1. Form a small group and research the Fiat Mio. What are some of the suggestions offered by consumers that influenced the design of the car? Ask your friends and family the same question Fiat asked consumers and compile the responses from your group members. Would the car developed from these responses be similar to Fiat's Mio? Explain.
2. Several crowd-sourcing activities were described in the chapter. Describe an example of a different company using crowd-sourcing to develop or modify products.
Companies use crowd-sourcing to solve problems, generate new product ideas, and develop promotional campaigns. In August 2009, Brazil's largest carmaker, Fiat, launched Project Mio to develop the world's first fully crowd-sourced concept car. The project Web site asked the question, "In the future we're building, what should a car have that makes it mine, while still working for others?" The Web site's 300,000 unique visitors from more than 160 countries generated over 10,000 suggestions. The site had 17,000 people officially registered as potential collaborators. Thousands of comments were posted on Facebook and Twitter. Fiat's staff mulled over the suggestions and the concept car was presented at the 2010 Sao Paulo auto show. Fiat was transparent during the entire process and the car's final specifications are open to anyone-even other car companies. Though the new-product development process has not progressed to the commercialization stage-and perhaps never will-Fiat and other carmakers can use these ideas in future car models.