Nick Stephenson with Rover 75.

The Japanese market presents other challenges. "A car in Tokyo traffic needs to have extremely stable idle capacity," Stephenson said. "Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning has to be absolutely seamless for a car that is stationary for long periods, perhaps in a tunnel, in very high humidity and high ambient temperatures. That is a priority. On the other hand, chassis dynamics are almost totally irrelevant in Tokyo. Also in Japan, concrete roads with prominent lateral joints necessitate softer suspension settings than for most other countries, he said. And gear ratios may also be different — always lower because of traffic density conditions, where 0-30 mph (50 km/h) is the important time, not 0-60 mph (100 km/h) as it is in Europe."

For the Brazilian market, not only are suspension modifications necessary for prevailing road conditions but, also a raised ride height and underbody protection against the effects of prominent traffic calming structures called "lombardos".

Rover, now part of BMW, markets its cars (including Land Rovers) in 128 countries, but for many reasons, Japan and the U.S. are two of the toughest. As well as the varying road conditions and technical needs of those countries, there are other elements that a manufacturer must consider when planning a new model, said Stephenson: "For example, people in the U.S. tend on average to be physically bigger than those in most other countries. There is a marked difference between the size of the average North American and the average Japanese, so with a new project there is an immediate struggle to design a car to suit drivers and passengers of very widely varying stature."

But there are other complexities with regard to size. Most cars are now designed to carry two golf bags; in Japan, though, amateur golfers tend to use "professional" golf bags, which are larger than the European or U.S. norm.

"Typically, there may be three golfers with these large golf bags in a car. They will often be driven, so that is four occupants," according to Stephenson. A professional golfer may take energy drinks and a dozen pairs of gloves in a golf bag along with the clubs. Japanese golfers often do the same. Automotive designers and engineers now have to be aware of the details of this Japanese social trend. Simply designing a car and saying the trunk space provides a "sufficient" load space-to-occupant ratio is not acceptable: "So amongst our packaging standards equipment, we have Japanese golf bags to ensure that the trunks of our cars will hold them," he said.

Rover's position with regard to the U.S. is interesting. It successfully sells its Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery models there but not its sedans, including the new Rover 75, although it was designed with North American standards in mind: "Meeting U.S. standards is one thing, achieving certification is something else altogether. The emissions certification process can take 18 months to two years because so many small changes are needed," he explained.

As a medium volume motor manufacturer (total production last year was 500,000), Rover can only modify or "fine tune" its products for its many markets. But in fact, it does not wish to change them radically, stressed Stephenson: "For example, the Land Rover Defender is an extreme example of an off-road car. If we had made it soft and slushy for the U.S. market when we sold it there, it would not have been a Land Rover Defender any more and would have lost its raison d"etre. For Rover it is the essence of a Land Rover, MG or Mini, that makes for its international attractiveness."

While Japan is a particularly challenging market with regard to detail quality, the U.S. is "totally demanding" in respect of functional quality, according to Stephenson. Customers there may not be too concerned about dashboard quality detail but they do expect a vehicle to last 100,000 miles (160,000 km) and far more, without a problem. "We believe that North American users will be totally unforgiving if a vehicle lets them down but they will live with what to Rover would be unsatisfactory cosmetic detailing, something that would also concern a Japanese owner," he said. The result of these requirements is a considerable cross-linking between all markets, each benefiting from the demands of others. However, a frustration for Rover as it is for other car companies, is the subtle legislative differences between countries, said Stephenson: "For instance, we sell Rover products into the Persian Gulf states, which have a unique seat belt webbing test and a different battery standard to that we regard as the norm. Also, Arabic must be used for lettering on exterior mirror glass. So we have engineering and marking changes - and of course there is added paperwork. I am pessimistic about seeing an end to these detail variations. "

"As for major issues such as emissions, it is almost unbelievable to us in the auto industry that better harmonization has not been achieved. However, we may be getting somewhere, albeit slowly. The regulations for emissions differ across markets in the way the certification is accepted, but bottom-line figures and needs are, I believe, becoming harmonized. But we may still have to prove paperwork in different ways or there may be different techniques needed to show that our products meet regulations in particular countries. Of course, the use of different test/demonstration regimes to prove emissions and crashworthiness adds to R&D costs and increases time to market. No one really gains by all this complexity and the customer may lose out financially." There have been, and are, various attempts to establish intercontinental committees to resolve these questions, Stephenson said. "But really it is a matter for politicians, not engineers. If success was achieved it would benefit customers because it would take out costs."

With regard to car designs, Stephenson sees a greater variety between continents and countries rather than increasing commonality: "But there is an intercontinental demand for some products that are recognizable across the world for what they are, and these need to be very similar to the national "original" — Rover products such as the Mini, MGF, Range Rover, and Land Rover Discovery, and all BMWs, are prime examples. They are vehicles that have a global product identity with limited customization to conform to the needs of particular markets."

Stephenson believes that the future will bring much tougher challenges for the designer and engineer. "The consumer's expectation of the automobile is now impossible," he said. Everyone thinks they understand the car, and the industry has long over-promised products that could be built at—relatively—next to nothing. The car is by far the most complex consumer product, yet in many instances is now regarded essentially as just another commodity. "But despite all the tough requirements in terms of design, legislation, and customer expectations between markets, costs cannot be allowed to rise. How are we going to do it? Ah, that is what makes the industry so very challenging and very exciting for every automotive engineer," he said.

Stephenson recently has left Rover Group.