Arthur Hailey’s "Wheels" Summary

Arthur Hailey’s industrial novel "Wheels" was published in 1971. It is a detailed chronicle of the Detroit auto industry, intertwining the lives of top executives, designers, assembly line workers, dealers, and criminals. In 1978, NBC aired a five-part miniseries of the same name, directed by Jerry London and starring Rock Hudson and Lee Remick.

Everyday life in the automobile capital

A typical morning in Detroit begins with a tense rhythm. The president of General Motors is irritated by new attacks from renowned critic Emerson Vail, who accuses auto giants of reluctance to transition to cleaner engines. Meanwhile, a Ford vice president flies to New York, settling multimillion-dollar issues right on board the plane, and the head of Chrysler is studying the real estate market. The automobile assembly line begins another day of relentless pursuit of performance indicators.

At an auto assembly plant, assistant manager Matt Zaleski struggles to cope with a never-ending stream of production problems. Mondays and Fridays are considered the most difficult days due to widespread absenteeism among workers who abuse alcohol and drugs. Zaleski is defusing a simmering racial conflict: white foreman Frank Parkland got into an altercation with a young black newcomer, who was defended by worker Newkirk, who punched the foreman. Fearing a wildcat strike, Zaleski is forced to compromise and return Newkirk to the line.

Estrangement is growing in the family of Adam Trenton, a leading executive in the production planning department. His young wife, Erica, suffers from loneliness and a lack of attention, as Adam is completely absorbed in his work. While Erica desperately searches for ways to overcome her inner emptiness, Adam participates in a closed press conference, where he openly acknowledges the usefulness of criticism regarding machine safety and tells reporters about the coming technological revolution.

Orion’s Design and Hidden Conflicts

Young, talented designer Brett DiLosanto is working at the design center on the secret "Orion" project — a compact car with a panoramic glass roof. Management has already invested $100 million in the new car. In conversations with students, Brett debunks myths about consumer preferences, proving that a model’s visual appeal always remains a decisive selling point for the public.

Meanwhile, in New York, Matt’s daughter, Barbara Zaleski, an advertising agency employee, presents Orion promotional options to clients. The clients ruthlessly reject the young professionals’ creative ideas, demanding banal advertising cliches. Soon, Barbara is given a new, challenging assignment: to produce an honest documentary about Detroit’s problems, at the personal request of the chairman of the board of directors.

At a closed circuit 30 miles outside the city, Adam Trenton, along with Brett DiLosanto and engineer Ian Jamieson, is testing a prototype Orion. At 80 mph, the car’s body begins to vibrate strongly. To avoid delaying production by redesigning the car, Adam makes the difficult decision to install additional struts and stiffeners, which increases the cost of each car by five dollars.

Erica Trenton, trying to regain her husband’s interest, buys seductive lingerie and, to her surprise, steals a bottle of expensive perfume from a store. Impunity gives her a thrilling sense of risk. However, the romantic dinner goes awry: Adam returns late, immerses himself in office paperwork, and agrees to help his sister, Teresa, check out the financial status of Smokey Stephenson’s dealership.

Factory realities and the fate of Rollie Knight

Rollie Knight, a young, unemployed African-American man with a criminal record, is caught in a police raid. A black patrolman helps him avoid arrest and directs him to a labor recruitment center. He is accepted into a training course, but quickly drops out. A fraudulent instructor forces him to sign his welfare checks, embezzling money from others.

The scheme is uncovered by Leonard Wingate, a high-ranking African-American human resources specialist. He convinces Rollie to return and gets him a job as an assembly line worker at the plant. On the assembly line, Knight faces monotonous, grueling labor. Driven to exhaustion, Rollie throws a massive bolt into the conveyor chain drive, causing an emergency shutdown. Foreman Parkland, realizing the true culprits behind the scheme, keeps the young man at the plant.

Later, defending himself from the constant bullying of his coworkers, Rollie deliberately presses the elevator button, and the descending half-ton engine crushes the fingers of his assailant. After this incident, Knight begins to be respected, but soon becomes embroiled in the plant’s criminal activities: an underground lottery, loansharking, and marijuana dealing. Rollie becomes completely disillusioned with the honesty of those around him after witnessing the respected foreman, Parkland, accepting bribes from local racketeers.

Adam Trenton visits Smokey Stephenson’s dealership, in which Teresa’s late husband owned 49 percent of the shares. The former race car driver, Smokey, vividly demonstrates to Adam the behind-the-scenes side of the dealership business, which consists of psychological tricks, the imposition of unfavorable loans, and the cynical manipulation of customers.

Business Contradictions and Family Crises

Brett DiLosanto meets Leonard Wingate by chance. They quickly hit it off and, along with Barbara Zaleski, discuss issues of racial inequality and the needs of poor neighborhoods. Later, Brett meets Hank Kreisel, the owner of an auto parts factory. Kreisel talks about creating an extremely inexpensive hand threshing machine for farmers in developing countries, dreaming of mass-producing it.

Erica Trenton cheats on her husband with race car driver Pierre Flodenheil, a part-time salesman at Stephenson’s. Their encounters continue for several months. Rumors of the affair make it into the gossip columns, but Adam tells his wife nothing.

Soon, Adam and Brett are spending the night brainstorming, developing a concept for a future car, codenamed "Farstar." They come up with a paradoxical idea: the new car should be defiantly ugly by old standards, but extremely functional, fuel-efficient, and practical.

Barbara Zaleski and director Wes Gropetti film "Autocity" in the poverty-stricken home of Rollie Knight and his girlfriend, May-Lou. Leonard Wingate attempts to help the debt-ridden Knight through the factory’s payment restructuring program.

That evening, Barbara brings Rollie home for an interview. Matt Zaleski, returning unexpectedly, is enraged, starts a racist rampage, throws him out, and slaps his daughter in the face. Barbara packs her things and goes to live with Brett DiLosanto.

Adam audits Smokey Stephenson’s books and uncovers massive fraud involving guarantees and bank loans. He demands the sale of Teresa’s share and threatens to hand over the materials to auditors. Stephenson begs for a one-month grace period.

Suddenly, Pierre Flodenheil breaks off relations with Erica. In a state of severe nervous breakdown, she again attempts to steal a briefcase at the mall, but is caught red-handed by security. The police chief contacts Stephensen, who blackmails Adam: Smokey will hush up Erica’s criminal case in exchange for Trenton’s silence about the dealer’s financial scams. Adam is forced to give in.

Tragedies on the track and a choice for the future

Four black gangsters, including Rollie Knight, carry out an armed attack on vending machine guards right at the factory. The robber, Leroy, stabs the guard to death, and foreman Parkland, who entered the back room, suffers a severe head injury. Caught off guard by the attack, Matt Zaleski suffers a stroke in his office and is left paralyzed.

The mafia begins a ruthless hunt for the robbery participants. Two accomplices are killed one after the other. Realizing the inevitable reprisal, Knight hides at home. Leonard Wingate and Brett DiLosanto try to arrange for Rollie to turn himself in and hire a lawyer, but they are too late: mafia gunmen kidnap Knight, and he disappears without a trace.

At the Talladega Speedway, Pierre Flodenheil’s car crashes into a concrete barrier at high speed, killing him instantly. The next day, the company car wins the race, to the delight of management. Outraged by the cynicism of those around her, Erica openly confronts management about their callousness. This courageous act brings the couple closer together, and they reconcile during a short trip to the Bahamas.

Orion triumphantly enters the market, and the board of directors approves the Farstar project. Brett DiLosanto decides to leave the automobile corporation to devote himself to freelance painting and his own design studio with Barbara. Adam Trenton declines a lucrative offer to head a research firm in San Francisco. He realizes his true calling in the auto industry and is delighted to learn that Erica is expecting a child.