The 2009 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Ford F-150 are among the first Ford vehicles to fully utilize a series of virtual manufacturing tools and processes designed to catch possible build concerns by simulating automotive performance. During the prototype builds, the program teams were able to reduce more than 80 percent of potential manufacturing concerns by running more than 10,000 advanced digital pre-assembly engineering checks on the Flex and the F-150. In addition, engineers were able to reduce design and production tooling issues by 50 percent.Virtual manufacturing enables Ford to cut production expenditures by reducing the number of prototypes, material waste and cost of tooling. For consumers it translates into more durable vehicles with less repair costs.