America's Other Automakers - (Since 1970: Histories of Contemporary America) by Timothy J Minchin (Paperback)

About the Book

"America's Other Automakers provides an interpretive history of foreign-owned automotive plants in mostly Southern states. The transplant industry's growth occurred in waves; the Japanese arrived first in the 1980s, followed by luxury German car-makers in the 1990s, and Korean manufacturers after 2000s. Choosing early examples from each wave, America's Other Automakers looks at foundational factories that paved the way for other automakers, especially from the same country, to follow. Through an archive of articles, statements issued by local government officials, failure of unionizing efforts, reports of discriminatory hiring and other primary sources, Minchin critically engages seven case studies of seven large assembly facilities and their impact on the communities they were built in"--

Book Synopsis

In 2018 almost half of all vehicles made in North America were produced at foreign-owned plants, and the sector was on track to monopolize the market. Despite this, the industry has been overlooked compared with its domestic counterpart, both in scholarship and popular memory. Redressing this neglect, America's Other Automakers provides a new history of the foreignowned auto sector, the first to extensively draw on archival sources and to articulate the human agency of participants, including workers, managers, and industry recruiters.

Timothy J. Minchin challenges the view that the industry's growth primarily reflected incentives, stressing human agency and the complexity of individual stories instead. Deeply human in its approach, the book also explores the industry's impact on grassroots communities, showing that it had more costs than supporters acknowledged. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, America's Other Automakers uncovers significant tensions over unionization, reports of discriminatory hiring, and unease about the industry's rapid growth, critically exploring seven large assembly facilities and their impact on the communities in which they were built.

Review Quotes

America's Other Automakers should be an opening salvo from southern historians of all stripes interrogating how these auto factories reshaped the region, from politics to culture.--William D. Goldsmith "Southern Historical Association Journal"

The auto industry remains prestigious enough that winning the factory sweepstakes remains big news and a hopeful sign of a prosperous future. It remains to be seen how the transplant story will play out, however, and this book is a helpful and engaging foray into the topic.

--Daniel Clark "Labour/Le Travail"