mini rant: the way car buying used to be

Take this with a grain of salt, I'm not old enough to remember the "old days" I'm just going by what I've heard and such.

I've seen a few "rare" cars in that they're rare because they're optioned funny. A big block Ford F100, a diesel K5 blazer, some odd color combination or a nice leather interior with rubber floor mats, etc etc.

You don't see that as much the newer the car gets, because you can't really custom order cars anymore. I heard one time that it took longer to look at the full brochure and options for a 1968 Camaro than it took to build the car.

I thought this up while driving our Chevy Sonic on a delivery today. It's a fleet model, so it's plain white, crank windows, no CD, power locks oddly enough, and an automatic with the manual selector. Got me to thinking "I want this car like this, no frills, just with a manual trans and the turbo engine.

Unfortunately almost all higher performance packages are also looked at as luxury packages. SRT8 chargers are bloated down with heavy wheels, heated leather seats, navigation etc etc. Gimmie that motor without all those heavy additions. GM got its right with the Firebird Formula. Supposedly Ram has a new Express trim that offers the Hemi in a single cab, short wheelbase, crank window, vinyl floor model. A sort of tip-o-the-hat to the Lil Red Express.

I think if you haggled a dealership enough you could get what you really want. Cabbage up front helps, I'm sure, but I just wish I could order a car the way I want to, and it be mine, with little to no chance that there'd be one like it.

Eh, rant over. I'm gonna watch the game. GO CATS!!!

The reason they add so many options with the performance packages is because they can, and most people(who are interested in that type of car) will willingly pay even more(whether they can afford it or not) because it's optioned thusly.

I started typing to say that yeah, I'd be interested in something like a new Mustang LX 5.0. But now that I think about it, would I? Since so many heavy luxuries are now standard, how much lighter would an LX-type build (think all the cheapest Mustang parts possible, in a V6 shell, but the 5.0 engine) actually be? There's no notchback body anymore, all the cars have power everything standard...what's the point?

i bet you could sell all the heatedseat/bigrimz/etc BS on forums when the car was brand new, or trade for the "low-end" stuff + cash for you pretty easily.

petegossett wrote: The reason they add so many options with the performance packages is because they can, and most people(who are interested in that type of car) will willingly pay even more(whether they can afford it or not) because it's optioned thusly.

Isn't that what killed the Mazdaspeed 6? You could ONLY get it with every option they could cram in the car.

In reply to BoostedBrandon: Sortof on the Express.

I just built my own, and somehow removing the carpet gets rid of a trim package and made it more expensive.

How the berkeley does that work?

BoostedBrandon wrote: Unfortunately almost all higher performance packages are also looked at as luxury packages. SRT8 chargers are bloated down with heavy wheels, heated leather seats, navigation etc etc. Gimmie that motor without all those heavy additions. GM got its right with the Firebird Formula. Supposedly Ram has a new Express trim that offers the Hemi in a single cab, short wheelbase, crank window, vinyl floor model. A sort of tip-o-the-hat to the Lil Red Express.

Dodge kind of understands you, they make the express and a few others. Specifically this the stripped out srt-8 superbee next year.

Knurled wrote:

petegossett wrote: The reason they add so many options with the performance packages is because they can, and most people(who are interested in that type of car) will willingly pay even more(whether they can afford it or not) because it's optioned thusly.

Isn't that what killed the Mazdaspeed 6? You could ONLY get it with every option they could cram in the car.

It was a flop because it was a heavy pig, regardless of options, had a junk t-case and rear end that could handle no power, and somehow they aimed for BETWEEN BMW and Evo. Pick one or the other, guys. Strangely, these things have actually APPRECIATED a little bit in the last year or two. They're goin' like hotcakes on the used market, where they sold like fish popsicles new.

I was able to build my new 2002 Liberty(KJ) just the way I wanted it. Took four weeks. Don'tknow if you can do that now.

Grizz wrote: In reply to BoostedBrandon: Sortof on the Express. I just built my own, and somehow removing the carpet gets rid of a trim package and made it more expensive. How the berkeley does that work?

Quit stepping out of line, you! You'll buy what we want to sell you! You'll buy 10 things you don't want to get the 1 thing you do, and if you don't, you will pay!

BoostedBrandon wrote: I thought this up while driving our Chevy Sonic on a delivery today. It's a fleet model, so it's plain white, crank windows, no CD, power locks oddly enough, and an automatic with the manual selector. Got me to thinking "I want this car like this, no frills, just with a manual trans and the turbo engine.

You can "kind of" get the Sonic like you want. The turbo engine and manual transmission are available in the LT (mid-level) trim. It's similar to the LS you were driving except it has, power windows, a few extra pieces of chrome, and a slightly better radio.

When I bought mine, the only options I got were the upgraded radio (to get cruise control) and the turbo 1.4.

failboat wrote: Quit stepping out of line, you! You'll buy what we want to sell you! You'll buy 10 things you don't want to get the 1 thing you do, and if you don't, you will pay!

Actually, you can chalk this up to horrible vision. It removed 390 dollars, it was just tiny and I have a crappy moniter.

In reply to wearymicrobe: If Dodge understood, they wouldn't make a superbee challenger, a car that never existed. T/A Moberkeleyers, get with your history!

I need an angry smiley for my overblown rage to be complete.

Grizz wrote:

failboat wrote: Quit stepping out of line, you! You'll buy what we want to sell you! You'll buy 10 things you don't want to get the 1 thing you do, and if you don't, you will pay!

Actually, you can chalk this up to horrible vision. It removed 390 dollars, it was just tiny and I have a crappy moniter. In reply to wearymicrobe: If Dodge understood, they wouldn't make a superbee challenger, a car that never existed. T/A Moberkeleyers, get with your history! I need an angry smiley for my overblown rage to be complete.

QF-motherberkeleyin-T My dad had a Superbee. It wasn't THAT.

During my recent car shopping extravaganza, I did discover some dealers would be glad to order a car just like you wanted, others not so much. Ford dealers for instance seemed totally uninterested in ordering a Mustang other than what they could find on dealer lots. They could sell all they got and had a take it or leave it attitude. Evidently it's more work and they just don't care. And if you didn't want it, they don't want to be stuck with it.

BMW on the other had will order what you want, it just takes time and money.

In reply to racerdave600:

Weird, we were car shopping a few months ago, the 2 Kia dealerships we visited seemed to have that attitude about ordering cars (aka they would not do it), and the 2 Ford dealerships blatantly said "If we can't find it on another lot, we can order anything you want, just takes a few weeks for the car to get here."

failboat wrote:

Grizz wrote: In reply to BoostedBrandon: Sortof on the Express. I just built my own, and somehow removing the carpet gets rid of a trim package and made it more expensive. How the berkeley does that work?

Quit stepping out of line, you! You'll buy what we want to sell you! You'll buy 10 things you don't want to get the 1 thing you do, and if you don't, you will pay!

kinda. some option-bundling is driven by simplicity on the vehicle assembly line. consider the possible build variations of a passenger front door:

• power or manual window?
• power or manual lock?
• power or manual mirror?
• high-end or base speakers?
• what color interior panel?
• what interior trim level?

reducing build complexity by bundling content does two things:

1. improves build quality by removing decision-making from the assembly worker
2. reduces process time, which reduces cost to build vehicle, which allows the manufacturer to put more content into a price point