The designers and engineers get it.  I think.  That is, according to a survey conducted by DuPont Automotive ( www.automotive.dupont.com ) and SAE, a survey that asks about the challenges faced by the automotive community, it seems that the environment is getting its due.  Arguably, the environment is actually the number-one concern.  “What!” you say.  “Not cost?”  Well, there is that.  There is always that.  And, yes, on its own, cost reduction is the top concern.  It is at 32%.  But then there are the next two items on the list: “Fuel Economy & CAFE” and “Emissions/Clean Air Regulations.”  The former comes in at 28% and the latter at 25%.  So adding the two together—and this is what the DuPont analysts do, so its not like I’m trying to game something here—puts “Environment” well ahead of cost.  Go figure.

Something that is even more surprising to me are items that take the next three positions.

There is “R&D/Technology development/Planning” in fourth place, with 14%.  Now one does have to take into account the fact that the people who participated in the survey all plan to attend the 2008 SAE World Congress, so by their very interest tech issues are of note to them.  But it is still encouraging to see that it is something that they are concerned about—and I can only hope that they will be able to move this from an issue of challenge to something that is the way of life, such that it will go unremarked in future surveys because “R&D/Technology development/Planning” is the status quo.

The sixth place item (9%) is also pleasant to see: “People/Attracting and retaining talent.”  In an industry where it seems that all one reads and hears about “people” is that they are losing their jobs, the “attracting and retaining” is a good sign.  What company doesn’t need top talent?  And let’s face it: it is a rare thing, indeed.

But the fifth place item, at 12%, is troubling to me.  It throws up the proverbial red flag.  “Quality.”  Fifth place?  This is not good.  While someone far more sanguine that I might argue that quality is simply part of the furniture, something that is just there, I would point out that there have been multitudinous recalls in recent history.  Heck, the day that I am writing this, April 10, Toyota—yes, Toyota—is recalling 539,500 Corolla and Matrix models due to a power window problem, and GM is recalling 122,598 Pontiac Vibes (the three vehicles are all on the same platform).  “Quality” should be higher on the list of challenges, not in fifth place.

When we jump to the bottom of the list, 15^th place, we find “Vehicle Safety,” at a mere 3%.  Yes, it is true, that in contemporary vehicles, with the array of sensors and actuators, airbags and pre-tensioning seatbelts, the vehicle manufacturers (thanks to the supply base, in large part) have gone a long way in providing safe vehicles.  Drivers, however, are another problem, entirely.