All language subtitles for The Cars That Built The World S01E03 Motorise The Masses

(car engine revving)

- [narrator] previously, on
"the cars that built the world."

visionary engineer, w.O. Bentley
helps win a war!

- Our boys just
out-ran the germans.

- [narrator] turning victory
into a must-have car.

- He wanted to

combine engineering
excellence with speed

to create what he thought
would be the best car.

- [narrator] only to lose out

to the ruthlessness
of henry royce.

- It's a pleasure
to finally meet you!

- [narrator] in germany,
daimler and benz joined forces,

creating the car making
giant, mercedes benz!

(members clapping)

with a new top engineer.

- Congratulations mr. Porsche!
(pronounced porsh)

- actually, is a porsche.
(pronounced por-shuh)

- ferdinand porsche
could really push the car

further than anyone
else had before him.

- [narrator] but
when porsche turns

from quality to quantity.

- Build a car that the average
family in germany can afford.

- [narrator] he is rejected.

- If you can't see that,
I have no business here.

- [narrator] now, as
international tensions rise

from nazi germany, to
the empire of japan,

building cars becomes
more than a challenge.

It could soon be,
the key to victory.

As benz, daimler, maybach,

rolls and royce,

ford,

bentley,

porsche,

honda,

and toyota

create the cars
that built the world.

(pensive music)

in 1933, adolf hitler
ramps up german industry,

laying the foundation
for a war machine

that will go on
to kill millions.

Accelerating car production
and building highways

are two of his first steps.

So, he issues a challenge
to german car makers,

design a car for their people.

- They were looking
for ways to make

their fascistic system
attractive to the people.

- Jacob from berlin.

I was told to meet
him in the lobby.

- Cars were toys for the
lucky few in germany,

and to making such a technology
available for the masses,

of course, this was
highly attractive.

- Porsche, jacob, where
the hell have you been?

- He saw that by connecting
the people's car,

idea to him, and
to his politics,

he could ride that
wave of power.

- No first names. And for
god's sake, no alcohol!

(intense music)

- [narrator] for
ferdinand porsche,

it's an opportunity
he desperately needs.

He's left mercedes benz and
started his own car company,

designing small,
affordable cars.

- Good afternoon, sir.
Thank you for seeing me.

I know you wanna fill the
streets of germany with cars.

Let me design them for you.

Nothing fancy,

something simple,
affordable for the people.

I already have, some designs,
it will be like ford.

(book slams)
(suspensive music)

(fingers snapping)
(suspensive music continues)

- [narrator] if he
lands the contract,

porsche could not only
save his faltering company,

but catapult to being one

of the biggest car
designers in the world.

- What the hell did you say?

- I gotta get back to work.

- I don't know how much
of adolf's plan was,

I'm gonna let the
people move around

or how much of it was,

I'm gonna let the
military move around.

But either way, he
needed a vehicle

that was light, and
inexpensive, and reliable.

- What hitler did
that was so terrible,

was to take advantage
of that desire need,

in everyday people.

- [narrator] while, adolf hitler
dreams of mass production,

in the united states,
they figured it out.

At its peak in 1921,
henry ford's model t,

claims over 60% of
the u.S auto market.

- Henry ford was really
the first automaker

to get cars into the
hands of everyday people.

He made production
more efficient,

which made it cheaper
to build each car,

and the cars came
out higher quality.

- [narrator] now, hitler's
challenged ferdinand porsche

and his son ferry, to design
a car at the same price point

as the cheapest model t.

- Here, is what he wants.

He's calling it the people's
car, the volkswagen.

- Let me look at this?

Maintain 60 miles per hour,

30 miles per gallon
for just 900 marks!

It's impossible,
it can't be done.

- This is the opportunity
we've been waiting for!

- He's not just
another customer!

- Have some courage!

- They executed
people in the streets.

- It's a really basic
set of requirements,

but it's immensely
difficult to achieve this

in one single vehicle,
and make it affordable.

- It can be done!

- Basically, hitler
set up some guidelines

that needed to be followed,

and these guidelines
were impossible.

- And we're gonna be
the ones to do it.

- Everything he
wanted basically,

needed to be invented
from scratch.

(brooding music)

- [narrator] as the
porsche's struggle to realize

hitler's radical new concept,

in England, henry royce has
reached the pinnacle of success.

When royce started out,

England's king
drove a german car.

Now, 30 years later,
british royalty

will settle for nothing
less than a rolls royce.

But times are changing!

- The good times in the
1920s only lasted so long,

and they resulted
in the epic collapse

of the stock market in 1929.

- When the worldwide
depression hit,

the economies of the
world were in dire straits

during most of the 1930s.

- [narrator] as the effects
of the great depression

take hold, henry royce's
upscale car company,

and his health are failing.

But on the other side of
the globe, a new contender

has entered the cutthroat
world of car making.

35-year-old kiichiro toyoda.

- In the 1920s, japan was a
very agricultural society.

The idea of even having a car

was like a distant
dream for most people.

The roads for the most
part weren't paved,

there wasn't the
infrastructure to support

a widespread auto industry.

- [narrator] the market
is dominated by imports,

which sell nearly 80 cars
for every one made in japan.

In 1929, kiichiro toyoda learns

that improving that
ratio is up to him.

The only son of a
wealthy textile magnate,

he expects to inherit control
of his family's company,

but his father has other plans.

- So, sakichi toyoda
invented the first

fully automatic power loom

working with a son
kiichiro toyoda,

but he didn't want
kiichiro toyoda

to go into the family business,

he wanted him to do something

to contribute to
society on his own.

- [narrator] instead,

toyoda is instructed to
create a car company,

from scratch!

- All my life I've been
training to lead this company.

And now, I discover
that's not the plan!

Forgive me, but cars?

I know nothing about cars.

- You will learn.
(intense music)

- [narrator] if he's
going to succeed,

kiichiro will have to best

some of the world's
most powerful companies.

- Cut the engine!

The rising nazi regime, looms
over all aspects of life.

While hitler's
plans for expansion

unnerve his european neighbors.

At home,

his efforts to revitalize the
nation win many over.

He's built 2000 miles
of paved autobahn,

that's nearly ready to
fill with his people's car.

- Adolf hitler comes out
and announces to the world

that germany is going
to build this car

that will revolutionize
the auto industry

and put germans on the road.

- [narrator] a car that
will be light, but sturdy,

high quality, but affordable.

- He set out this nearly
impossible challenge,

it's easy to see why ferdinand
porsche would like this idea.

He was a brilliant engineer,

and also, a bit of an egomaniac.

- [narrator] a year after
ferdinand's fateful meeting,

hitler approves porsche's
volkswagen design,

giving the father and son team,

less than a year, to
produce a radically new car.

But packing the power
required for the autobahn

into such a small car
creates a problem,

keeping it cool!

- He is the enemy of
internal combustion.

You gotta figure out a
way to cool the engine.

- You have to get heat
out from every time

that cylinder fires,

its plug and explodes
that fuel and air mixture,

this was not easy to do.

Traditional cars that were
water cooled or liquid cooled,

you'd have to have a large
radiator, water pump, hoses,

all kinds of extra equipment
to keep that engine cool.

- I will make it work.

- [narrator] but creating
a water cooled engine

to fit a tiny volkswagen-

- cut it, cut it!

Cut the engine!

- Is incredibly challenging.

- [jason] porsche really had
a good gift for looking around

and picking out the pieces
that are gonna work best

to solve his particular problem.

- [narrator] ferdinand
knows the engine,

the radiator, the water
pump, inside and out,

but no matter how he configures
it, it's too expensive,

too complicated,
and weighs too much.

(inhale and exhales)

he needs to cool the
engine with less, not more,

(upbeat music)
he does it!

- The hell are you doing?

- [narrator] by removing
the need for water.

- Air!

- You're either gonna
do it through air,

or you're gonna
do it with water.

Air cooled is lighter.

- We'll force air into
the engine compartment,

and we can add a fan.

- [narrator] the vw
signature air cooled engine,

pulls air in through a grill
just below the rear window.

The airflow is over an oil
cooler removing internal heat,

then over metal fins
adding surface area,

to remove even more heat
from the engine cylinders,

all without using
a drop of water.

- That is genius!

- [narrator] meanwhile, in
rapidly industrializing japan,

entrepreneurs are
searching for opportunity,

including a young mechanic,
named, soichiro honda.

Like kiichiro toyoda,
he wants to make cars,

but unlike toyoda, he
comes from nothing.

- Soichiro honda grew up
few hours outside of tokyo.

Seeing a car was an anomaly.

One day he saw a car
driving through his village.

As the story goes, he was
so taken with the car,

he dipped his finger in the oil

and smelled it
like it was honey.

- [narrator] the son
of a bicycle repairman,

honda has no schooling
and no connections.

Instead, he teaches
himself engineering,

lands an apprenticeship
and becomes a mechanic.

Now, he's looking for
a business opportunity.

(door knocks)

- piston rings,

they're small, essential,
and offer maximum markup.

First, we make them for the
shop and we start selling them.

- You are a good mechanic
honda, stick to fixing cars.

- Soichiro honda loved
the art of engineering

and he was extremely driven,

and some would say even
overconfident in himself.

- [narrator] as honda struggles,

the porsches build three
volkswagen prototypes

in their home garage,

barely meeting
hitler's deadline.

- Push it hard,

we need to see how it holds up.
(car engine roaring)

he expects perfection!
(car engine revving)

and so do I!

(upbeat music)

- [narrator] by 1937, they're
putting the volkswagen

through over 1.8 million miles
of rigorous road testing,

more than any car in history.

Porsche designs a
streamlined body,

to maximize fuel efficiency.

He sets the engine in the back,

to help keep the car
small, light, and cheap.

(upbeat music continues)

but that solution leads
to a different problem.

(suspensive music)

- [ferry] it bounces
all over the place,

we can barely keep
it on the road.

- [porsche] 21?

- [narrator] the
little car is so light

and its wheelbase so short,
its handling is a nightmare.

With no room for a
traditional suspension,

porsche create
something brand new

by connecting metal bars to
the wheels and the frame.

Each bar has a twist that
recoils as the car hits bumps,

absorbing the impact, smoothing,
and stiffening the ride.

- In the early 1930s,

most cars were still riding
around on suspension technology

that was invented for
the horse and carriage.

What ferdinand porsche achieved

with the torsion
beam suspension,

was an entirely new design
that was lightweight,

it was inexpensive to build,

it took up less space,
and it was reliable.

- [narrator] it's the
final piece of the puzzle

for porsche's people's car.

A model that will
eventually go on to sell

over 21 million units,
in 91 countries.

Now, hailed as the
great german engineer,

ferdinand porsche officially,
joins the nazi party

along with ferry,

as hitler fast tracks
a factory in wolfsburg

to build volkswagens.

In japan, in 1937,

soichiro honda pawns
his wife's jewelry

to start his own business.

His first big break,
pitching his piston rings

to a large industrial company

that's just starting
to make cars.

- Mr. Toyoda,

an honor to meet you sir.

- Toyoda was already one of
the biggest companies in japan.

For a nobody likes soichiro
honda making piston rings,

for toyoda was like
a dream come true.

Considered a loom maker
by the government,

toyoda lacks the
preferential treatment

of established car makers,
nissan and mitsubishi.

He can't afford
to make mistakes.

- You made these piston
rings yourself, mr. Honda?

- I did.

We can be in production soon,

with as many as you need.

- This one

failed!

Only three are acceptable.

If you truly want to make
piston rings, might I suggest,

you go to school and learn how.

- [narrator] on the brink

of what he thought
was his first step

toward becoming an automaker,

soichiro honda's
dream is crushed.

- This was a big blow to honda,

and he realized he
needed to learn more.

He had to go back to school,

he had to go figure out all
the things he wasn't aware of,

and he took it very seriously.

- [narrator] but his future
rival kiichiro toyoda,

a man with all the
resources honda lacks,

still hasn't sold a single car
after five years of trying.

If he doesn't start
to compete soon,

- [narrator] in,
just over a decade,

japan's ultra nationalist
emperor, hirohito,

transforms his country into
an industrialized power

with imperialist ambitions,

all part of his plan for
military and economic dominance.

- Japan was known as
this hermit kingdom,

but now all of a sudden japan
had come out of its shell.

And so for the first
time, american leaders,

british leaders had
to pay attention.

- [narrator] central
to hirohito's strategy,

backing the rapid expansion of
japan's first car companies.

- When it's left to
private enterprise,

then the pace of change
is comparatively slow.

But when governments
can pour money in,

then all of a sudden you can
build these big factories.

You can try out
different models.

- [narrator] but
kiichiro toyoda,

whose family is known for
making looms, not cars,

has been left off the list.

Without government backing,

he's failed to
design a viable car.

He looks to shake things up

by changing the company
name from toyoda

to toyota.

The subtle change from d to
t gives a whole new meaning.

- Literally toyoda means
rice field in japanese,

and they thought that that
sounded a bit too provincial

for a modern machine
like the automobile.

Not only that, but
the number eight

is considered a
very lucky number.

Toyota can be written with
eight brushstrokes in japanese.

Whereas toyoda needs 10.

- [narrator] with
family expectations

and his own pride at stake,

toyota continues to siphon money

from the family loom business

as he struggles to get
his first car to market.

- When kiichiro toyoda first
started experimented with cars,

he knew nothing about them.

He literally had
to buy an engine,

buy a transmission
from overseas,

tear them down and figure
out what made them work.

- [narrator] desperate
for a shortcut,

he reverse engineers the work

of the world's
greatest car makers,

bringing his first car
to market, the toyota aa,

at a price that
undercuts competitors

including the one from
detroit he copied.

- The aa resembled
a chrysler airflow

because at the time,

the airflow was the most
advanced american car.

It was the first car to use
aerodynamics and streamlining

as a concept in its design.

- [narrator] after
six years of trying,

toyota is finally
mass producing cars,

but the rising threat of
conflict soon intervenes.

In 1937, japan invades china,

turning long simmering
tensions into all out war.

Eight months later,

hitler annexes austria and
parts of czechoslovakia,

bringing an end to his hollow
promise of a people's car.

- Germany becoming a country
where every citizen could

afford a well-performing,
efficient, cheap car

was of course a very big deal.

That's what hitler
wanted everyone to see.

But the whole thing was
basically a scam and a fraud.

No german civilian ever ended
up getting a new beetle.

- [narrator] in 1939,
germany invades poland

and world war ii begins.

The volkswagen factory
quickly transforms

from making civilian cars

to producing a light
military vehicle

designed by ferdinand porsche.

- The kubelwagen was the
german equivalent of the jeep,

but it was based on

the original porsche
volkswagen mechanicals.

It was unfortunate for the
people who just wanted a car,

but it did say a lot about
porsche's engineering skill

and that he could make something

that was both a super
cheap family car

and an extremely effective
wartime utility vehicle.

- [narrator] as war
rages in europe,

on December 7th, 1941,

japan bombs pearl harbor,

pulling the u s into the war

along with its
manufacturing might.

- The united states became,
as franklin roosevelt said,

the arsenal of democracy.

And what the united states
and the world discovered

in world war ii is plants
that can churn out automobiles

by the hundreds
and the thousands

and the hundreds of thousands

can also churn out planes
by the tens of thousands.

- [narrator] by
1944, allied planes

are hammering germany's
military manufacturing,

including the porsche's
operation in stuttgart.

(powerful music)

- [man] you have everything?

- I think I should stay here.

I'm needed at the factory.

- It's a factory
they're aiming for.

Dad.

- What?

- It's not worth dying over.

We have to go.

- Right.
- Now.

- It's time to go.

Where?
- Doesn't matter.

Anywhere.
- Here I come.

(warfare explosions)
(somber music)

the porsche's escaped germany.

While in japan,
elevated by the emperor

to one of japan's top
vehicle producers,

toyota's factories are
rolling out military trucks.

Honda is now making piston
rings for those trucks,

but his factory is soon
destroyed by american bombers.

Then in 1945, after
six long years of war,

world war ii finally ends.

(light music)

- there was only one real
winner in world war ii,

the united states.

Britain and the soviet
union were ruined

economically or
structurally by the war.

- [narrator] in america,
10 million victorious

u.S. Servicemen and
women return home

seeking jobs, homes, cars,
and starting families.

- You had these gis coming
home and making a baby boom.

And they were moving
out to the suburbs.

And of course, to
get to and from work,

you're not taking the train,
you're taking the car.

- [narrator] as families expand,

it triggers an economic boom

that thrusts the car to the
center of american culture.

While america rebels in
its postwar euphoria,

in europe and asia, the
settling dust of world war ii

reveals total annihilation.

Millions are dead.

Tens of millions more
are jobless and hungry.

In japan, american
bombing has obliterated

the country's infrastructure.

Industry is at a standstill.

- Unlike america, its
cities were destroyed.

Its industry were destroyed.

The japanese economy was
absolutely devastated.

- [narrator] for soichiro honda,

war has destroyed his
piston ring factory

and his car making dreams.

But among the
ruins of hamamatsu,

he finds a reason to be hopeful.

- One day in 1946,

soichiro honda sees a
surplus mikuni generator

at his friend's workshop.

These were used to power
radios during the war.

- Just picture, like,
a tiny one cylinder,

little air-cooled motor.

So it wasn't really
clear what else

you could use this thing for.

- [narrator] honda is certain

he'll find a use for
the surplus motor,

but for the moment,
he's not sure what.

- So honda decides to take
a little bit of time off.

During that time, you know,
he hung around the house,

played music, drank whiskey.

He had a lot of ideas
that he wanted to see

turned into reality.

And so during what he
called his human vacation,

he spent a lot of time
thinking about these things.

- [narrator] with
roads in ruins,

limited gas and
high unemployment,

bicycles are the best
way to get around.

But for honda's wife
who rides all day

to find black market rice,

traditional bikes aren't working

and neither is her husband.

- Soichiro honda was
not a guy who gave up.

Soichiro would see a
potential for something.

And even if it seemed absurd,

he wouldn't quit until
he figured it out.

(powerful music)

he could see these two
very different things,

a bunch of generators for radios

and a bunch of people who
needed to get around faster.

- [narrator] if honda
can't build cars,

he'll have to make
do with what he has.

For the porsche's,
moving on from the wartor] n
devastated, postwar japan,

soichiro honda, like
most, is starting over.

With his piston ring
factory destroyed,

he's hoping to build
a new business:

Powering bicycles with small
surplus generator motors

leftover from the war.

- You know, the
bicycles were cheap.

The generators were surplus,
so no one was using them.

So with that, he
was able to create

a very, very affordable
mode of transportation.

- [narrator] but with
gasoline strictly rationed.

Fueling it will be difficult.

Led by general
douglas macarthur,

the occupation of japan
has a very specific goal:

Rebuild the country
as a democracy.

A new constitution is written.

Elections are held and the
new parliament is installed.

For macarthur, the goal

is both humanitarian
and geopolitical.

- They decided very early on
that japan needed to be rebuilt

to avoid the radicalism
that they saw in the past.

In addition to that, there
was a fear of communism.

The emerging cold
war was an incentive

to get the japanese
economy going again.

- [narrator] but
for kiichiro toyoda,

the americans aren't
moving fast enough.

- Immediately after the war,

the american occupational
forces were governing

what industries could proceed
and which ones couldn't.

- [narrator] the u.S.
Led transitional force

has halted car production,

putting the jobs of toyota's
3000 employees in jeopardy.

- The problem that
kiichiro toyota faced

was he can't just decide

he wants to make
more passenger cars

because his hands were
really pretty tied.

- That's just not gonna happen.

- So, toyoda's point of view

was that we will do
our everything we can

to get along and cooperate
with the american military.

And they just put on
hold building cars

and toyota was anxiously waiting

to find out what
their future would be.

- [narrator] toyoda
is failing his father

and his nation's ambitions.

In 10 years, he's
made just 1900 cars

while ford is producing
that many every 36 hours.

For toyoda, bankruptcy
is a real possibility.

6,000 miles away,

the allies are completely
reshaping germany

and its economy.

- Shortly after
germany surrendered,

the allied leaders
decided to carve it up.

The soviets got their
zone in the east,

the british in the north,
the french in the west,

the americans in the south.

- [narrator] as the
u.S. Pumps $15 billion

into the marshall plan
to rebuild germany,

the british military works to
repair volkswagen's factory.

- It was still surprisingly
pretty operable

and it was absolutely crucial
in the recovery of germany

after the war that this factory
actually was able to start

producing small runs of cars.

- [narrator] realizing
the scope of the project

is too great, they reach
out to henry ford ii,

offering to hand over
the factory for free.

But ford is advised
it isn't worth a damn

and passes up the offer,

missing out on a
chance to own a company

that today is worth
over $500 billion.

As the british worked to
bring volkswagen back,

the french go after its
designers, the porsche's.

Both are arrested on
suspicion of war crimes,

and ferdinand is thrown in jail

where he's pressured

to improve on french car
maker renault's designs.

- [man] so how do we
fix this, mr. Porsche?

- Porsche would
have been considered

a very valuable asset for anyone
who got their hands on him

because he actually went
through so far down the road

of all that testing,
all the planning,

the design of the
factory before, you know,

everything went to hell.

- I don't work for you.

- Look, I have all
the time in the world.

Please make yourself at home.

- [narrator] with the french
in no hurry to release him.

- [man] open up.

- [narrator] the
pressure is on porsche

to share his
engineering knowledge.

- Paper, sir.N japan
where postwar scarcity

requires ingenuity,

soichiro honda has built
a motorized bicycle

using a surplus engine,

but there's no way
to legally fuel it.

- After the war, gasoline was
incredibly scarce in japan.

- [narrator] with
military forces

strictly controlling
the sale of gasoline,

there's only one option:

The black market.

- There were food
shortages, gas shortages.

The black market was the one
thriving market in japan.

- [man] honda.

- (whispering) shh,
close the door.

- [narrator] if honda gets
caught using gasoline--

- is that it?

- This is it.

- [narrator] he could
lose everything.

He desperately needs
an alternative.

Like carl benz decades earlier,

honda keys in on a
household chemical.

Turpentine.

- The turpentine had
several advantages.

It was readily available.

It could extend the gasoline
and it was a good way to mask

the fact that you were
getting your gasoline

from the black market.

- [narrator] with that,

honda rolls out his
first motor vehicle.

- That prototype
became the first,

you could say, honda motorcycle.

Once people in the village
started seeing that

driving around, word
spread very quickly

and orders came pouring in.

- [narrator] honda can
barely keep up with demand,

but he knows dodging
the authorities

won't be possible forever.

- There must be something
more that we can do.

- I can't keep 3000 people busy

making pots and pans.

- [narrator] with civilian
car manufacturing banned,

kiichiro toyoda and
his cousin eiji,

an up and coming
executive at the company,

are running out of options.

- In japan, a company's
seen as a citizen

and a contributing
member of society.

As a result, kiichiro
toyoda felt the duty

to look after his employees

by making bowls and plates

and growing crops for them.

- [narrator] but toyoda
is quietly doing more.

- Come take a walk with me.

- [narrator] determined to
build a car making empire,

he takes a huge risk,

secretly designing a new model

and adding four of them to
an american military order.

- Have you lost your mind?

- My father taught
me to make cars

and that's what I'm going to do.

- The u.S. Military
put in an order

of 50 vehicles to
be built by toyota.

Toyota was so committed to
building a passenger car

that they kind of bent the rules

and snuck in four prototypes.

- [kiichiro] I call it the sa.

What do you think?

- It's risky.

- Not only would failure have
tarnished the family name,

it would have almost
been a symbolic failure

of japan's industry
because toyoda

was one of the premier
industrial families of japan.

- I'm in.

- [narrator] despite the ban,

toyoda is determined
to produce cars

made by japanese hands,

cars that would make
his father proud.

And for inspiration, he
looks not to america,

but to germany.

- The volkswagen was the
car of the people in germany

and kiichiro wanted
to create the car

of the people in japan.

So he copied a lot
of the elements

of the volkswagen beetle,

making a very simple,
functional, basic car

that they could sell cheap.

- [narrator] but the
designers of the volkswagen

have even bigger problems.

- [soldier] thank you,
sir, move along.

- [narrator] as his father
sits in a french prison

accused of war crimes,

ferry porsche has been
held under american control

in western germany.

Following his release,
he's desperate

to get back to stuttgart

to rebuild the family
company and his life.

- [soldier] paper, sir.

Where are you headed?

- [ferry] stuttgart.

Just trying to get back home.

- Just wait here for me, sir.

(dark music)

- [narrator] but as a porsche

known for being a
nazi collaborator,

moving on maybe
harder than he thinks.

Next time on "the cars
that built the world." on "s

ferry porsche is
left with nothing

but the ruins of
his father's legacy.

- We need access to
vws infrastructure.

- [narrator] now he must
create one of his own.

- For porsche really, this
is a generational shift,

it's the handling of the baton

from ferdinand to ferry.

- [narrator] in occupied japan--

- what's this?
- Two companies rise

from the ashes of war.

- Mr. Toyoda.

- [narrator] toyoda rebuilds

by partnering with the victors

before developing a way
to try to overtake them.

- It really launched toyoda

as one of the elite players
in the global field.

- [narrator] and honda struggles

to make his name in motorcycles.

- This wasn't what the japanese
government was looking for

in an automaker.

- [narrator] then races
into the car industry.

- Congratulations!
(clapping)

- [narrator] starting
far behind europe

and in the shadow of american
supremacy for decades.

- This is an embarrassment.

We've all failed.
- The japanese car makers

will have to fight for
their place at the top.

- Get me an american car.