Historiography: The Call of The American Road
A car lover knows that these are mere points on the map worth exploring when the opportunity becomes available.
A car lover knows that these are mere points on the map worth exploring when the opportunity becomes available.
If one product signifies Gottlieb Daimler's sage words "the best or nothing," look no further than the S-Class.
The interesting point about such vehicles is the fact that the brand no longer exists. These are mobile orphans that defy the laws of vehicular life.
While Dearborn tout’s the brand’s 100th anniversary, a bit of history must be told prior to its inclusion into the company.
It all began with a single man. He got married, had a business partner – who became part of the family. The rest reads like a script from Dallas or Dynasty.
That year, Hyundai sold 168,882 of the compacts – a strong showing thanks to sharp marketing and a base price of under $5,000.
Sadly, this is a business lesson that often used as examples of failures. But, should we consider them failures? Perhaps another lesson from the music industry would be apt here – if you had a one-hit wonder and continues to have airplay and downloads, you are not a failure.
It was not until recently when I was reacquainted with the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company.
News reports stated that the Toyota Avalon will be produced for another year at their Georgetown, Kentucky. After the 2022 model year, it will be eliminated from Toyota’s catalog.
It would be easy to tell the story of Saturn as a corporate historiography. Yet, there is more about Saturn than just the foundation, the design and production of the company and its products. It is the cultural impact on how a company – albeit a part of General Motors – sought to connect its products, the way they sold them and the extraordinary consumer engagement that spurred on such immense brand loyalty amongst owners.