The Bimbofication of the American Vehicle

@used_oil:

It's amusing that somehow today "volume" sales is a dirty word, even if it is not the business fleet but at the consumer level.

Selling at lower prices increases sales volume so that the company can still make a good profit. It really is a win win for everybody. I'm not sure why the greed factor has become so pervasive today at the car manufacturers, as currently many manufacturers are slashing prices by many thousands of dollars even tens of thousands of dollars. Why? Because they are pricing their products way beyond what the consumers can pay, even with that ridiculous lease deals and 6 and seven year loans...
 
An average new car dealership may have 100 full time employees.

At the top, the general manager/owner, typically family or someone that has an interest in the success of the business.

"Employees" picked for the job would need incentives to stay focused.

Next down the ladder are the department heads; parts, service, body shop and sales would be the short list.

Other fixed costs would include building maintenance , property tax, accounting, heating, lighting, water and consumables.

How many of the 100 have I cherry picked off the top so far that do not create revenue or produce a sellable product or service?

If the sales and support staff equal 20 and a day goes by without a new or used vehicle sale, then the services, body and mechanical shops carry the business.

I would think that low cost vehicles sold by the dozens would be a dealership's main revenue generator, keeping the shops booked, lights on and taxes paid.

Up-grading every vehicle model by several thousands of dollars with option packages, may be best for the parent company's short term interest, but it won't work for long without a viable dealership network.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
The 66-77 Bronco,while having its place,became old and dated by 1977.The 1978 full size F150 based replacement sold over 4 times as many as the 77.This was in the era of the big Blazer/Jimmy,Ramcharger/Trailduster,and Wagoneer/Cherokee.Its what the public wanted at the time.Yes,they did a 1964 vs 73 Mustang bloat job on it,but people wanted the size,weight and seating capacity.The small CJs,Scout 80/800,Toyota FJ were just too small for their "needs".
But the time period was when the biggest 4x4 vehicle trend started Every one I knew has a lifted 4X4 pick up SUV type and even Subaru Brats were hot to own.
 
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Dodge needs products though.



They really don't as you can buy Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep all in the same store. A range of products for every potential buyer. It's not like a decade ago or so when you had stand alone Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep stores, it is very rare if they exist at all anymore.


They do have some overlap of products but only one compact sedan.
 
I have an 05 Z71 with windows, locks and cruise, no steering wheel controls or power seats. I thought it was pretty well equipped until a much younger than me guy told me he was getting a new truck. I asked if it was equipped sort of like mine? He said Oh no, it ain't near as plain as yours.
 
I’m not a spring chicken and have no use for, or desire to use, at least 90 percent of the gadgets and features in a modern vehicle.

I sometimes daily drive my M1009 for months at a time and I love it. It’s the only vehicle I own that puts a smile on my face. No air conditioning? No problem, open the windows and the footwell vents. No radio? I don’t turn it on in the modern vehicles I own anyhow. I love the sound of the engine as music to my ears.

I have two children and the family vehicle is a 4 Runner. The kids don’t need or want any fancy electronic junk or Bluetooth this or that, DVD or TV players, etc. We talk among ourselves when we are on the road just as I’ve done my whole life.
 
DGXR said:
The new Chevy Blazer ruined that nameplate for me. What a huge missed opportunity for GM. The original Blazer was legendary and I can't believe how bad they messed it up.
Click to expand...
Ford and Toyota gotten retro somewhat right with the new Bronco and the former FJ Cruiser. FCA/Stellantis also got it somewhat right with the new Wrangler/Gladiator.

they didn’t bastardize the name onto a FWD CUV platform like GM with the new Blazer.

howver, the Bronco Sport is basically a rough and tumble Escape, and the Jeep Cherokee(NOT the JGC) is based on the Fiat 500X.
 
nthach said:
Ford and Toyota gotten retro somewhat right with the new Bronco and the former FJ Cruiser. FCA/Stellantis also got it somewhat right with the new Wrangler/Gladiator.

they didn’t bastardize the name onto a FWD CUV platform like GM with the new Blazer.

howver, the Bronco Sport is basically a rough and tumble Escape, and the Jeep Cherokee(NOT the JGC) is based on the Fiat 500X.
Click to expand...
The new Bronco is edgy and tough enough to justify reviving the name.
The FJ Cruiser is also quite capable and worthy of the name.
The Blazer is exactly what you said, a restyled CUV, and a shame to the name.
 
DGXR said:
The new Chevy Blazer ruined that nameplate for me. What a huge missed opportunity for GM. The original Blazer was legendary and I can't believe how bad they messed it up.
Click to expand...
True, but they are selling like hot cakes. The last time I checked it was something like 40 days on dealer lots. The forehead slapper for me is the
265/45/21 tires. Not exactly Blazer country. Thankfully they changed the wheel bolt pattern to 6x120mm, same as the Colorados and Canyons.
On the same platform, Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia. The slightly longer wheel base, Traverse, XT6 and Buick Enclave.
 
userfriendly said:
True, but they are selling like hot cakes. The last time I checked it was something like 40 days on dealer lots. The forehead slapper for me is the
265/45/21 tires. Not exactly Blazer country. Thankfully they changed the wheel bolt pattern to 6x120mm, same as the Colorados and Canyons.
On the same platform, Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia. The slightly longer wheel base, Traverse, XT6 and Buick Enclave.
Click to expand...
GM should build a 2-door lifted Tahoe Z71 and call that the Blazer, like they did in the 1990s.
 
nthach said:
GM should build a 2-door lifted Tahoe Z71 and call that the Blazer, like they did in the 1990s.
Click to expand...
All kinds of suspension and lift kits are avalable for the Blazer and Acadia. Cat back exhaust with a cold air intake and Camaro tune is all the rage for the third edition of the 3.6L (222 cid) V6.
Of course the Cadillac XT5 is bimbofied beyond ..... well fubar'd for short.
 
userfriendly said:
All kinds of suspension and lift kits are avalable for the Blazer and Acadia. Cat back exhaust with a cold air intake and Camaro tune is all the rage for the third edition of the 3.6L (222 cid) V6.
Of course the Cadillac XT5 is bimbofied beyond ..... well fubar'd for short.
Click to expand...
But that’s just… wrong. It’s still a unibody CUV. Of course Land Rover claims the entire line can go off-road, but 99% of the time they’re just parked at the local mall/high-end shopping district.

The new craze I’ve been seeing are lifted Subarus on knobbies. I’m about to say Subaru is the new Range Rover. The only “outdoor” they’ll see is the local REI or ski resort. At least GM isn’t adding on factory-installed pretension, like Toyota is with the RAV4 “adventure” edition or the Honda HPD Sport Ridgeline.
 
nthach said:
The new craze I’ve been seeing are lifted Subarus on knobbies. I’m about to say Subaru is the new Range Rover.
Click to expand...

That’s been the case in Vermont for years.

The latest thing I’ve seen is as they age, Highlanders being purchased by a younger crowd and modified. I talked to a friend who’s a Toyota mechanic and he said my eyes don’t deceive me, there’s at least one company making lift kits for them, albeit something like 1.5” at the most due to limitations of the vehicle design. Then they are putting on larger tires, crazy roof racks with lots of “gear” on them, etc. I’d say I average a sighting of a modified Highlander that I haven’t seen before about once a month now. Guy in my town has one I see regularly.
 
DGXR said:
The new Chevy Blazer ruined that nameplate for me. What a huge missed opportunity for GM. The original Blazer was legendary and I can't believe how bad they messed it up.
Click to expand...
The original Blazer may have been great, but the 1983 S-10 blazer was unabashed junk from the get-go.

Their only chance to return the Blazer to glory was as a 2 door Tahoe.
 
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