CAD? Wahwee! An instrumental tool for designing cars. Lol, of the many CAD tools, Catia is the very best.
We often would meet, into late hours of work, designing, changing; all that was in the minds of rookies, or new brain-stormers. Some drew noble ideas, and often the questions were ponderable, as to say, “Is this manufacturable?”, or is it an ignoble, expensive idea.
Thus, often ideas would just be ice-cold, yet often, also, going into later thoughts then the hunger for thought would arrive. Queue the pies, eat a very late dinner in the office, phalab a bit about; and eventually somebody would pipe up. ‘Yo it’s me, my turn with an idea.’ That’s how, often, new designs were generated.
Maxwell was smart, and often came up with great ideas, or the odd Sicilian Sausage. Andy, the interior expert, was very handy in coming up with interior design ideas – so much so that he implemented the first knee air-bag for passenger glove-box safety, as there are always great big steel brackets hidden behind the plastic, coquettish facia, that you see as a dash board/instrument panel.
As the launch manager, I would be in control of all Launch Assets, everything from would the car be released in a shallow blue colour, as styling wanted, or was the supplier not ready to supply quality paint. These were all my call. If the vehicle fuses had problems, or a short circuit was possible, then I had to hold back the launch, and wait for a type of Electric Dad to solve the issue. Even a possible chromatic finish would become very rusty, after endurance and water testing, and so further testing would be needed, further delaying launch of the vehicle.
Trev was just 33 when he joined my design team, but was not naive. In fact, he was as stable as a piano man tuning his instrument. He somehow came up with the windscreen idea of how to use the sun, and house a sensor that would automatically switch on the lights, as the late red night would fall. He brought in after-sales, and if the car would be green and pawned would it get 33% of its original sale price. Recyclability became an issue in 2006.
It cost money not to launch the car on time. On the clock, everyday, my meetings had to be accurate, as I was accountable for lost cost, and late vehicle launch. Of course, I would carry stuff over from previous vehicles, especially if it was just a face-lift. I would often care about how marketing would instruct me to launch the vehicle name. Would it be DV4, or Silverstriker, or the new TK80?
Often, I would lose sleep over this, and look for Tao Buddhism, in the man I was becoming.
One engineer was a proper knob. He was Robbie, a Scot and a car robber, who thought he knew it all, i.e. when he came to design and failure analysis. However, after two weeks, of purporting to be able to use Catia DV4, I found he had no design knowledge – thus having to let him go.
Eventually, success, and I signed of the new FMF for launch. It sold as fast as cat food, and the director of Engineering, Tim, couldn’t wait to get his first off-line launched vehicle.
That’s the way it was, now called the Qoros F-11 and 14……. To be released in China next year.
Mike Lom. 😉
Originally posted by mikelomFor you a thumb. Way up. 🙂
[b]CAD? Wahwee! An instrumental tool for designing cars. Lol, of the many CAD tools, Catia is the very best.
We often would meet, into late hours of work, designing, changing; all that was in the minds of rookies, or new brain-stormers. Some drew noble ideas, and often the questions were ponderable, as to say, “Is this manu ...[text shortened]... s, now called the Qoros F-11 and 14……. To be released in China next year.
Mike Lom. 😉[/b]