Are car makers bored or something?

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I think the industry has settled on a model life cycle of 7 years, with year 4 typically being the mid-cycle refresh. This is what the consumer's attention span has diminished to, so the manufacturers are taking full advantage of this and timing any changes to coincide with the consumer's loss of interest in their 4-7 year old vehicle.

Why keep tried and true designs around when simple, cheap "upgrades" will spur most people to get that new car itch? Plug they are hoping that these upgrades will not last the full life cycle and be too expensive to fix, pushing even harder for a new car purchase.

PS - I'm a bean counter, and we aren't all like many on here portray us to be. I will drive my 12 year old car as long as I can because it has just enough comforts to keep me satisfied, while not being too difficult or costly to repair.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
It's all touchscreens and backup cameras and other stuff that'll be obsolete in two years.

I still figure the azimuth of car design was around 1990-1995. We had port fuel injection and distrbutorless ignition, light weight, good visibility, good MPG, and adequate safety.

I'm going south this spring to pick up a cherry, rust free example. What, yet, I don't know.
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My 1995 3 Series has been an absolute joy to own and maintain over the past 20 years, and I wish BMW still made a car that was simple, light, and engaging without the veneer of gadgets that it now slaps on most every car. Oh yeah, and I wish that limited slip was still available as an option(for less than $500- as opposed to the @$3,000 it now costs to have one port-installed on an M235i).
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Originally Posted By: redhat
We finally had vehicles that were returning decent MPG, a decently designed and implemented fuel injection system where valves weren't crudding up.

Now we have DI and turbo everything. Not that I really hate turbos or DI that much, but what's the 150k DI engine going to be like. Is a Saturday afternoon tune-up going to be pulling the heads and a B12 Chemtool/Seafoam soak?


At 149k miles my 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 has yet to require a valve cleaning of any kind. Its next "tune-up"-plugs and cleaning the Mazdaspeed CAI cone filter- won't be due for another 30,000 miles(a 60,000 mile interval). While I prefer a naturally aspirated I6 I can't complain about a car with a 2.3 liter I4 that averages 26-28 mpg yet makes over 310 hp.
 
Guess it depends on what you like. The Trans Am is simple. Not a lot of options. The truck? No power anything, rubber floors vinyl seats, and a pushrod V8 with a dry intake...Easy Peasy.
I don't care for a lot of gizmos. The Grand Prix has some, like a HUD, but the basic S/C 3800 is easy to maintain.

While our Equinox has been fine and the wife loves it, it is not my thing.
I don't use the Mylink. Don't care for the back up camera. Do like the 100,000 mile warranty.
 
The sad fact is that new vehicles are purchased by people who value shiny new things, not proven old things. As such manufacturers target new models and existing model changes towards new vehicle buyers, instead of used vehicle buyers.

I don't see this changing.
 
After automatic, ps, pb, pw, a/c, and am/fm radio, what more does a person really need for his comfort?

In the near future, we will see nice looking cars junked at a salvage yard because the flaky electronic components are too expensive to replace.

Some of this is consumer driven. But I wonder how much of it is driven by the automakers against the new car buyer's wishes. These "convenience" features should be placed in cars because there is a justified need for them, not because we simply can.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
After automatic, ps, pb, pw, a/c, and am/fm radio, what more does a person really need for his comfort?


Well, for my next car I also want: RWD, three pedals(or else a ZF 8 speed automatic), xenons, heated seats, and a 0-100 mph time under 10.5 seconds.
But that's just me...
 
Originally Posted By: redhat
We finally had vehicles that were returning decent MPG, a decently designed and implemented fuel injection system where valves weren't crudding up.

Now we have DI and turbo everything. Not that I really hate turbos or DI that much, but what's the 150k DI engine going to be like. Is a Saturday afternoon tune-up going to be pulling the heads and a B12 Chemtool/Seafoam soak?


I agree. I'd like a turbo car as a fun car/track car, but not as a daily driver.
 
Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
I think the industry has settled on a model life cycle of 7 years, with year 4 typically being the mid-cycle refresh. This is what the consumer's attention span has diminished to, so the manufacturers are taking full advantage of this and timing any changes to coincide with the consumer's loss of interest in their 4-7 year old vehicle.

Why keep tried and true designs around when simple, cheap "upgrades" will spur most people to get that new car itch? Plug they are hoping that these upgrades will not last the full life cycle and be too expensive to fix, pushing even harder for a new car purchase.

PS - I'm a bean counter, and we aren't all like many on here portray us to be. I will drive my 12 year old car as long as I can because it has just enough comforts to keep me satisfied, while not being too difficult or costly to repair.


I knew the evil bean counters surf this site!

15.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
After automatic, ps, pb, pw, a/c, and am/fm radio, what more does a person really need for his comfort?

Other than items(except Auto-Trans) above my 2004 Honda S2000 has powered soft top, PDL(Power Door Lock) and single CD player.

The A/C is manual adjust and that is the way I like. The seats are manual adjust fore-aft and seat back recline only, no heated and no 10-way memory.

Newer cars have much more features than S2000, and most of these new features are not related to performance/handling.

I think I will keep it forever.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino


I still figure the azimuth of car design was around 1990-1995. We had port fuel injection and distrbutorless ignition, light weight, good visibility, good MPG, and adequate safety.



I've been driving since 1960 and my first new car was in 1965.
One of my fondest cars was a 1990 Civic DX 4 dr auto.....
If I could live my life and have a new one of those every 5 yrs I'd be a happy guy.
happy2.gif
 
I tried keeping my 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis forever. But I need to get rid of it as a winter daily driver. The rust has compromised too much of the car's operation to the point that I don't want to keep up with the repairs. Not the body, but the rest of the car.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
It's all touchscreens and backup cameras and other stuff that'll be obsolete in two years.

I still figure the azimuth of car design was around 1990-1995. We had port fuel injection and distrbutorless ignition, light weight, good visibility, good MPG, and adequate safety.
laugh.gif



Perfectly stated!
 
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Mercedes used to have very long model life cycles but modern constraints forced them to shorten them, a decade or two was the norm for awhile. They didn't feel the need to change a good design all of the time.


The only vehicle they still make that sticks a big middle finger up at everything modern is the G wagon. It has not changed since the 70's.

mercedes-benz-g-class-turns-30_09.jpg


17-2013-mercedes-benz-g550-review.jpg


I love it, the windshield is to vertical, the doors thunk like a safe, the door locks sound like a rifle bolt, and it burns fuel like its free. Its a hand made chunk of the 1970's that's built to last forever and be repaired, a big middle finger to disposable vehicles.
 
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How can a consumer expect to keep a car for very long if they need a new cell phone every 2 years? Fickle consumers.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Kestas
After automatic, ps, pb, pw, a/c, and am/fm radio, what more does a person really need for his comfort?

Other than items(except Auto-Trans) above my 2004 Honda S2000 has powered soft top, PDL(Power Door Lock) and single CD player.

The A/C is manual adjust and that is the way I like. The seats are manual adjust fore-aft and seat back recline only, no heated and no 10-way memory.

Newer cars have much more features than S2000, and most of these new features are not related to performance/handling.

I think I will keep it forever.


My Miata has no power steering, no A/C, no Anti-lock brakes, no central lock.

I plan to keep it for my daughter (soon to be 8) as she asked me to, so she will learn driving manual in it.

Hopefully, she will be taller than me eventually, so she won't be able to fit in it, and then I would have the car back... WOUAhahahah!!
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04

And they're resisting the stupidity of moving to aluminum.



What is stupid about going to aluminum? It is actually about time! Heavy commercial semi trucks, except for the frame, have been Aluminum, Poly, and fiberglass construction for a couple of decades. And even the frames and differentials can be spec'd all aluminum as well, thought it is more rare. Longevity can't be the issue. I only operate in the upper midwest "rust belt" part of the country, I put 1.4 million miles on one semi, 1 million on another, and now have 368,000 on my present one. I'll take aluminum any day of the week.
 
The failure of the extra gadgetry may cause a car to be junked early, however, there are ways to properly build that extra gadgetry.

Nissan had a lot of extra electronic stuff on every Nissan 300ZX, but many of them are still on the road to this day. It could even be argued that the 300ZX has even more gizmos than many modern cars.
 
IMO engine technology is getting cheaper on a per HP basis. Emissions / efficiency standards have required companies to find other ways to set the brand apart.
 
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