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The challenge to develop a shifter system that achieves a better comfort on shifting gears in manual transmissions is mainly concerned to the subjectivity of the parameters involved, which are strongly based on perception of each customer. This work aims to explore these subjective quality requirements and identify their relation to engineering design parameters. A revision of previous studies on comfort and quality on shifting gears, semi-structured interviews and data from specialized magazines reports are used to define procedures and samples for experimental data acquisition. The results reveal important connections between quality on shifting gears and some design parameters of shifter systems.

This article aims to show how the development of innovative products within the automotive industry in Brazil has been oriented, linking technological competences construction in local poles with suppliers and headquarters cooperation. The discussion in this article is illustrated by the development and application analysis of an electronic locker differential integrated to a front transversal transmission, which is the world's first commercial application. It proposes, through a case study, a relationship between the subjects discussed in here and the new tendencies for product development within the automotive industry and also for the world's R&D flow.