Quote:
Originally Posted by harma24
I fully understand the distinction, and I am aware that there are no Mexican based manufacturers (designers). However, where a vehicle is designed and where it is assembled are completely unrelated. Would you feel better about a Mexican designed car assembled in the US vs. one assembled in Mexico? Consider that Tesla's are assembled in Freemont, CA, and the quality control issues with their assembly are well documented and noted in just about every review of their cars. I've never seen a review of a BMW 3-series (assembled in Mexico) which focused on how the gaps in body panels / doors / hood / trunk lid are inconsistent.
Yes, manufacturers have shifted assembly to Mexico because it is more profitable to do so. That doesn't mean that Mexico has inherently bad quality control. If quality were that much of an issue in Mexico assembly plants, manufacturers would experience an increase in costs associated with warranty repairs, recalls and loss of sales, all of which would negate the reduced production cost and have a negative impact on profitability. A multitude of accountants from a number of manufacturers have all come to the same conclusion: it is more profitable to assemble cars in Mexico. The fact is that Mexico has vast experience in vehicle assembly for a number of manufacturers, all based in other countries (some of which design better products than others).
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Your point is perfectly taken, and the prior criticism rests upon the irrelevant distinction you noted. There is no established correlation between the distance from the design and engineering center to the assembly plant and quality of what the plant produces. In fact, there are many examples to the contrary. Some of the worst quality has come from plants quite close to OEM headquarter facilities in the U.S., while Honda Accords produced in Ohio (a state without a design nor engineering HQ) at times exceeded the quality of those produced in Japan. Therefore, absence of a design and engineering HQ in a country where plants are located is the proverbial "red herring".
Further, every assembly plant (
yes, ask me how I know, please) has a staff of "resident engineers" who collaborate with manufacturing engineers also onsite to deal with any and all issues that arise during production. Resident engineering is a known industry job description that involves staff representing different vehicle systems to locate for 1-2 years at the plant to ensure immediacy of knowledge onsite. If one measures quality data from many plants in Mexico, in particular, the numbers prove how well this operational style works.
I think we are dealing with a failed intellectual alibi, from a source apparently outside the industry, to provide cover for stereotypes, over-generalizations, and simple cultural bias. Moving on...