In the 1950s America enjoyed massive growth and affluence, and no companies contributed more to its success than automakers. Their leadership was revered, their methods imitated, and their brands synonymous with the nation's aspirations. By the end of the 1960s Detroit's profits had evaporated and its famed executives had become symbols of greed, arrogance, and incompetence. No company suffered this reversal more than General Motors, which found itself...