(7 of 10)
No less important, G.M.'s continued emphasis on its medium-priced lines gave it an edge in diversity of product. With their 1962 lines, the other auto manufacturers hoped to persuade the buying public to settle down to a relatively few standard-sized, compact and intermediate models. Gambling heavily on the intermediate Fairlane—which has done well, but partly at the expense of Falcon and Galaxie sales—Ford downgraded its medium-priced Mercury. In similar mood, Chrysler turned the Dodge into a Plymouth-priced Dart, and American Motors shortened its Ambassador. Meantime, to flesh out its own big and standard lines, G.M. showed that it was not above borrowing a good idea from a competitor by introducing the Chevy II—which is so like the Falcon that some Detroiters call it "Falcon III." Result was that G.M. offered autodom's most highly varied line of 1962s, including more pizazz models, more convertibles and more medium-priced cars than anyone else to tempt the trading-up buyer.
Positive & Strong. In his drive to make the little betters a little better each year, Donner drives himself and everyone around him hard. He expects full dedication from even the outside members on G.M.'s board. Says one director: "Fred always does his homework and so do we. He won't tolerate anybody who doesn't." Sometimes a director's "homework" for the monthly board meeting amounts to as much as 7 lbs. of reports.
Firm as he is with directors, Donner is most forceful when he assumes his hat as chairman of the finance committee. "He's not arbitrary," says a fellow committee member, "but he is positive and strong. He can be reversed, but you have to have damn good reason for reversing him." At finance committee meetings, there is no small talk—just "important gossip about such things as the economic atmosphere." Periodically, to support a thesis or answer a question, Donner whips out of his inside jacket pocket a handy little argument settler. Most auto executives have modest ones, but Donner's comes in a specially made 2-in.-thick leather case. It is jammed with scores of photostatted cards, about the size of a playing card. containing in miniature all the latest vital statistics on G.M. and the auto industry, as well as basic figures about the gross national product and foreign trade. (A wine fancier, Donner also has in his pocket file a card listing the vintage years.)
Pro-Yankee. Roughly 60% of the time, Donner operates from behind a paper-free walnut desk in his 24th-floor Manhattan office overlooking Central Park. The rest of his time he spends in Detroit, commuting in one of the company's fleet of twin-engined Convairs equipped with G.M.'s Allison turboprop engines. "He likes to travel before or after working hours," says an aide, "so that he won't miss any time in the office."
In Detroit Donner sleeps in one of the company's eight executive bedrooms at its 15-story headquarters building. He is up at 7:30, breakfasts in the executive committee dining room, and by 8 a.m. is ready to do business with G.M.'s early-arriving executives. Evenings, he sometimes leads a group of the top brass to a Detroit Tigers night baseball game. "I'm very careful to be pro-Yankee when I'm in Detroit," he notes with a grin.