As a retired supplier to the auto industry I can tell you this; If I were to tell Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, etc, that I could produce a piston that was far better but cost 15% more, they all would send a squad of engineers to investigate. If I were to tell the US manufacturers the same thing, they would tell me they want a piston as good as they're already getting for 10% less. The simple difference is the foreign companies tend to be run by engineers and are more focused on the product. The Detroit companies are run by accountants and are intensely focused on pennies. They will change suppliers to save a dime. Detroit purchasing people are closely measured by how much money the save not by improvements they make.

I saw an article yesterday that says GM lost market share again. Toyota continues to gain and they are brave enough to publish books on how they run their business; which the Detroit clowns ignore as they have for years.