[Paladin2]

Once Toyota incorporated the quality of design and build knowledge of the US quality gurus (Deming et. al.) in the 1970's, the business model of the domestic US car companies was kaput (Yeah, that's a European word, but I'm on a roll here).

Many realized the issue, but turning the bean counting culture around was too large a task. Consumers fled and decreasing domestic market share made the fringe benefit and retirement parts of the business model an anchor.

[Big_Monkey]

"Once Toyota incorporated the quality of design and build knowledge of the US quality gurus (Deming et. al.)

You make another great point. I bet many US citizens are unaware of the profound impact Deming and others had on the quality process improvement capabilities of the Japanese manufactures.

That's the sad irony. Japan used American innovation and engineering to beat American companies that weren't in a big hurry to adopt some of the same measures.