PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

haasman · #**145** 09-18-2003, 06:33 PM

Having had worked for several car manufacturers I have witnessed the two camps that typically make up German auto builders. There are the "traditionalists" who are very engineering oriented and the "marketing/sales groups" who understand what it means to sell products competitively and most importantly, successfully.

Here is the important message: Neither are wrong AND neither are completely right.

The engineers love to improve the product parameters through valid well-tested processes. Safety, performance, comfort etc but dislike the Tokyo-At-Night dashboard displays etc (Higher probability of failures).

The Marketing/Sales groups know that no CD (forget changers), no GPS, even as an option, will relegate product ratings as behind the other products in their class.

Having visited and become friends with several engineers, it is very interesting to see what cars they would choose to drive. Often it is not the latest, not the trailing (old technology cars) but the middle grouping. Similar I think to what this forum's drivers generally drive.

Although the Marketing/Sales people often get "company" cars to drive, what they purchase for themselves and their families are: the almost very same choices as the engineers.

Yes, parts of these choices are dictated by economics, but also because collectively, the two general groups know where the value and reliability lies.

In industry construction cultures, Japan continues to successfully integrate new technologies rapidly with low failure rates due primarily to their way of working together, company to company. The German auto industry has had to learn by trial and error, often times painfully (per these recent satisfaction surveys) that empirical specs, implementation schedules and refined processes are not enough to ensure a bug-free product.

Please remember that Porsche hired Japanese industry consultants to change and then improve their manufacturing process, from design through to build. Of course it was Porsche who was hired by Harley-Davidson to improve their engines to become smoother, more reliable and have more horsepower, but that’s another story.

Haasman