While the Toyota story has a long way to go before it finally plays out in the media, we have been much more concerned about the broader implications to the consumer’s view of electronics on vehicles. My worst fear has just been confirmed. I live in a small town in Western Michigan and was thoroughly depressed when one of the lead articles in my hometown newspaper was, “Like it or not, tech is taking over your car.” The article started out with a reference to “2001: A Space Odyssey” (never a good sign). For those of you who are under the age of 50, this is a movie where a computer named HAL took over a spacecraft and killed most of the crew. The article went on to talk about the increasing dominance of electronics on vehicles. It referred to the explosion of semiconductor use in vehicles and the fuel economy push that encourages automakers to replace heavy mechanical assemblies with electronic modules.
Michael Robinet of CSM apparently attempted to convince the reporter that people should not be so upset about this issue, “…what we have seen so far in terms of bringing electronics is just the tip of the iceberg and recent glitches need to be taken in stride.” He went on to say, “There are always going to be some bumps in the road along the way, but the public should bear in mind that it’s just the nature of the beast. We’re talking about machines that have 3,000 parts working to come together in harmony.” While I know what Mike was trying to say, unfortunately he only reinforced the reporter’s worst fears, i.e. “Gee, that’s comforting… so the chances of Toyota or anyone else actually permanently fixing this problem is zilch.” So how should suppliers and other OEMs address this continuing story?
• Suppliers and OEMs need to start emphasizing the positive performance and safety attributes of the increased use of electronics. Right now, everything is focused on their increased usage as a way to save cost and weight (i.e. cheapen the car). There are many other reasons electronics are being substituted for traditional mechanical assemblies, including improved safety.
• OEMs that are not in the hot seat yet should explain their use of electronics and all of the additional safety features they can bring (e.g. sensors to monitor performance and safety). The consumer is hearing nothing but the negative side of the story at the moment.
• Suppliers of electronic components and modules should start developing user-friendly ways to describe what their product is doing and not assume the OEM will do a good job of explaining it to the end consumer.
The primary message is that industry participants need to start getting ahead of this story vs. reacting to the latest media report.