Educational Media Reviews Online

This revealing work examines an automobile built in Warren Michigan, and traces its component parts (chiefly the radiator) from all over the world, as a study in globalization, supplier relations, and pricing pressures. The film observes supply chains and tiers of finishing products. For example, seals for radiator caps made in India are elements of a complete radiator that is manufactured in Tennessee. The film spends a good deal of time exposing the audience to factory operations, and the daily processes of the radiator manufacturer. As with other specialized first tier suppliers, this Tennessee factory is not solely aligned with one automobile manufacturer, but may sell its product to one or more such manufacturers over time according to contract. Through this exposition of the manufacturing process, the film gives a conspicuous alert for the U.S. to become more competitive.

This documentary proceeds to explore the growth of both the production of and the demand for automobiles in China, and examines automobile manufacturers’ relentless efforts to gain a cost advantage to building cars in China for sale to Chinese consumers.

This is an exceptional film in that it does not merely give a multiple entry account of manufacturers around the world for one finished product, expecting the audience to sit back in awe. The film explores the deeper issues of competitive advantages, the reduced manufacturing bases in many countries, investments in new technologies, and managers’ decision making processes in selecting suppliers. It explores the phenomenon of globalized, specialized manufacturing on a personal level, in exhibiting the pride and initiative of Indian radiator cap workers, and American radiator assembly workers. This documentary does an exemplary job of illustrating the factory floor response to global pressures. The film closes with a brilliantly crafted visual comparison of an American worker tending her swimming pool after learning she has lost her job, with an Indian factory worker travelling on a burden laden bicycle. This encapsulates the film’s call for a boost in competitiveness in the U.S.