From Paper to Pavement: How Cars are Made

Once a sketch of a car is made, the artist will most likely bring it to a team of engineers to see if the car is even possible to make. The engineers, who have an intimate knowledge of the chassis and parts their car company already has made or can make, can judge to see if this idea has merit and if it should pass to the next level.

If the engineers think that the car is practical and profitable, a computerized model will be built, with exact specifications and building requirements. An important point to understand, through every step of the car building process, the bottom line is just that, the bottom line. If the car that is looking to be made isn’t going to be profitable, in almost every case, design will cease. While car companies do make concept cars and limited edition runs of some models, if a car is judged as not being in a long-range profit, it won’t be made.

Once a complete computer work up of the new car model is complete, the designer and engineers will bring the plans to a board that will ultimately decide if the car is to be made or not. The board will look at every possible question and problem that could arise, such as:

- What niche does this new car fill?
- Who will buy it?
- How will it be marketed?
- Where can it be manufactured the cheapest?
- How can we make it more crash resistant?
- How can we stretch out the miles per gallon? (no one sets out to make a car that intentionally gets poor mileage, except for maybe Hummer)
- What are it’s strengths and weaknesses?

The process can take weeks or even months. When a car company like GM or Ford green lights a new car, the investment is huge. Hundreds of millions of dollars are poured into design, testing and building this new car. No company is going to approve a new car idea unless they have answered every conceivable question they can come up with.

Once the first few cars are made, major testing will commence. Wind tunnel tests will be done to see how aerodynamic the new car is and if any small tweaks can be made to make it more efficient. Crash tests will be done by the car company and independent testing firms to see how safe the new car is. Only when all of this is finished will you be able to go to a showroom and test drive a new car. The process can take anywhere from 3 to 5 years from the first time a designer puts pen to paper and sketches out the car of tomorrow to you stepping on the gas and put wheels to pavement.