Everything about Fran Ois Castaing totally explained
François J. Castaing (born
1945 in
France) is a 27-year veteran automotive executive with
Renault,
American Motors, and
Chrysler. He is an engineering graduate from
École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers in
Paris, and worked in Europe for
Gordini and Renault before being named Vice President for Product Engineering and Development at American Motors Corporation (AMC).
With Gordini and Renault
Castaing started his career in motor sports with Gordini in 1968 by working on engines for the
24 Hours of Le Mans races. After Gordini had been taken over by Renault, he advanced to the position of Renault Sport Technical Director. His record of accomplishment with Renault included stints as a member of a racing-engine development team and as director of racing programs. He had joined
AMC from Renault, which owned 46% of the company. He and his family moved to
Detroit, Michigan in 1980.
With AMC and Chrysler
Castaing was responsible for product engineering and development at AMC. He was critical in the development of the downsized
Jeep Cherokee SUV that became very profitable for AMC. He designed a new development approach in which teams of engineers focused on a single type of car platform, working on new models as a system from concept to production. This differed from the standard automotive practice of organizing work around departments (project planning, design, engineering, manufacturing, marketing) and components (engine, powertrain, body).
After AMC's buyout in 1987, Chrysler insiders speculated that AMC would take over the larger firm from within. Part of the reason was that AMC's Jeep Cherokee product line alone soon accounted for more than a third of Chrysler's profits. Another area where former AMC people took over Chrysler operations was engineering. Castaing was quickly named Chrysler Motors' new Vice President for Vehicle Engineering. The acquiring company was in desperate need to replicate the culture at AMC and Renault where work was conducted in an atmosphere "of constant change" .
Before the purchase of AMC, Chrysler was suffering a five-year product slump after it hit a home run with its
minivans in 1984. It was mainly making
K-car derivatives that looked and drove alike. Chrysler became a producer of smaller cars, thus making it vulnerable to Japanese competitors. Not only was Castaing made Chrysler's point man for fighting the Japanese automakers, but he was also called to engineer a variety of products to fit a growing number of
market niches.
Castaing followed the example that was used in AMC's old Amtek technical center in Detroit. He realigned Chrysler's 6,000-member engineering structure into teams working on a single
platform. Castaing also incorporated the use of simultaneous engineering. The results of switching to the non-linear platform design were significant.
At the time of AMC's buyout, Chrysler was designing the replacement for the then-new
Dodge Dynasty, a
mid-size car. The proposed replacement bore a direct resemblance to the existing Dynasty. However, with the purchase of AMC, a new product design system was instituted and work began by using AMC's
Eagle Premier platform. According to Chrysler's President,
Robert Lutz, the in-house design was scrapped entirely and the new design, under Castaing's leadership, was selected. The
Chrysler LH-cars were first to use Castaing's platform approach. These new models were produced in a record 39 months, compared to other Chrysler cars that took more than 50 months. The
Eagle Vision,
Dodge Intrepid,
Chrysler Concorde,
LHS and
New Yorker were all produced in AMC's
state of the art Brampton Assembly plant in
Brampton, Ontario,
Canada that was built to make the Eagle Premier.
The success of Castaing's system was exemplified not just by the attraction of
Daimler-Benz as the suitor for Chrysler, but by more than just a passing interest from
General Motors and
Toyota.
In 1996, Castaing was appointed executive vice president for Chrysler International Operations. After the
Daimler-Benz merger with Chrysler in 1998, he became technical adviser to
Bob Eaton until retirement in 2000.
Castaing was also a member in "
Dodge Viper Team".
Retirement
After serving DaimlerChrysler, Castaing joined
Exide, the battery company, as a member of its
board of directors.
In 1998, he became chairman of the
Detroit Science Center for the education of future generations.
In 2004,
TRW Automotive Holdings announced the election of Castaing to the company's board of directors. He also serves on the
audit committee of
Amerigon Inc.
Recognition
Castaing was named “Man of the Year” by the French publication "Le Journal de l'Automobile" for his exemplary success in the United States. He was noted for developing the Renault-AMC structure, the launching of
Renault Alliance and Encore (
Renault 9 & 11), for being the father of the
Jeep Cherokee (XJ), as well as being one of the craftsmen of the rescue of Chrysler.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fran Ois Castaing'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://fran__ois_castaing.totallyexplained.com">François Castaing Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
