When it comes to good, old-fashioned productivity in car making, Chrysler has upped its game so much that it has tied Toyota for bragging rights as the best in North America, so say the surprising results of the 2008 Harbour Report—the authority on automotive productivity—released June 5.

Chrysler was the most improved automaker, 7.7 percent better, while efficiency at Toyota fell 1.5 percent. Once all the numbers were crunched—including the number of hours it takes for stamping, building transmissions, engines, and assembling vehicles—the two automakers finished in a dead heat at 30.37 hours per vehicle each. It’s a clear case of the student catching up to the master, as Chrysler has unabashedly adopted the much-vaunted Toyota lean manufacturing system to improve its manufacturing. In descending order, the rest of the pack are: Honda (31.33 hours), GM (32.29), Nissan (32.96), Ford (33.88), and Hyundai (35.10).

The Oliver Wyman Harbour Report also shows that the Big Six (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan) have become so competitive the difference between the most and least productive is a mere 3.5 hours to assemble a vehicle. This near-parity is a far cry from a few years ago when the Japanese could out-produce the Big Three 2:1

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