'Big Bill' Knudsen turned Chevrolet from an also-ran into a powerhouse: His crosstown move after a clash with Henry Ford turned out be a windfall for GM

摘要

William S. Knudsen found two seemingly contradictory traits in Americans when he arrived from Denmark in 1900 at age 20. "They were very friendly, and they loved to fight with their fists," he said. "I was more or less forced to become a boxer. When I worked in the shipyards, fistfights were almost a matter of daily routine." But in 1921, he walked away from a good job at Ford Motor Co. to avoid a fight, though it's not likely fists would have been involved. He was production manager at Ford with a USD50,000 annual salary and a 15 percent bonus.