Academic literature on the topic 'Automobile industry and trade – France – History'

This research and documentation project of surviving Indianapolis automobile factories examines the importance of Indianapolis, Indiana, as a center of automobile manufacturing in its early days. Automobile factories appeared in the city as early as 1895, and were often an outgrowth of bicycle or carriage-building companies. This followed a national trend. As the industry grew, Indianapolis firms continued to produce low-volume, high-quality cars instead of the more popular, low-cost cars being produced by Ford and other Michigan-based manufacturers. The recession of 1921 and the Great Depression of 1929 decimated the market for expensive cars and by 1937 all Indianapolis-based firms were out of the automobile business. A number of their production facilities remain and are employed in a variety of uses. This project documents these buildings and recommends a range of adaptive re-uses based on successful conversions.<br>Department of Architecture

The purpose of the study was to provide a complete historical account of the events which led to the rise and fall of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company of South Bend, Indiana. The study also evaluated the impact upon the ethnic development of South Bend from the years 1856 to 1966.The applicability of the Kuhnian paradigmatic process of culture change to the South Bend-Studebaker interaction sphere was considered as well.Ninety-seven employees of the company were selected and interviewed in regard to their knowledge of the company and its impact upon the city. Primary and secondary archival materials were utilized to supplement worker interviews.FINDINGS1. The Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company and the Studebaker Corporation acted as primary agents of ethnic development in the South Bend community.2.The interviewing process provided new data which supplemented and substantiated previous accounts.3. The Studebaker Company's success was founded upon intensive employer-employee involvement in the production process.4. The Studebaker Company's failure was brought about by the breakdown of the employer-employee relationship.CONCLUSIONS1. The study proved the significant impact of the Studebaker Company upon the American transportation industry.2. The Studebaker Company exerted a major influence upon the ethnic and cultural development of the city of South Bend.3. The "paradigmatic process of social change" model as postulated by Thomas Kuhn was appropriate to the Studebaker-South Bend situation.4. An ethnohistorical reconstruction technique proved successful in recounting the impact of the Studebaker Company.

The New Deal legislation of the 1930s would threaten Dallas' peaceful industrial appearance. In fact, New Deal programs and legislation did have an effect on the city, albeit an unbalanced mixture of positive and negative outcomes characterized by frustrated workers and industrial intimidation. To summarize, the New Deal did not bring a revolution, but it did continue an evolutionary change for reform. This dissertation investigated several issues pertaining to the development of the textile industry, cement industry, and the Ford automobile factory in Dallas and its labor history before, during, and after the New Deal. New Deal legislation not only created an avenue for industrial workers to achieve better representation but also improved their working conditions. Specifically focusing on the textile, cement, and automobile industries illustrates that the development of union representation is a spectrum, with one end being the passive but successful cement industry experience and the other end being the automobile industry union efforts, which were characterized by violence and intimidation. These case studies illustrate the changing relationship between Dallas labor and the federal government as well as their local management. Challenges to the open shop movement in Dallas occurred before the creation of the New Deal, but it was New Deal legislation that encouraged union developers to recruit workers actively in Dallas. Workers' demands, New Deal industrial regulations, and union activism created a more urban, modern Dallas that would be solidified through the industrial demands for World War II.

Après les longues années de guerres louis-quatorziennes, le retour de la paix en Europe et sur les mers marque le début d’une nouvelle période dans l’histoire de la Normandie. En l’espace de quelques années, les ports renouent avec la croissance suite à la mise en valeur des colonies et à la reprise des activités commerciales. L’arrivée massive des produits coloniaux et en particulier du « roi coton » entraine de nombreux changements dans les centres urbains et les campagnes où la filature connait une progression fulgurante. Le développement de l’économie atlantique et son importance pour l’économie de la Normandie n’est cependant pas sans conséquence. Même si elle apporte une certaine aisance et permet à de nombreux habitants des campagnes d’assurer leur subsistance quotidienne, elle a dans le même temps scellé le sort d’une partie de la population à l’activité commerciale et aux vicissitudes de l’industrie textile alors en plein essor. À partir d’une analyse quantitative et spatiale, l’objectif de cette thèse, en s’intéressant aux crises et aux émeutes de subsistances, est d’étudier les conséquences de l’intégration de la Normandie à l’économie atlantique. Au-delà d’un réexamen des crises qui éclatent entre la paix d’Utrecht et la guerre d’Indépendance américaine, cette recherche s’articule autour de deux périodes emblématiques marquées par d’importantes transformations. La première est celle engendrée par la signature en 1786 du traité de commerce dit d’Eden-Rayneval entre la France et l’Angleterre qui met un terme à la politique mercantiliste en vigueur depuis 1713. La seconde est celle de la crise provoquée par la révolution française, la révolte des esclaves de Saint-Domingue en 1791, et le retour de la guerre sur les mers en 1793<br>After the long years of the Louis XIV’s wars, the return of peace in Europe and on the seas represented the beginning of a new era in the history of Normandy. Within a few years, ports were back on the road to growth thanks to thedevelopment of the colonies and the resumption of commercial activities. The massive arrival of colonial products and in particular of the "cotton king", brought about many changes in urban centres and countryside where spinning was booming. The development of the Atlantic economy and its importance for the Norman economy was, however,not without consequences. Even if it brought a certain ease and enabled many rural inhabitants to ensure their daily subsistence, it sealed at the same time the fate of a part of the population to the commercial activities and the vicissitudes of the textile industry, which was rapidly expanding. This dissertation relies on a quantitative and spatial analysis, with a focus on crises and subsistence riots, to study the consequences of the integration of Normandy in the Atlantic economy. Beyond a re-examination of the crisis that erupted between the Peace of Utrecht and the American War of Independence, this research focuses on two emblematic periods marked by major transformations. The signature in 1786 of the so-called Eden-Rayneval trade treaty between France and England, which put an end to the mercantilist policy in force since 1713, marked the beginning of the first period. The second is that of the crisis caused by the French Revolution, the revolt of the slaves in Saint-Domingue in 1791, and the return of the war on the seas in 1793

La presente tesis doctoral quiere contribuir al conocimiento del proceso de desarrollo de la industria automovilística en España mediante la elaboración de una historia económica y empresarial de FASA (FASA-Renault), desde su constitución, en 1951, hasta 1985, momento en que tanto la empresa como el sector en su conjunto se encuentran ya en su madurez. El estudio de FASA es pertinente y relevante, ya que estuvo presente desde los inicios del despegue del sector y representó un 24% de la producción acumulada durante el período. La mayor novedad de la investigación es la explotación de unas fuentes directas de información hasta el presente no exploradas –Actas del Consejo de Administración y las Actas de la Junta General de Accionistas– o infrautilizadas –Memorias de Actividad. Los principales trabajos que han analizado el proceso de desarrollo de la industria automovilística en España son los de Jordi Catalan y José Luis García Ruiz. Jordi Catalan sostiene que entre los factores explicativos del despegue sobresale la aplicación de políticas estratégica. Por su parte García Ruiz resta importancia al posible efecto de las políticas aplicadas. El primer objetivo del trabajo es aportar evidencia empírica que refuerce la hipótesis sobre el papel propulsor de las políticas industriales estratégicas de corte proteccionista en los procesos de industrialización de los países en fase de actualización en la línea trazada por las investigaciones de Ha-Joon Chang. Sin embargo, aunque las políticas aplicadas pueden explicar parte del desarrollo de una industria, no justifican el éxito de una empresa en concreto. Por ello, el segundo objetivo del trabajo es establecer los factores determinantes del proceso de crecimiento de FASA. La hipótesis examinada es que el éxito de FASA provino de la materialización de la triple inversión descrita por Chandler y que ello fue posible por la transferencia de recursos y capacidades por parte de Renault. La tesis doctoral consta de una introducción, a modo de capítulo inicial, más otros cuatro capítulos en los que se ofrece una historia económica y empresarial de FASA que sigue un orden cronológico y adopta una perspectiva evolutiva. En el primer capítulo se expone el proceso de constitución de la empresa y se analizan los años en que se ensambló el Renault 4CV. En el siguiente capítulo, que transcurre entre 1958 y 1965, se estudia la transformación de FASA de simple planta ensambladora a auténtica fabricante de automóviles de turismo. En el tercer capítulo, que abarca de 1965 a 1974, se analiza el proceso de transformación de FASA-Renault en una gran empresa mediante la realización de la triple inversión. Finalmente, en el último capítulo se analiza la trayectoria de FASA-Renault durante la crisis de la estanflación. En primer lugar, el trabajo ha aportado nueva evidencia empírica que refuerza la hipótesis de Chang conforme la mayor parte de economías en proceso de actualización han empleado políticas activas para la promoción del desarrollo económico. La evidencia aportada en los dos primeros capítulos muestra como fue la política industrial consistente en reservar el mercado del automóvil a los fabricantes instalados, la condición necesaria que forzó a Renault a ceder las licencias de producción. Es importante resaltar que para Renault su óptimo era vender directamente en España la producción realizada en Francia, mientras que su second best era montar en Valladolid los conjuntos completos fabricados en Billancourt. Además, fue la obligatoriedad de incorporar unos amplios porcentajes de producción doméstica la que obligó a Renault a ceder la producción de componentes estratégicos como el motor. La evidencia aportada en los capítulos tercero y cuarto valida la hipótesis conforme el éxito de FASA-Renault se sostuvo en la materialización de la triple inversión –en producción, comercialización y managment– que Chandler relaciona directamente con el auge de la gran empresa industrial moderna. Asimismo, los datos analizados señalan que fue la transferencia de recursos financieros, humanos y técnicos por parte de la régie Renault la que posibilitó que la compañía castellana alcanzara las capacidades competitivas necesarias, situándose en el mismo nivel de desarrollo que las factorías francesas. Merced a ello FASA-Renault se convirtió en el principal centro de producción de automóviles Renault fuera de Francia.<br>The aim of the Ph.D. dissertation is to contribute to improve our knowledge of the development process in the automotive industry in Spain. This research undertakes an economic history of the firm “FASA-Renault” between its foundation in 1951 and 1985 when the Spanish economy was about to join the EEC. In the analysis of the firm through the thesis, a chronological structure and an evolutionary perspective is adopted. The study of FASA is relevant: throughout the period examined, the firm produced on average up to a 24% of the total volume of cars manufactured in Spain. The objective is twofold. First, in chapters 1 and 2 empirical evidence of the role of strategic policy on the industrialization of developing countries is provided. The results go in line with the hypothesis drawn by Chang (1994, 2002). Market protection was the necessary condition that forced Renault to transfer its technology and its production licenses to FASA. More importantly, the optimum for Renault was to sell in Spain the cars that were produced in France, while its second best was to assemble in Spain the complete sets manufactured in the France. Second, in chapters 3 and 4 the key factors for FASA-Renault’s success are established. Following Chandler (1990), it is possible to argue that the accomplishments of the firm came from the realization of the triple investment in production, commercialization and management. As a result, FASA became the main Renault production center outside France.