  The group E_6 for grand unification is combined with the generation symmetry
group SO(3)_g. The coupling matrices in the Yukawa interaction are identified
with the vacuum expectation values of scalar fields which are representations
of the generation symmetry. These values determine the hierarchy of the
fermions as well as their mixings and CP-violation. This generation mixing
appears in conjunction with the mixing of the standard model fermions with the
heavy fermions present in the lowest representation of E_6. A close connection
between charged and neutral fermions is observed relating for instance the CKM
mixings with the mass splittings of the light neutrinos. Numerical fits with
only few parameters reproduce quantitatively all known fermion properties. The
model predicts an inverted neutrino hierarchy and gives rather strict values
for the light and heavy neutrino masses as well as for the 0\nu 2\beta decay
parameter. It also predicts that the masses of the two lightest of six `right
handed' neutrinos lie in the low TeV region.
