I think the point in the article is that outsourcing your design of a brand new product early on is a bad idea. Once the design is done and the components have

I think the point in the article is that outsourcing your design of a brand new product early on is a bad idea. Once the design is done and the components have been standardized, outsourcing would cut cost. For cars, a lot of components have been standardized and don't change much over time. A tire still has rubber outside and steel rim inside.