François Castaing

François Castaing
Born	1945 (age 71–72) Marseille, France
Nationality	United States
Education	Engineering
Alma mater	École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers
Occupation	Automobile industry executive
Years active	1968 - 2000
Employer	Renault American Motors Corporation Chrysler Corporation
Known for	Product lifecycle management Automobile platform team approach
Notable work	Jeep Cherokee (XJ) Dodge Intrepid and other LH cars Jeep Grand Cherokee Dodge Viper
Awards	Automotive Hall of Fame

François J. Castaing (born 1945 in Marseille) is an 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).

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.

Castaing was responsible for product engineering and development at AMC. He was instrumental in the development of the downsized Jeep Cherokee, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that became very profitable for AMC and thereby instigated what would become the modern SUV era. As AMC's Vice President for Product Engineering and Development, he also 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. The automaker was looking for a way to speed up its product development process to compete better against its larger competitors in 1985. This differed from the traditional automotive practice of organizing work around departments (such as project planning, design, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing) and components (such as engine, powertrain, and body).

This business process is now known as product lifecycle management (PLM). After introducing its compact Jeep Cherokee (XJ), AMC began development of a new model, that later came out as the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The first part in its quest for faster product development was computer-aided design (CAD) software system that make engineers more productive. The second part in this effort was the new communication system that allowed conflicts to be resolved faster, as well as reducing costly engineering changes because all drawings and documents were in a central database. The product data management was so effective, that after AMC was purchased by Chrysler, the system was expanded throughout the enterprise connecting everyone involved in designing and building products. While an early adopter of PLM technology, Chrysler was able to become the auto industry's lowest-cost producer, recording development costs that were half of the industry average by the mid-1990s.

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