Design what customer wants

Read an article about how the two domestic automaker, Ford and Chrysler's designers are doing to make the design more close to what customer needs and wants.

Of course, reliablility, durability and fuel efficiency are the main fators affecting the purchase decision of customers. Those factors including safety features are fundamental factors. When the fundamental factors are close or at the same level, the differentiator will be the design (extierior and interior). Chryser cars have good exterior shape but lack the fundamental factors. Toyota perviously is weak on design but excellent on the fundamental factors.

The article reports that Ford designers visited focus group of customers to adjust the concept design. Through concept to Clay model and functional prototype stages, Ford are using focus group of customers to evaluate and decide the design.

Chrysler designers have long time started to observe how people are doing with their vehicles on the shopping center parking lot.

Toyota sent its designers to live with American families to better understand what customers need and want. It started to focus the customers long time ago in Japan. The article mentioned that when Nissan design Infinity, it adopted similar customer oriented method. Same with Hyundai.