Usually the Engineers have a free hand when it comes to car desig and finance guys usuallly just keep on couting beans but this is changing fast now because cost cinsiderations are gaining priorities so what happens when the cost controllers are invlved in the process from the very beggining. Volvo has one such example. The XC90
They had a cost target to meet and they formed teams comprising people from all disciplines. This is what they came out with, a chart reflecting priorities and providing focus areas
This particular model is a winner for them so far even in the states (though mostly drven by ladies :))
This was given as an example during one of the course i attended and i thought of sharing it with you guys.
Comments and questions are welcome.