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Thread: Is there a market for basic cars, appliances,etc?

  1. #121
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
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    2,280
    Back in the day when you wanted to unlock your car you would pull your key out and stick it in the keyhole. For those down south it may seem like the perfect low tech solution but live through some freezing rain and dealing with frozen locks and you realize that some options are becoming standard now because they are almost a requirement. Nothing worse than climbing through a hatchback because that's the only thing that you can unlock.

    It really comes down to how many different versions of a car do companies want to make and how much does producing said variations cost vs just making them all the same? For example, power windows. It once was an option but it's now at the point where it's actually cheaper to just make them standard. For appliances the modern fancy ones can actually do a self diagnostic check so a tech on the other end of the phone or computer and make sure the repair guy has the right part and instructions on how to repair it before heading to your house. For warranty work that's a real savings. Of course nobody expected a shortage of computer chips.

  2. #122
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Anaheim, California
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    6,903
    Quote Originally Posted by Alex Zeller View Post
    It really comes down to how many different versions of a car do companies want to make and how much does producing said variations cost vs just making them all the same? For example, power windows. It once was an option but it's now at the point where it's actually cheaper to just make them standard.
    I always thought the best example of that was cruise control. At some point (late-1980s?), the emission-control systems pretty much required throttle-by-wire, at which point the only added cost of cruise control was the stalk on the steering column.

    All of this pared down the concept of "option list" to the point that it got absorbed into "trim level". I'm always a bit amused at the "options" listed on new car stickers, most of which are actually standard features and the remainder kick in a dozen or so at a time. The last car I ordered check-list-style was in 1981.
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  3. #123
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
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    5,426
    I thought electronic throttle by wire didn't become a thing for gas vehicles until year 2000 or so? Anyone remember around 2009 or 2010 when Toyota had their big recall due to an issue with the electronic gas pedal? Diesel vehicles seem like they went to electronic throttle earlier. My 1995 motorhome with Series 60 engine is fully electronic. I couldn't imagine a 40 foot cable working all that well. I rented a car in 2009 and had to drive about five hours round trip. The darn car didn't have cruise control and was miserable to drive that far! I have had cruise in every car I have owned since my first car.

    Vehicles made since stability control became required pretty much all have ABS brakes. My understanding is that ABS and stability control use basically the same components so why not have ABS?

  4. #124
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Moscow, ID
    Posts
    428
    I'm the one who mentioned the $800 key fob. That is what the dealer told me it would cost me to replace a lost fob for my vehicle, which is a 2020 Ford Edge ST crossover. The vehicle had a sticker price of less than $50,000, so while expensive it's definitely not a high-end luxury vehicle.

    My wife has a 2020 Edge Titanium (one trim model down from the ST) and hers has the same type of key fob that will also cost $800 to replace a lost one. I think the only reason they are so expensive is that Ford has you over a barrel and can charge whatever they want for them.

  5. #125
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,675
    Derek, I will suggest to you that other Ford dealers may not be quite so greedy for a replacement fob. Even by today's standard, that $800 is about double what most others go for at full price, etc.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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