:
Summary: Anything but boring...
Review: I am a graduating mechanical engineer, and I've read this book every year I've been at school. Every time I read it I get more excited about entering this volatile world of automotobile development, as a cast member of the "drama of the American workplace." Other reviews for this book penalize Mary Walton for selecting the Taurus, but what most people forget to realize is that the family sedan is probably the most difficult car to engineer. You have to satisfy a much wider range of people than if you were building, say a C5 corvette where all you have to do is make it go fast and burn corners. I found the Taurus examination much more fulfilling.
Rating:
Summary: Anything but boring...
Review: I find that Mary Walton has done an outstanding job in this work. Were it simply a journal of names and events, it wouldn't entertain so well. I read and enjoy the car magazines. I've also worked for GM at a design and manufacturing facility, it could have been the Ford Ms. Walton describes. And although it appears to my fellow reviewers to be an unforgivable faux pas, I actually own a Taurus of this era and I'm quite pleased with it on it's own merits. A limited production styling and engineering exercise is exciting in it's own way, but this story is what happens with the cars actually purchased in the American market, the ones we hold on to for 14.5 years. The Japanese do things a little differently, not necessarily better. Look at the debt loads of the Japanese manufacturers today. Drive a Camray then drive a Taurus on a fast, winding mountain road. The Taurus need make no apology under this criteria. Choose your own, no car will fit them all. I don't want a Corvette, sorry. I can't afford one, it's not worth the insurance to me, I can't carry anyone in it. I'm not interested in reading about it's development. I think Mary Walton did a fine job of going to the heart of the automobile industry in America, uncovering the good and the bad. I was amazed at both the quality of her research and the pace of the book, and it was presented in a fashion that appeals to the avid automobile journal reader. I don't think this makes Ford look bad at all. It's a drama of the American workplace, repeated in other workplaces with different accents in auto manufacturers worldwide. Read the book. If you don't care for the Taurus, especially after reading this book, then think twice about the sausage you ate for breakfast, where it came from. This book is good entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Heavy on the cliches
Review: I just finished this book. While it paints an interesting picture about the process to bring a car to market, the style Walton employs falls short. I understand the strategy to be the naive narrator (learning with reader how things work), but she uses too many cliches and poor analogies to make her point. I don't know how many times she said "Ugly as sin" or even "It was, like," a few times. I'd recommend David Halberstam's The Reckoning or Comeback as well-written alternatives about the same subject, especially Comeback's depiction of the Mustang overhaul, than this book.
Rating:
Summary: Even non-car people will love this book
Review: I picked this book up and couldn't put it down, I'm not even really interested in the process of designing and producing an automobile. The writing style is fun, and while a bit simple it is highly engaging. A nice departure from the facts, figures and bone dry writing I would have expected. Kristina Osborn
Acquisitions
Columbus College of Art and Design, Packard Library
Rating:
Summary: Even non-car people will love this book
Review: I picked this book up and couldn't put it down, I'm not even really interested in the process of designing and producing an automobile. The writing style is fun, and while a bit simple it is highly engaging. A nice departure from the facts, figures and bone dry writing I would have expected. Kristina Osborn
Acquisitions
Columbus College of Art and Design, Packard Library
Rating: 
Summary: An accurate and richly detailed vicarious experience.
Review: Reading Mary Walton's "Car" was like deja vu, because the picture she paints of the design process at Ford is incredibly accurate. As a former CPM Vehicle Office engineer at Ford, I saw identical issues and many of the same characters in our own car program (which was also famous for its collocated "skunkworks" team). Moreover, the cultural idiosyncrasies of Ford that Walton describes in detail are ones that can only be perceived after an extended period of immersion in that environment. I do not doubt that divisional friction exists in all large corporations; however, I am convinced that until it is mitigated, the customer will never be satisfied with the product of such an arduous and complicated process that leads to countless and unfortunate compromises.People who criticize this book are the same closed-minded people at Ford who keep the company from moving forward. A good example is the way in which Ford employees who drive foreign cars are treated. They should be embraced and be asked to attend focus groups to describe (with engineering details) what characteristics they perceive to be superior in their own cars. Instead, they are shunned, and their cars are eventually peppered with door dings and key marks. Ford has incredible resources and potential, but these must be harnessed and managed in an inclusive and progressive way. Middle managers must be willing to risk their careers (and 2nd homes Up North) and take a stand for what they think is right. Too many times has a top executive walked into a clay studio or engineering review and made an off-hand comment that literally brings the design process to a grinding halt because no one is sure what is going to happen next. No engineer wants to waste time (or be passionate about) working on a design that is going to be arbitrarily thrown out and changed based on some executive's personal opinion. Changes to designs after the designs have been frozen are the main reason for the lengthy design process at Ford. Top managers must resist the temptation to put their mark on a project and remain faithful to the needs and wants of the customer.
Rating:
Summary: More than just cars - the development process
Review: The appeal of this book goes beyond an interest in the auto industry or an interest in cars. If you work in any kind of development process, from software to hardware, this book is both an entertaining and instructive read. It seems we're all fighting the same battles: Designers and engineers constantly at loggerheads, testers finding bugs at the last minute, division presidents saying outlandish things to the press and the sales people looking for the spin. If you don't want to read yet another boring book on how to improve the software development process, try this.
Rating:
Summary: More than just cars - the development process
Review: The appeal of this book goes beyond an interest in the auto industry or an interest in cars. If you work in any kind of development process, from software to hardware, this book is both an entertaining and instructive read. It seems we're all fighting the same battles: Designers and engineers constantly at loggerheads, testers finding bugs at the last minute, division presidents saying outlandish things to the press and the sales people looking for the spin. If you don't want to read yet another boring book on how to improve the software development process, try this.
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