Driving on the wrong side of the road -- the myth of Japanese efficiency in car manufacturing

The real culprit for the collapse of Rover Group under the ownership of BMW was a misconceived attempt to emulate Japanese production methods that pre-dated ownership by the German car giant, a new book shows. Based on research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the book reveals that rather than helping the fortunes of the Rover Group, "Japanese practices" introduced prior to the BMW takeover undermined its growing success.