Ford: Speed of Design

Even today, they still work with full-scale models sculptured in clay.

However, the carving and shaping process is now carried out at the speed of light by a highly computerized, purpose built machine which can not only create a full-size clay vehicle in a matter of hours, it can also perform this with a precision that was previously unheard of.

Of course, before any design evolves to that stage, it has to have been thought up, drawn out, and decided upon.

This is perhaps where the design process has changed the most in recent years.

Yes, Ford's design teams still draw out their ideas.

However, the stylus has now largely replaced the pen, and paper has taken a back seat to the computer screen.

Yes, the design department at Ford has become seriously high-tech, in fact, so high-tech that it is now within their capabilities to completely design a vehicle, view it full scale on a gigantic monitor, and then take that vehicle for a quick test-drive before it is even assembled.