Prosperous West Germany's most heated industrial race has pitted General Motors' sprightly Opel against front-running Volkswagen for dominance of the burgeoning auto market.
Opel has been doing pretty well: it has jumped from 14.3% to 21.1% of the German market since 1952 (v. Volkswagen's 32.5%). It has just discovered, however, that while pursuing Volkswagen it will have to keep a sharp eye on the rearview mirror. Reason: Ford's German subsidiary is coming up fast from the rear. Fortified by new and attractive models, heavy investment and good management, Ford has captured 19.6%...