Two ways to change gear; old-established American car firms are growing through fancy and frantic acquisitions; the upstart Japanese by building brands from scratch. (editorial)

Economist (US), The, December, 1989

Old-established American car firms are growing through fancy and frantic acquisitions; the upstart Japanese by building brands from scratch

BEATEN by its arch-rival, Ford, in the hunt to buy Jaguar, General Motors has grabbed a consolation prize-a 50% stake in the loss-making car operations of Sweden's Saab, Scania. GM decided it could not justify the $2.5 billion that Ford spent on Jaguar, so $600m for half of Saab may seem a bargain. Yet both American multinationals will have to put millions, perhaps billions, more into their new businesses be, fore they can be sure that either will counter the drive upmarket by Japanese rivals.

Compare the strategy of GM and Ford to that of Japan's two biggest carmakers, Toyota and Nissan. The Americans are buying,...

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