Good Ideas Don't Stay Exclusive For Very Long!

June 7, 2000 

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...then there are a lot
of very sincere people in the auto industry. This is Jeff Gilbert, with The
Car Chronicles coming up on WWJ Newsradio 950.

When a particular vehicle comes out with something people really like, it
seems like it starts appearing on other vehicles overnight.

If it's a power option and offered by a supplier, frequently it can be
copied within a year and a half of the appearance of that option

Analyst Michael Robinet of CSM forecasting says auto companies are
frequently buying and tearing down competitors products to see what makes
them tick. And if something ticks quite nicely--they want one to put on
their own vehicles

For instance, the power lift gate you'll see in the upcoming Chrysler
minivan. I can see an avenue where that would likely be copied in the next
year, and integrated into some other minivan entries in that segment

Robinet says some things are harder to copy than others. For example, it
took a couple of years before everybody copied the sliding drivers side door
that first appeared on Chrysler minivans. And a really good engine is
particularly hard to copy.

With The Car Chronicles, I'm Jeff Gilbert, WWJ Newsradio 950.

If one auto company has a hit on its hands, it doesn't take long for others
to start copying. This is Jeff Gilbert, with The Car Chronicles coming up
on WWJ Newsradio 950.

Take a look at your cupholder. Cupholders didn't exist until they started
putting them on Chrysler minivans. No, just about every vehicle has one.
Analyst Michael Robinet at CSM Worldwide says every major auto company buys
their competitors vehicles to examine them

They take those, they test drive them, they rip them apart to see how they
are made. It's not surprising to see some manufacturers to own hundreds of
vehicles of other manufacturers

Some of the good things can be copied quickly and put into production for
the next model year...other things take longer

If someone's offering a brand new engine that's certainly far and away from
other manufacturers, that takes several years to replicate. That's
something that can't be integrated in quickly.

This fall DaimlerChrysler will have a power lift gate on its minivans.
That's something that Robinet expects to be copied very quickly.

With The Car Chronicles, I'm Jeff Gilbert, WWJ Newsradio 950.