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Designing automobiles for global value: Ten market trends

By Lockwood, Tom
Publication: Design Management Journal
Date: Monday, October 1 2001
HEADNOTE

DEVELOPMENT

HEADNOTE

Identifying pathways essential to remaining competitive in the automobile industry, Tom Lockwood discusses cross-disciplinary

design teams, fast and precise communication among divisions and with suppliers, consolidation and the sharing of platforms and technology, and designing with virtual rather than time-consuming clay models. Lockwood notes, however, that all is for naught without distinctive branding and evocative styling.

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"We wanted a car we could sell in 42 countries." That was Bryan Nesbitt's goal in designing the PT Cruiser, 2001 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Nesbitt wanted the PT Cruiser to appeal to the European sense of utility and the American sense of fun, because it's the combination of functionality and style that gives a good product an edge nationally and globally. The Cruiser got its "edge" on both sides of the Atlantic, selling 175,000 a year instead of the expected 70,000. A Chrysler senior design manager told me that "they love it" in Europe, "especially in Paris."

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