In this work we discuss current trends driving the aerospace and automotive systems architectures. This includes trends as: 1) pos-globalization and regionalization; 2) the formation of knowledge oligopolies; 3) commonality, standardization and even synergy (of components, tools, development process, certification agents, standards); 4) reuse and scalability; 5) synergy of knowledge and tools convergence; 6) time, cost and quality pressures and innovation speed; 7) environmental and safety issues; and 8) abundance of new technologies versus scarcity of skilled manpower to apply them. Based on that, we summarize their impacts on: 1) the aerospace and automotive system needs and their system requirements; 2) the system development and certification standards (SAE-ARP 4761, SAE-ARP 4754, RTCA DO-297, RTCA DO-254, RTCA DO-178B/C, RTCA DO-160, etc.); 3) the management levels of an organization (executive management, portfolio management and program management); and 4) the applicable guidelines (CMMI®, OPM3®, BSC®) to organize and conduct them successfully.