See U.S. car companies go back to black for an explanation of how the Big Three are (finally) simplifying their product lines.
For decades I’ve been convinced that the US car companies have been shooting themselves in the foot with the way they present the buyer with an avalanche of options. Everything from basic platforms, like whether a minivan had a seven- or eight-foot cargo area (e.g. the most notable difference between Dodge’s Caravan and Grand Caravan variants for years) to endless “convenience” options, which now include not just a DVD player but dual DVD players in the current generation Caravan. Their solution was not to simplify the offerings but to bundle them into things like the “safety group option” and the “convenience (there’s that word again) group option”, etc. As a result, they often had would-be customers who, for example, wanted a sun roof being told they had to get the upgraded stereo and leather seats in order to get the “package” with the sun roof.
I know how they got into this mess, of course: The desire to come up with the lowest possible base (pre-option) sticker price coupled with an obsession over trying to build the perfect set of features for every single customer who walked into a showroom, no matter the dollar cost in complexity or (ironically) the customer dissatisfaction all that complexity triggered by making the ordering process akin to taking your SAT’s while stoned.
My car, a 2006 Scion xA, is an excellent example of just how far companies can go in streamlining models. I had a limited choice of colors (six, I think), including the ones almost everyone would want (I got a blue one), no choice on interior color (Henry Ford black was it), and no choice on air conditioning (it came with it, period, which was fine with me and my horrendous allergies), and two choices of transmission (5-speed manual or automatic). You did get to pick the wheel covers from four or five options–which were stocked and installed by the dealer, as was the sound system. The price of the car included a very respectable AM/FM/CD head with an MP3 jack, but the car arrived from the factory with no stereo head installed at all–the dealer popped in either the standard or upgraded unit as part of the car prep.
Instead of fancy electronic heating controls, the ones in my xA are (gasp!) manual. Really. And I use them all the time with (so far), no ill side effects from having to turn a knob to set the heat or slide a lever to switch from recirculated to fresh air. Will techno-wonders never cease.
To be clear, you can buy all manner of car bling and minor add-on goodies at the dealer, like fancy shifter knobs, sport pedals, and overhead storage boxes. And I notice that the list of such items has grown considerably since I bought my car in June of 2006, so perhaps Scion/Toyota and the US car companies are meeting in the middle?
I’m convinced that this trend to simplify vehicle options will only help consumers and the US car companies. I talk a lot about the low hanging energy efficiency fruit, and the decidedly weird way in which the US car companies still build their vehicles and present them to the public is another example of potential gains just waiting to be plucked. It’s just a shame that they had to get into so much financial trouble before they pulled their heads out of the sand.
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March 30th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Who gives a damn about build options?
American cars are:
- expensive
- fuel inefficient
- too big for traffic jammed cities
- bad quality
Maybe if they fixed those things first, they might have a fighting chance.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
“Who gives a damn about build options?”
I do, and here’s why (as I’ve explained about a dozen times on this site): We need these car companies to be as smart and effective as possible in delivering the kind of vehicles we’ll all need. If they’re too dumb to hold their customers they won’t survive long enough to fix the problems you (quite correctly) identify.
Personally, I don’t like them much, but I’m enlightened enough to know that we really do need them, and that means it’s in our best interest to see them avoid stupid, self-inflicted mistakes.
See the big picture, and it all makes sense.
March 31st, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I don’t recall where I saw it but there were 100s of small companies offering “options” for the Model T. Electric starters and 4 wheel drive could be added to your Tin Lizzie. The early Ford pickups were really after market modifications.
If I ran GM the different brands would stick to a single vehicle type. Only the GMC division would build and sell the big pickups and SUVs. Only Cadillac would sell big luxury cars. Chevy would build only minivan mommy-mobiles. Saturn would only build small 4 seaters aimed at first time buyers. Everything would be PHEV. I’d drop the Pontiac and Buick divisions since they are redundant. The Corvette brand would be sold off to whoever thought they could make a profit from such a low volume product. Same thing with Hummer. Every GM dealer would sell the entire GM line.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:46 pm
tom: Have you been bugging my office? That’s precisely my prescription for GM, to a T.
Whether anyone at The General will listen to us is another matter entirely, though…
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Hey thanks for the great blog, I love this stuff. I don’t usually do much for Earth Day but with everyone going green these days, I thought I’d try to do my part.
I am trying to find easy, simple things I can do to help stop global warming (I don’t plan on buying a hybrid). Has anyone seen that www.EarthLab.com is promoting their Earth Day (month) challenge, with the goal to get 1 million people to take their carbon footprint test in April?… I took the test, it was easy and only took me about 2 minutes and I am planning on lowering my score with some of their tips.
I am looking for more easy fun stuff to do. If you know of any other sites worth my time let me know.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Thanks for the info….I am trying to put together a list of what celebs are doing to help the environment. Ed Begley Jr. is having a sweepstakes where he flys you to Hollywood and gives you tips on how to go green ( http://www.earthlab.com/life/livingwithed/ ) Pretty crazy stuff. Obviously there are many others. Drop me a link if you have any on the top of your head. Thanks again for the info!