Quote:
Originally Posted by RealG
Rich people still arguing against a low cost Camaro V8. How out of touch.
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Again you are missing the point.
Do you know what logistics are? Ever hear of 6 Sigma? Operational efficiency?
It is actually more efficient, faster, cheaper, and results in higher quality, if every car is built exactly the same. Car companies would love to build every single car in one color, with ALL options, on every single car. That would probably decrease the sticker price $5k and increase the profits for the company by $15k at the same time.
In the old days, when you could pick and chose every single feature in your build, that meant that GM would have to keep an inventory of every feature yet not use every part. That means wasted space for stock, wasted money for buying the parts from the vendor, and wasted time in delivery and organizing them. Plus it resulted in cars being configurable in hundreds of thousands of possible configurations. It contributed to the bad quality that crept in over the 70s.
Sure you could order your bare bones Camaro with the biggest motor, high performance suspension and brakes, without A/C or a radio. Heck you could order it without a heater too.
The next guy wants A/C and a heater. But he doesn't want a radio.
The next guy wants a radio with no A/C.
By the late 80s you could get your Camaro with power locks, manual crank windows, tilt wheel but without cruise or delay wipers, without A/C but with T-tops. Or with cruise, without power door locks, with power windows, without tilt wheel, no T-Tops and with air conditioning.
For each and every one of those configurations, there's THOUSANDS of different parts that are required.
Add to the fact that today cars are entirely integrated through the ECM and BCM it makes it impossible to separate power windows and locks from the climate control, power seats, and sound system.
Japan started the streamline operational efficiency by offering limited options and cars basically built in trim levels only. Then they built them in groups. So you didn't have different parts going into each different car as they rolled down the line. That's a necessity if a car company wants to stay profitable and you want your car affordable and high quality.