Just a thought.....?

[Dan Bennett]

A few years back I was reading an industrial trade maqazine and noticed an ad from an offshore supplier. They touted their "one stop" capabilities in that all the manufacturer had to do was provide them with the specs for the part or assembly. They would then engineer it and produce it.

This ad showed a complete headlight capsule. According to the text, the manufacturer would do anything electrical. Ever since I read that, I've looked at replacement parts in a different light. Even though it may have been produced on a US assembly line, the engineering was done by a company I'd never heard of.

This just added to the unease I got a few years earlier when a Goodyear engineer told me that no tire company designed their own tread configurations - there were outside "styling" companies who would sell the designs to the tire manufacturers. The selection evidently hinged on what they felt they could promote the best.