Thameth said:
But of course you had the lynch mobs out cursing at all of us that didn't see how it could possibly be cheaper to redo the current car than just working on importing the already designd, developed, and tested Euro C1.
Yes I know the car C170 car had already been greenlighted and it was basically a raging locomotive that couldn't be stopped. But its sad that the people who started that train couldn't see it being easier to test and certify and already existing car than trying to re-engineer the current car.
If this information is completely true then it means that they either went incredibly overboard on the 08' project (i'm talking 10's of millions) or they were just so pig headed that when it came down to it the two projects were so close money wise that it was just amazing they decided to go with a redesign instead of the port over that had worked so well for them back in 2000.
As I mentioned above... managed CORRECTLY, there is NO WAY IN HELL that a redesigned C170 should have cost more than a C1 variant.
I think a lot of people fail to grasp the layers upon layers of bureaucracy in getting a automobile to market.
There are financial, marketing, engineering, etc. departments, all involved... and sometimes (obviously) they have different agendas. That is what can cause wrong decisions, delays, budget escalation, etc.
There are also things involving, suppliers, plant capacity, unions and much, much more.
It's VERY easy to Monday morning quarterback decisions AFTER the fact. To use a cliché, hindsight is 20/20.
At this point, I'm sure a lot of people feel good about this report, why I don't know. :dunno:
Knowing what I know about the new car, I can actually understand HOW it went over-budget...
Besides all new sheet metal, the interior is a big leap forward and completely new. Also, there has been a TON of work put into NVH and vehicle dynamics.
This is stuff you do not SEE in a photo. Potential customers will FEEL the difference when they drive the car.
Whether or not that was money well spent, only time (i.e. sales) will tell.