What does the future hold for Caterham?

I read with interest a forum post on PistonHeads where the original poster had received his factory built car (which is a cost-option, as opposed to a self-build) but was unhappy that it had "scratches, nicks and chips everywhere indicative of a sloppy assembly and careless use of tools". There was an interesting response to this across the forum, with some believing it to be unacceptable and a few suggesting it was characterful/typical of a handbuilt car.

I'm a process driven sort of chap...

To paraphrase my response, I believe that any purchaser spending serious cash on something, be it a car, suit, shoes, holiday, has the right to expect a top quality product. Caterham seems to me to be a very human company. By that, I mean that they are small and bespoke enough that the input of everyone who works there has a real affect of the product and service they provide, in both positive and negative ways. Pleasingly, and as I'd expected of Caterham, they have agreed to address the issues at the first service, but it is interesting to consider how this sort of situation comes about. I also believe, being the geeky process driven sort of chap I am, that you could address some of the more common issues I've come across relatively easily. I say relatively, as the solution may be obvious, but complicated, time consuming or expensive to implement without impacting current quality levels. 


I thought the this article gave an interesting insight into how Caterham runs now and, to an extent, how it may run in the future. Having already written about how I drive an F1 car this is another piece in the puzzle of how the additional investment in Caterham can affect it's future in a positive way.