Re: of windows, tinting and climates

[Matthew Killick <m.killick@domain.elided>]

I wrote:

>> 1 How many engineers did Alfa Romeo have to work on the design and 
>>development of the entire cars? 
>>2 How many engineers do Ford or GM have working on heating/ 
>> ventilation/aircon systems?

Rich Wagner wrote:

>What's your point? When I was an Engineer for the Navy, Texas Instruments 
>had a project with 10 engineers on it, spent about $10 million on it, and 
>failed. One year later, I began working on the same problem, from scratch, 
>with two other Navy Engineers. Three Engineers, $1.2 million, and three 
>years later, we succeeded--indeed, with a system far more capable than 
>anyone in the world felt was possible. The number of people working on a 
>project is not relevant. The amount of talent and drive amassed to attack 
>a problem is.

I am a Senior Research Scientist for CSIRO ((Australian) Commonwealth
Science and Industry Research Organisation).  I work as a geologist in a
very small team.  The work we do (especially mine) is brilliant, but not
perfect.  We don't compromise the science, but pressure and deadlines mean
that our reports _per se_ aren't always as beautiful as they might be.  My
point is that it is possible to produce a good result with a small and very
focussed team, but the result is likely to be flawed.  My wife tends not to
be amused when I come home at 1 a.m., having been collating and binding
reports, and I have been known to stuff things up when tired and pressed.
A quote from a Jaguar engineer sticks in my mind.  He said that the main
carry over from the first to the second generation of XJ6 was the climate
control system.  Getting it right is a serious design issue; delegating it
to the tea boy is always going to end with a flawed system, as Alfa
traditionally demonstrates.

Charlie says:

>Ah-ha! 
>But can't you say the object at Alfa is (was?) to sell products that appeal 
>to drivers, while the object at GM or Ford was to sell products that provide 
>essential transportation while enhancing a sense of status of one type or 
>another? IOW, the experience of actually driving is paramount in one model, 
>absent in the other (with the possible exception of Corvette)?
>Questions of the ages to ponder as we come in to the United States' birthday 
>celebration.

>To our friends in the UK -- no hard feelings.
>Charlie 
>LA, CA, USA

Precisely.  Alfa's engineers (like Jaguar's) designed wonderful cars with
flaws.  Accomodating US tastes wasn't their main priority.