Automotive Management Capstone

Artifact 2-1: CARS Final Exam

Matt Manatrey

Automotive Culture, AMGT 360, Fall 2020

Program Learning Outcome:

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Students will apply knowledge of management and leadership tools
and skills used to coordinate and implement the effective use of assets in running a transportation-
related business.

Executive Summary:

This assignment had me watch the Disney/Pixar movie Cars, and reflect on how Lightning
McQueen could have changed the face of the town of Radiator Springs that he was stranded in and
reflect on how if I were a manager, how I would handle the sudden influx of people from Lightning
McQueen visiting Radiator Springs.

This assignment required the use of research and exploring the automotive industry and how
the construction of the interstate highway system in the United states changed the look of small towns
that were dependent on the traffic on these small US Highways.

Reflection:

When I was told that the final exam for a college class was to watch the movie Cars, I thought the person
telling me that was joking, because how does a Pixar Movie tie into a college automotive management
class? Well I now know that the person who told me that was completely right. Exploring the
fundamentals and the start of the automotive industry is important in the industry that I am going into.
It sounds like something that everyone would know, but the small things that are not as prevalent in the
history of this industry, such as the history behind things like Lean production and how Henry Ford
Changed the way vehicles were made and produced.

When this course began, I thought it would be just another boring filler class that was required of the
program, but it quickly became one of my favorite classes that I took. It was such a good class that the
faculty of the AMGT program are looking to expand it into a general education class to fulfill a culture
enrichment credit, which is something I believe that every person who is in the automotive program at
Ferris State, or any student who is interested in cars would see value in taking this class.
As part of the class, we watched a video series on how Pixar tells a story, and it changed my outlook on
not just Cars, but other Pixar movies as well, a good example of how Pixar can tell a story is in the movie
WALL-E, there is no audible dialogue for the first 30 minutes of the movie, but the watcher knows
exactly what is going on. Cars was no different, talking about the demise of small town America. Cars is
one of my favorite movies that Pixar has produced and I think that after watching the movie after I
watched the series on storytelling that it changed the whole outlook of how I see Cars the movie.

Materials:

CARS Final Exam