The problems, says David Champion, a former Land Rover and Nissan engineer who runs the auto testing program for Consumer Reports, are electronic.

FORBES: Over-Engineering 101

It takes a certain amount of time for companies to make decisions and re-engineer a product, in this case auto catalysts, and put them into production.

FORBES: Honda's Reduced Use Of Rhodium Part Of Effort To Shift Away From More-Expensive Metals

Another engineer, Franco Savoni, who joined Elkay from an auto-parts company, was assigned to speed up the flow.

WSJ: With Bottle-Fillers in Mind, the Water Fountain Evolves