The last time we had a cover story focused on the automotive industry was way back in the summer of 2007. I had just joined Consulting magazine, but the story had been assigned and written before I arrived.
I just babysat it as the copy went down on page. Much of that article focused on how the industry would avoid what consultants referred to as "doom loops", which were defined as "systemic failures responsible for overcapacity, uncompetitive cost structures, and other symptoms that tend to receive more attention."
At the time, the U.S. automakers were being eaten alive by foreign manufacturers who had discovered operational efficencies that trumped the Big Three. The article went on to show how, for instance, the Ford Escape SUV and the Mercury Mountaineer SUV had fewer similar parts under the hood than the Toyota Camry and the Lexus SUV.
