What do Those "Truth in Engineering" Ads Mean Anyway???

So as of recently I've been walking around malls and watching TV and driving on the highway and I've been seeing these car commercials from select manufacturers who have been bragging about their superior engineering practices.

"Truth in Engineering" Trademark from Audi Source

But why?  Why have we seen so many ads as of recently capitalizing on this word, "engineering?"  Quite frankly, as an engineer who has his own opinion of what superior engineering really is I am offended when I see things like this.  I mean, why is it that you, in your German luxury car can boast about your great ability to  create a superior car while American cars, Japanese cars, and even Korean cars (no offense) have been making great cars with their own character and finesse and even an obvious lack of those aforementioned qualities!  In other words, what makes a well-engineered car?

Volvo: "Engineered by Scandinavia's Bad Weather Experts" Source

Well, while I can't tell you concisely what makes a "well-engineered" vehicle while being completely objective, I can tell you what doesn't make a well-engineered car.

The 2010 Toyota Priuses were subject to a near $2 billion recall in January Source

A good example of a poorly engineered can be recalled when remembering Toyota's brake crisis that resulted in billions of dollars worth of losses for the company and some lost lives for their dedicated customers.

Basic Process Control System and a Safety Instrumented System being implemented in a plant-based process (chemical engineering and process technology) Source

Now some of you may be like, "here we go again, the braniac is going to ramble," but let me stop you before you do that.  Shut up and listen!  It's car-related too!

You see, according to safety documentation which engineers adhere to when designing plants at least-- in any process where a safety risk is present which may affect an important product or form of life in a serious manner, the control system for the process and the control system preventing safety mishaps must run independently.  In controls lingo, the control system that monitors and controls the basic activities of a process (like speed for cruise control) is called the "basic process control system" (BPCS) while the control system monitoring safety-related activities in a process (such as braking while cruise control is on-- thus leading to the deactivation of cruise control) is called a "safety instrumented system" (SIS).

You see, as an engineer, you're expected to know and understand regulatory and company engineering practices and philosophy before designing something, and everything you design should be beneficial to your new project and should adhere to the philosophies and practices that were just mentioned.  Whether your car is a Prius or a Lamborghini Gallardo, the safety instrumented system must be separate from your basic process control system.

Toyota's fault was simply running the brake system and the accelerator system from the same unit, thus resulting in what is called a "common cause failure."

The bottom line kids is that when your engineers DON'T adhere to company or regulatory policies which set forth practices like this, your company's owner, president, CEO, WHATEVER, will usually go from looking like this...

Akio Toyoda lookin' pretty Source

Generally, (and this is just a brief and loose conclusion) a well-engineered car will be made as a result of countless hours of ingenuity, adherence to well-working regulatory and company policies, and well-thought out policies set forth in the industry amongst other things.  The final result is just what you drive off the lot.

And with that I leave you to enjoy your holiday....peace, viewers!  Lexi.Laron signing out.