Vehicles designed even more for manufacturability means less labor hours. Developing vehicles first in 24 months and then in 18 months instead of 36 months today will mean more safety, performance, fuel efficiency and low pollution for the consumer since newer technology can be used. Now, risk is important to stock valuations. Shorter time to market means less product and investment risk, and higher valuations over time. The relationship between time and risk is described by the economist Peter Bernstein in his bestseller Against the Gods, The Remarkable Story of Risk.
Time matters most when decisions are irreversible.
Many vehicle product decisions are irreversible. Lower cost, easier training, and more collaboration will allow small Tier 2 s and Tier 3 s, and tool and die makers to link early in the product development process. That is the major break from the past. Last week, I saw at Centric software synchronous technology where engineers can depress the brake in Hiroshima and also watch the pedal move the caliper to stop the wheel while sitting in Cologne and Dearborn simultaneously on the Web. Now, that is what we mean by virtual co-location.