Simple Opportunities
JBR stands with automotive designer of the Rally Fighter, Adis Gacevic.
brand and who remain at the vanguard of disruptive innovation in one of America’s last industries to be transformed from century-old labor, manufacturing, and management practices—the automotive industry. Making the decision to start Local Motors meant stepping into one of the most iconic American industries and also into one of the most complicated labor, franchise, and supplier networks ever created. To describe the industry as complex would be an understatement. But in a sense, the facts were simple. United States automakers were losing market share to Asian and European manufacturers, and in the process they were reaching unprecedented levels of unprofitability and financial loss. Jobs were in peril and disappearing across the heartland, and the very faith in American manufacturing and automotive innovation was shaken to its core. But yet other companies were growing within the U.S. auto industry all at the expense of our domestic incumbents. Nothing was wrong with the industry as much as things were wrong with our country’s readiness to make a change. Coupled with a global angst about the automotive contribution to global warming and the strained relations with the oil producing countries who supply product to our country of voracious petrol consumers, the opportunity to do something was growing greater every day. Just like my second form dorm prefect duties, joining the military in an unpopular time, or discussing training budgets when bombs are slamming all around, making the decision to jump into the car industry fell into sharp clarity: stick your hand in the ring to serve and thereby have a shot at taking control of your destiny, or stand by and watch as events unfold and dictate the course of progress. Time will tell if Local Motors has the right idea with which to address the current automotive crisis, but whatever the end result, I will have made a simple decision whose inevitable result must be to inspire others to serve alongside. Daily, we are seeing domestic car makers, who have been the century-old bedrock of American manufacturing prowess, strain and wither under market and economic conditions. We have the opportunity to step into the breach. It is immaterial that we are the country that fired automotive mass production, and that we are the country where dealerships grew to blanket the country and put a car in almost every driveway; conventions notwithstanding, our automotive industry is flagging and our environment is calling for better methods. The opportunity to serve has presented itself once more. If my life of punctuated service is an inspiration to a young Grotonian reading this article then these words will have been well spent. Humble yourself enough to see the opportunities in which to serve and through that action find natural leadership.
Local Motors is a new American car company that is setting an exciting and sustainable course to design, manufacture, and sell cars. Revolutionary yet simple, Local Motors creates a direct connection with customers who guide design development. The outcome of this open, collaborative process is meaningful, exciting cars designed specifically for car enthusiasts in local areas. Local Motors will build micro-factories in regions where demand is highest. Cars will be built and sold from the micro-factories on a just-in-time basis. Both the products and process are sustainable. Local Motors vehicles feature best in class fuel efficiency. The development and manufacturing process dramatically reduces waste and maintains the flexibility to incorporate new efficient technologies as they emerge while creating a direct physical connection with more fully satisfied customers.
Jay Rogers, a graduate of the Form of 1991, is the co-founder and CEO of Local Motors, Inc., headquartered in Wareham, Massachusetts. Quarterly Winter 2009
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