The Death of Choice

[mik]

it all comes back to the mighty dollar, and not just for car makers, many services we once had in the good old days are now gone, the days when many could afford to have the missus stay home while daddy bread winner brought home the green stuff to pay for the quarter acre block and x amount of kids are getting rare these days ........ this is progress.

[Davehoos]

not so much ADR regulations but other regulations and requirements.

2 vehicles I imported was very easy to comply for personal use but uneconomical to meet standards to resell. to do this with new vehicles would be big leap before tyres roll of the dock.

car industry wanted to it could have changed compliance regulations like LHD and some of the stupid methods to measure emisions that kept real cars of oz roads.. the worry is if they open one door then they be shutout.

[Adamz Ghia]

Remember the interiors for the BA's and BF's...? Could order any colour fabric you wanted to match with the car, even leather had a couple of choices, anyone ever seen a Fairmont Ghia with Tango Tan leather...? Would love to see a pic if you have one.

[LTDmonger]

I plan on buying a new Falcon in the coming year.
Is there any reason WHY I can't option a base XT with a V8?
I for one don't need the flash gadgets,spoilers/body kits and alloy wheels etc etc.
Is it physically impossible on the production line to option this?

[Itsme]

Production line costs & time would be the main reason why limited option availability for most car manufacturers.

[csv8]

Check out Audi, BMW etc options list, its serious bank balance destroying!!!!

[Davehoos]

Is there any reason WHY I can't option a base XT with a V8?

YES

stops people buying the more profitable models.

And turns most buyers off..

Once read a report in that to build special order in big Australian factory an engineer[ marketing division] had to follow the vehicle down the line and override preorganised automated production checks that the factory system had built in to allow bulk compliance.

That scoffed at I was involved in an assembly line and a special order steering wheel had to be fitted on the car carrier outside the main gate.
and a wrong coloured roof fitted on the wrong chasis caused melt down.

[csv8]

I went on the Harley factory tour, every model for any country with their requirements went on the same production line..assembler followed the instruction sheet and required part arrived when needed..I know a Harley isn't as complex as a car but the build principles are the same..

[Elks]

Validation and support.

Ok so it's true it would cost the same to make leather seats in blue or red or white or yellow as it would in black. The materials will cost more because the validation tests would be done on lower volumes. Validation like that the red dye won't come out if you spill coke on it etc. Once that's all done.

But then you, the manufacturer, have a legal obligation to carry spare parts for that car. For the next 7 years (3 for soft trim). And when they don't have it immediately and cheaply, people get on here, and bag them for poor support.

It gets very expensive to have a warehouse full of low volume parts and in a world where your not making any money, sadly these things which are nice to have rather than must have, don't survive.

Even simple things like adding the GTF's 9" rear tyres and wheels to the Pursuit. No parts implications there. A simple mod that You and I would go that in half an hour at home. But in the world we are in when it's found that the the rears changed the handing characteristics which are all edged to have coursed an accident. When it gets to court it's uncovered that this combination wasn't tested. Someone lawyer starts a speech about greedy big corporations vs little man. Remember the Pinto, Oh the humanity, wah wah wah.

So the upshot is Ford HAVE to test it and certify it. Check it in the wet, the dry , loaded, unloaded, with a trailer unevenly loaded with a trailer on an icy road. Etc etc. Everything must be validated. So now they have spent easy $100k plus to check is they can put 1" wider tyres on the back of a ute. Something we all would do without hesitation.

Then multiply that times the complexity of different options and that's the real killer of choice. Sure BMW do it. And do it Fantastically well. But we all don't want to pay 5 series pricing for a Falcon.

If you want to eat fantastic and varied foods, go to Vue De Monde. But if you only want to pay $7.95 your back at McDonalds.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Elks

Validation and support.

It gets very expensive to have a warehouse full of low volume parts and in a world where your not making any money, sadly these things which are nice to have rather than must have, don't survive.

Even simple things like adding the GTF's 9" rear tyres and wheels to the Pursuit. No parts implications there. A simple mod that You and I would go that in half an hour at home. But in the world we are in when it's found that the the rears changed the handing characteristics which are all edged to have coursed an accident. When it gets to court it's uncovered that this combination wasn't tested. Someone lawyer starts a speech about greedy big corporations vs little man. Remember the Pinto, Oh the humanity, wah wah wah.

So the upshot is Ford HAVE to test it and certify it. Check it in the wet, the dry , loaded, unloaded, with a trailer unevenly loaded with a trailer on an icy road. Etc etc. Everything must be validated. So now they have spent easy $100k plus to check is they can put 1" wider tyres on the back of a ute. Something we all would do without hesitation.

On the support side, once AGAIN I make the point that we HAD this kind of choice when your local dealer was supposed to carry all parts. Now they are a keystroke and airfreight away. So again it has become easier and cheaper.

But as for "validation," yes the lawyers have ruined it for us. You are spot on. Especially in the USA where mass torts and class actions rule the day, a MINOR gripe about a car that sold a million, can turn into a multi-billion dollar lawsuit. Compliance has become a legal process rather than an engineering one.

Why do I get the distinct feeling that Ford (as an American company) has applied the same stupid rationales in Australia?
(It's still a very different legal landscape here. Australian courts don't award punitive damages or compensation for "pain & suffering.")

[Crazy Dazz]

Not wanting to harp on the same old subject. But choice was always a big advantage to the locally produced products, and still could have been.
Don't get we wrong, I think it is clear that compliance costs made many choices unprofitable, but imagine if they hadn't...
We've whittled away the options till there's nothing left...

[Elks]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

On the support side, once AGAIN I make the point that we HAD this kind of choice when your local dealer was supposed to carry all parts. Now they are a keystroke and airfreight away. So again it has become easier

I have a 1977 ford Australia range brochure and it make for great reading. The options we had were fantastic and all the little codes and codependent options were fascinating. Like all sun roof cars had a vinyl roof. Etc etc.

But back then Ford had a 20% market share. Imported cars had a quota system and the market was a fraction as competitive as it is today. It can be done it's only money.

[csv8]

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...c_fairmont.htm those were the days...When Falcon was King..

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Australian courts don't award punitive damages or compensation for "pain & suffering.")

That is not correct. Damages are awarded for "pain and suffering". Exemplary damages are awarded in certain circumstances.

Australian courts are far less likely to award exemplary damages or damages for physical inconvenience, but that doesn't mean they don't.

[In Focus]

My wife bought a Fiesta a few years back, wanted a silver one - no problem, the dealer had plenty of them. The salesman sort of laughed and said, "Everyone likes the idea of all these funky colours, but then they buy either silver, white, black or grey." Which is undoubtedly why these are the commonest colours on the lot. A lot of people talk about being individual, but then go and do what everyone else is doing...

[Lotte]

People seem to forget. We're comparing the 60's/70's, when the market wasn't as fragmented as it is today.

The more fragmented the market in makes and models, the less choice you'll ultimately have within those models.

I can tell you from experience, there is R&D in everything. At my old job, we had to create the "starkest, whitest white" we could for a client, for their clusters.
When we had that done (after months of "no, not white enough"), we had the PERFECT whitest white you'd ever see. It was like our machines were shitting out snow. What happened? "can you make it less white? It's making the white of our switches look dull"....

Multiply that by 'x' choices, with 'y' parts, and 'z' variations, and you have a phenomenal amount of validation of - in this case - just paint.

For every variant, you need to validate. Whether it's a paint colour, a leather vs cloth interior, the back lighting on your cluster, it all needs to be validated.
The storage will cost more. The inventory is more varied. The R&D will cost more, the validation is greater. Parts supplies will cost more, because these costs are passed down the chain.

This just isn't worth it when each car's variant is selling a pooftenth of a percentage overall to the entire new car market. Limiting variety does save money. And it's not just limited to the auto industry.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by Lotte

People seem to forget. We're comparing the 60's/70's, when the market wasn't as fragmented as it is today.

The more fragmented the market in makes and models, the less choice you'll ultimately have within those models.

I can tell you from experience, there is R&D in everything. At my old job, we had to create the "starkest, whitest white" we could for a client, for their clusters.
When we had that done (after months of "no, not white enough"), we had the PERFECT whitest white you'd ever see. It was like our machines were shitting out snow. What happened? "can you make it less white? It's making the white of our switches look dull"....

Multiply that by 'x' choices, with 'y' parts, and 'z' variations, and you have a phenomenal amount of validation of - in this case - just paint.

For every variant, you need to validate. Whether it's a paint colour, a leather vs cloth interior, the back lighting on your cluster, it all needs to be validated.
The storage will cost more. The inventory is more varied. The R&D will cost more, the validation is greater. Parts supplies will cost more, because these costs are passed down the chain.

This just isn't worth it when each car's variant is selling a pooftenth of a percentage overall to the entire new car market. Limiting variety does save money. And it's not just limited to the auto industry.

well said Lotte
As the need for economies of scale increase, the cost of providing variations does too, plus we have MUCH higher standards today compared to decades past.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by In Focus

My wife bought a Fiesta a few years back, wanted a silver one - no problem, the dealer had plenty of them. The salesman sort of laughed and said, "Everyone likes the idea of all these funky colours, but then they buy either silver, white, black or grey." Which is undoubtedly why these are the commonest colours on the lot. A lot of people talk about being individual, but then go and do what everyone else is doing...

Mine was "Morello" because it was sitting in the dealership and I wanted it ASAP even though I had no license.