In The Spirit of Black History I'd Like to Introduce...

DSP · (#1 (**permalink**))

Ralph Gilles, designer of the Chrysler 300

Generation ALPHA · (#2 (**permalink**))

That Chrysler was road tested on 'Top Gear' (BBC) and unfortunatly, it was a big disappointment. confused2

I love the style - it's classy and and has a great deal of road presense. The interior is fit for a king with leather and high quality trimmings everywhere. The other good thing is the price - it will be available in the UK for only Â£29,000 - much cheaper than Mercedes and BMW competitors.

However, the steering is heavy and the engine under powered for such a heavy car. The traction control is simply a hindrance and cannot even be turned off! The brakes are an absolute joke and the Chrysler was demolished in a race against the Mercedes SLK.

Therefore, I say well done to the black designer for producing elegance and style niceone.gif- but poor marks for the engineers who spoiled the car.

If Chrysler can manage tounite the 300's level of beauty, with the SLK's raw power (and keep the price tag low) they will make the most popular high-performance car of this decade.

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#3 (**permalink**))

Generation ALPHA wrote:

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However, I say well done to the black designer for producing elegance and style niceone.gif- but poor marks for the engineers who spoiled the car.

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I have to take offense to this comment here (because I am an engineer). It usually is not the engineers' fault for poor car performance. There are plenty of other factors. Ultimately, it is the people who only have a stupid business degree that determine many of the budgets for designs. All they see is cost and profit, but don't realize the work needed to engineer a smooth transmission and integrate it with the motor and the computer system of the car, as well as many intricate things normal people don't think about because they have never engineered anything from the ground up.

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If you give an engineering manager askimpy budget/schedule, thenyou'll get aChevy Cavalier...if you take the time to do it right, then you can end up with a BMW or Lincoln. Hence why, more and more companiesare throwing these business majors out on their arses and putting either experienced engineersorengineers with graduate degrees into hybrid positions of business and engineering management.

DSP · (#4 (**permalink**))

Thoth B3 wrote:

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Generation ALPHA wrote:

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However, I say well done to the black designer for producing elegance and style niceone.gif- but poor marks for the engineers who spoiled the car.

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I have to take offense to this comment here (because I am an engineer). It usually is not the engineers' fault for poor car performance. There are plenty of other factors. Ultimately, it is the people who only have a stupid business degree that determine many of the budgets for designs. All they see is cost and profit, but don't realize the work needed to engineer a smooth transmission and integrate it with the motor and the computer system of the car, as well as many intricate things normal people don't think about because they have never engineered anything from the ground up.

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If you give an engineering manager askimpy budget/schedule, thenyou'll get aChevy Cavalier...if you take the time to do it right, then you can end up with a BMW or Lincoln. Hence why, more and more companiesare throwing these business majors out on their arses and putting either experienced engineersorengineers with graduate degrees into hybrid positions of business and engineering management.

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In just about every industry, it's the bottom line. That's the main reason for lack of quality in alot of American products, although Chrysler is now a German company.

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#5 (**permalink**))

DSP wrote:

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In just about every industry, it's the bottom line. That's the main reason for lack of quality in alot of American products, although Chrysler is now a German company.

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There's no denying that...but in industries that closely rely on engineering (whether mechanical, software, electrical, etc.), the bottom line of cost & profit becomes a little gray since you need to have a quality product oryou are out of business. GM didn't listen to its customers, and now the Japaneseand Germans have nearly most of the American automotive market because they took a little more time to do it right.

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You see the same thing in all industries that rely on engineering. You can't listen to the business idiots that are only concerned with production. Let them figure out how to minimize waste in the production process and such, but you have to appropriate enough resources to the engineers. People have been wondering why Microsoft has pushed back their new operating system for a few years now since Windows XP. It is because after their software engineers looked at the competitive market now with Yahoo, Google, and other companies changing standards of computer software, they would have been doomed to roll out the same old OS with merely brighter features. It would give demand to othercompanies.

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Anyhow, I have taken away from the acknowledgement of a Black car designer. I'll stop here...