Posted on 06/18/2019 6:18:19 AM PDT by Kaslin
Thanks. That’s what I kind of thought. Next time it’s at the dealership I’ll have them check it. It’s still under warranty since I bought it certified when it was a year old.
Okay, so you are citing the $20 or less parts cost of the camera as the reason cars are not dropping in cost?
Even when you find something you aren’t really winning your case.
Regulation is NOT what is driving car prices, its mostly user desired tech. Does regulation have a cost? Sure, but the bulk of what has driven/kept car prices higher is TECH, not that is regulated, but that is desired.
Look at a care today, and then look at a care from 1970. Yes there are mandated safety features (not a bad thing) and the ODB-II system, and pollution controls that have all been mandated.. but the bulk of the stuff you find different in a car today, and a car from 1970 are not these things... AC is now standard, on all but the cheapest models, as is Automatic Transmissions... Entertainment centers, GPS Maps, Integrated Bluetooth, USB Ports, Apple /Android integration, tire sensors, etc etc etc.. Tech features that are being added not by regulation, but because of consumer prices and supply chain cost reductions are why.
Manufacturers figured out long ago, offering a manual or an automatic transmission added more cost to the car and its manufacture than it was worth for the few folks who choose standard, so few models exist with it as an option, they all come with an auto. Etc, etc etc...
Blaming regulation as the primary driver for car prices is foolish and dishonest. Auto manufactuers today are platform integrators, more than anything else.
Don’t believe me on the tech? Open up your users manual... for any car built in the last 5 years.. now look how many pages of it are dedicated to the actual driving and operation of the car.. and how much is dedicated to using the tech that is integrated into it. Generally the actual operation of the vehicle is maybe 1/3 the number of pages as the documentation to use the various integrated tech.
ANd the overwhelming majority of that tech is NOT regulated... The first commercial vehicle with a back up camera was first introduced in the US in a production vehicle in 2002 by Nissan... 17 years later rear view cameras are standard equipment (prior to regulatory requirement) on nearly all but the most base models/packages. Their raw cost including the 7” screen is less than $20 if not $10 for the manufacturer . So arguing its the main thing driving up costs is silly.
The Nissan Versa, which is the cheapest production car, in its base model on the US market had peak sales in 2015, with a bit under 150k in sales. In 2018 it sold just over 75k. That’s all models of the car, not just the base model.... but that shows what I have been telling you, people don’t buy in any large numbers basic vehicles... If a manufacturer makes a bare bones car, they just don’t sell in any numbers... the market has demanded the tech. This is what is driving the bulk of costs these days NOT regulation.
Labor is not a big factor in making cars, even union labor. The rule of thumb is it takes 30 man-hours to make a $30,000 car. You can apply and rate you want to that. Let’s say $50/hr that is $1,500 per car.
Reminds me of a car my dad had. He moved to Florida and was one of the first people in the US to buy a Saturn.
My wife, daughter and my brother met him in NC one weekend. As soon as we got there, my brother and I grabbed the keys and went for a ride. We beat on the car for about an hour.
When we got back, I asked my dad what the POWER switch was for on the console.
He said “I don’t know. I never turned it on”
I replied “I don’t know either. We never turned it off.”
A Kawasaki Mule would be perfect for city driving and they are only $8500, fit two people and space for hauling.
They are unstoppable in up to 8” of snow, ice, or mud.
That’s abut right;
How much of the cost of a car is Labor?
If you use the labor cost figures thrown around over the years ($65-95 an hour, depending on how you account for retirees), than labor costs on your average car are $1600-$2400. The average car costs about $25k (sales weighted average transaction price), so you’re at 10% or less.
Roxor is limited to 42mph but that can be worked around to much faster. Mule is fast enough out of the box. Roxor can be made street legal in most states now, not sure about the Mule. You can spend the money on Roxor upgrade for hard cab, AC and heater. Don’t think you can do that for the Mule. Finally there is more metal around you with the Roxor. I have a ‘97Jeep Wrangler soft top with the half doors, easy to take off the doors but I don’t because I like the little bit of protection they offer.
In any event, they design them to be built the cheapest way and to Hell with the guy who has to repair them.
Many if not most states allow cities to adjust local ordinances for licensing UTVs for street use...
Kits to make your UTV street legal can be found online in the 200$ price range...
Just the thing for pizza and beer runs...
Humor me if you will.... take a 350 Chev. V-8 4V from a 1975 pickup and a 350 V-8 FI from a 2002 pickup. Put the 1975 eng. in the 2002 and the 2002 eng. in the 1975. What would be the approx. fuel mileage of each and why?
Mule can be made street legal but top speed is 25 mph, which is perfect for city driving.’’
You can buy two Kawasaki Mules for what it costs for one Mahindra UTV.
Change the oil once a year and grease it is all the maintained I’ve needed in driving mine every day for 5 years!
ping
25mph is to slow for safety. Need that 40mph for safety.
If you read the article, you would see that the price increases are being driven by government regulations. TVs have no such onerous regulations.
“25mph is to slow for safety. Need that 40mph for safety.”
Wut? Why? How is 40 mph safer?
Even TV's are regulated and taxed....tariff's?
There are no import tariffs to speak of on consumer electronics WHICH IS A BAD THING.
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