Henry Ford gets the credit for creating the first moving assembly line and revolutionizing the process of making cars, as well as manufacturing in general. And rightly so, but what Henry Ford also did was lay the groundwork for Toyota to come along later and revolutionize production all over again. The idea that “America invents things, the Japanese perfect them” is a lazy stereotype and a backhanded compliment at best, but in this case, there may be some truth to it.
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