Ford designed, built and launched its new Fusion long before it stamped out a single slab of sheetmetal. No, it's not megadoses of CIA drugs at work or some stoner's parallel-universe theory. The company used advanced virtual engineering to model every aspect of the Fusion's production — even digitally creating the car in an exact duplicate of its assembly plant. Ford execs say the system will shorten production time, save money and enhance the quality of its new global CD3 architecture, on which the Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr will also ride. Of course, the company hopes its buyers will be real.
Ford builds a Fusion virtually [Detroit Free Press]
Fusion and its Creators Benefit From Virtual Engineering [Edmunds]