How Ford uses computers to accelerate vehicle development and improve real-world testing on the Ranger and Everest
· The process of developing a new vehicle from drawing board to showroom floor used to take more than five years · Computer-aided design (CAD) and engineering (CAE) help accelerate this vehicle development · Ford engineers still test vehicles all around the world and in some of the harshest environments New vehicle development can involve many hundreds of prototypes and thousands of staffs at facilities around the world, with new vehicles taking many years to go from the drawing board to the showroom floor. New vehicles have become more sophisticated and feature-rich than ever before, and model line-ups are ballooning. The current Ford Ranger and Everest are perfect examples of how product lines have grown in complexity, with a considerable number of variations covering choices in powertrain, driveline, suspension style and bod...