Soapbox

The next time you're in a store take a walk down the detergent aisle and check out the dozens of different products. Some of the packages that look so comfortable on the shelf may have actually started life as an avatar -- a virtual product in an equally digital grocery store. That may be news when it comes to consumer products but automakers have been engaged with 3-dimension computer design for some time now. In fact this virtual universe allows the manufacturers of these complex machines to take them from concept to clearance -- as it were -- through a process called PLM or Product Lifecycle Management. Not only is it a huge cost saver when it comes to time and materials, but it also gives designers, engineers and marketers alike, 21st Century advantages that their earlier counterparts could only imagine.

This week on Autoline the top executive at one of the world's pre- eminent PLM companies joins John to discuss the process and how it continues to revolutionize the auto industry. Bernard Charles, President and CEO of Dassault Systemes talks about the impact of PLM on all of us and how Dassault is out to bring the 3D experience to our daily lives. Joining John and Mr. Charles on the panel are Drew Winter from WardsAuto.com and Christopher Sawyer of Cars In Context.