NY TIMES: A Japanese Plant Struggles to Produce a Critical Auto Part

A chain is just as strong as it's weakest link….
A modern car is a computer on wheels. The window openers, the dashboard navigation maps, the fuel injectors — these and many other operations are controlled by some of the 100 or so electronic systems in a typical car.

No wonder the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that knocked out one of the world’s leading automotive computer-chip factories struck such a severe and lasting blow to the global auto industry.

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