Quote:
Originally Posted by Sportstick
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...
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Bravo. Couldn't have said it better myself.