Since companies like GM, Ford, etc. are currently having trouble affording paperclips, let alone Formula 1 (and other) racing teams; how will that affect design?
Here’s a gallery of 10 things F1 racing helped develop in the real world.
I’m sure there are hundreds or thousands more.
Personally, I’m not a fan of propping up these companies that made mistakes long ago, but this is one area where they would be sadly missed.
NURB: Nice gallery, although most of the innovations are from carbon fiber. Certainly F1 helped this development, but so did the aviation industry.
Moreover, lets look at what has really driven the progress from automotive fields: large amounts of capital. Look Bosch, who is largely responsible for modern fuel injection or Mitsubishi who developed the complicated stability control system in cars. These projects required a lot of failure. That can only be tolerated in companies that have money to burn.
Given that reality, will government loans keep the innovation going in these industries? Not at all. The companies that are in hard times are going to play it safe. Just look at how they’ve operated in the past when they needed to cut costs. Ford under Jac Nasser cut a huge portion of engineering. I think Cerebus has already axed a large amount of Chrysler engineers and designers.
I’m not saying that large groups are needed to be innovative. Look at AMC or the Le Baron and Chrysler mini-vans. Small under-funded groups can do extraordinary work, but general adopting existing technology in new ways. It does take a lot of time and money to really develop something ground breaking.
Great points and I think you can extend this suggestion to companies like Bosch and many others who innovate. Without sales, you have no profit, without profit you can’t invest in technology.
Really interesting point. I still wouldn’t buy a Ford or a GM product.
I think theres a lot of GM/Ford vehicles that are pretty compelling - and if they didn’t all have an even more inflated cost due to union labor costs, they could be sold for even less. Theres a lot of American vehicles I like, the Corvette, the CTS-V, the Malibu, the Solstice/Sky, and theres a lot of Euro Fords and GM vehicles that I really like, esp the Fiesta.
Unfortunately theres so many AWFUL vehicles they produce that it taints the reputation and with the economic uncertainty about the company compounding that fact, it makes it very difficult for them to sell vehicles.
I think if GM went chapter 11 people would be much more willing to buy a vehicle from the new emerged company then they would the dying old man.
I think you are right CD, the new company would be more compelling. My issue with their products is not form or price. It is the quality. The Fusion is a good example. If you test drive that and then say a VW golf there is no comparison.
Now imagine if the corporate bean counters said to the product designers “hey, instead of paying $2k to the healthcare fund, we’re going to dump $1,500 into additional material costs and add another $500 to our margins”.
Suddenly the extra $2 on a plastic part that has a better texture, or thicker material doesn’t become a big deal. It’s not that they’re incapable of it - it’s that they don’t push it on the majority vehicles and they have to be scrupulous over material costs.
Case in point the CTS-V.
It’s not that they’re incapable, they’re just living in a society of idiots who are way past their prime. These are the same idiots asking for money who need to be fired so that people who have the vision for good products can actually make them.
And get rid of the damn unions!
Goddamn it, these idiots in upper management are typical of the kind of behaviour i encountered while on placement with a major supplier of all three of the larger american brands. It just makes me weep as a ton of european suppliers will get the knock of effect. awesome way to hammer the industrial hearts of our countries or what, way to go globalisation.
kingred wrote:
Goddamn it, these idiots in upper management are typical of the kind of behaviour i encountered while on placement with a major supplier of all three of the larger american brands. It just makes me weep as a ton of european suppliers will get the knock of effect. awesome way to hammer the industrial hearts of our countries or what, way to go globalisation.
How interesting!