A Little Thusday Night Food for Thought

[steeda763]

None of this really applies to the 240sx community, but...well, whatever. Opinions welcome.--------------------------------------------------

Despite a globally failing economy, auto makers continue in their attempts to outdo the competition and produce garishly-clad automobiles.

But what ever happened to the simple car? The car that required you to unlock the door and start it with an inanimate steel key. The car that was fully loaded with power door locks and windows. The car that received five stars in crash tests with no more than two airbags. Or the car whose luxury options included a sunroof and CD player.

Nowadays, we take all of those features for granted, but cars of this era -- which was not long ago by any means -- retailed for $30k or more. With advances in technology, auto manufacturers have been researching and cramming as many sophisticated gizmos as they can into their products, all the while preserving that $30k average asking price (for a conservative car).

Why shouldn't we get the opposite effect, though? Since older technology has become so inexpensive to produce, why can't we have cars comparable to those of the 1990's, or even the 1980's, in features and options? We don't need intelligent key fobs or voice-activated stereo controls. Pre-tensioning seatbelts and automatic windshield wipers are great, but we've survived thus far without them. Think about it: a brand new sedan from a reputable manufacturer featuring no more than what I described in the first paragraph would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, could cost half as much as the averagely-equipped sedan of today's standards, and would fly out of showrooms, especially to people struggling to stay afloat financially.

Without executing any official polls, my 11pm Thursday night logic dictates that the majority of people who buy older, used cars do so because it is equipped with everything they need and they see it as the best value for their dollar. They're only later forced to upgrade due to the increased maintenance costs of their cars -- not because they want Bluetooth connectivity or a little red Start/Stop Engine button.

I want to drive a car, not ride in a Dell.

[KillTheApex]

Well written. I would have to agree. While these little gadgets and what not are indeed nice to have they are not necessary. Just like GPS, we do not need it but it has pretty much become the standard. I have no desire to ever buy a new car because none of them give me that feeling that a 240sx does and the ones that do cost way more than I can afford.

I could go on a rant about where I think the American manufacturers went wrong, from a design standpoint, but I'm tired.

[OM3GA]

ATTENTION EVERYONE! : NEW DAY INVENTED

like zomaigawsh!?!?1!!?!!?

ITS like Tuesday and Thursday combined!! We call it

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Thusday!! WHOOOO!!!! YAY AY AYA YA AY