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– Pentagon calls Detroit, wants weapons
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– Renault & Stella tie up with Chinese, lay off European engineers
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The idea of having product and manufacturing engineers work together both physically and organizationally is not new and it has proven to be a successful strategy. Mazda has design engineers and manufacturing engineers sitting right beside the line in Hiroshima, and the benefits are clearly seen since Mazda punches well above its weight in engine design and vehicle quality.
The technology and tools might change, but it is hard to beat the benefit of having “everybody in the same room” when decisions need to be made. Farley seems to understand that since he also brought everyone closer together by putting the new HQ right beside the engineering labs. Consolidation and integration might end up being one of his more notable legacies.