DATASTREAMThe Global Chip Shortage Impact on American Automakers

Skippy722 said:
People want options not stripped out entry level models. Has absolutely nothing to do with consulting firms or what the manufacturer wants. Try selling a car with manual locks, crank windows, and AM/FM only radio with no aux input in 2021, it won’t sell well at all.
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Yep, Just drove a Corolla rent car - stripped down plastic R us interior … steel wheels + hub caps !!!
… but that adaptive cruise control sure worked well …
 
@OVERKILL brings up an interesting point when he touched on crank rollup windows vs electric windows. Are manual windows cheaper to build? Yes and no. Yes they are, except most people want electric windows. So to add bill of material complexity, parts, incur mfg line mistakes to the build adds tons of cost. This to satisfy a small percentage of customers? Not a good choice.
 
JeffKeryk said:
@OVERKILL brings up an interesting point when he touched on crank rollup windows vs electric windows. Are manual windows cheaper to build? Yes and no. Yes they are, except most people want electric windows. So to add bill of material complexity, parts, incur mfg line mistakes to the build adds tons of cost. This to satisfy a small percentage of customers? Not a good choice.
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Prefer a manual crank for the driver but can’t reach the others, so power windows on 3 … build me that ! 😜
 
Snowflake White said:
But who really drove this, NOT the consumer, I would bet if you asked most people what they really wanted in a car, many would tell you
LESS complication, and higher build quality and durability. But of course they don't want to ask these questions because they won't be able to
fleece consumers to the degree they do on profit margins.
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Consumers want infotainment and safety nanny (or at least the insurance companies want it), rear view camera, ABS, traction control, cruise control, satellite radio, etc.

The real problem isn't too many chips (a lot of the are pretty cheap like 50c to $1, the problem is order cancel to restart takes time. When you cancel order and other people are buying more chips to work from home, you either pay up to bump others off the priority or you wait. Nobody was complaining about too many chips until the pandemic, maybe they complain about the cost on high end models but not for cars in general.
 
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PWMDMD said:
What?! YES, the consumer! Maybe not YOU but the current products in the market ARE a reflection of what consumers want and are willing to pay for in their vehicles. If there was serious consumer pressure to simplify vehicle technology and reduce the number of processors then some manufacture would be pushing into that niche market and yet I don't see any commercials pitching the idea to forget all those other overly complicated vehicles and buy this simple technology-free vehicle.

Why? While the software in many infotainment systems is annoying and can be buggy, overall vehicle reliability has little to do with the electronics. Matter-of-fact, I can't think off the top of my head (I'm sure there are examples though) of ANY major catastrophic issues with any manufacturer that was due to a failure of the electronics but I can think of many cases where a catastrophic failure was due entirely to mechanical failure.
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Tesla made some mistake on the flash memory logging killed their control board, making their cars no longer drivable. That's a design mistake that they should not have made but can easily be fixed if they spend the time on it.
 
Snowflake White said:
To some degree this is true, but my real gripe is the EXCESSIVENESS of relying on complex technology and the expense involved,
I'm NOT against all chips or technology, some help like back when electronic fuel injection arrived on scene...and makes care MORE reliable, but most that arrived after OBDII has been a net negative in that regard.
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Do you prefer mechanical complexity or chemical complexity instead of software complexity? This is 2021, people prefer comfort, fuel economy, safety, and reliability and that would take complexity. Whether this is in a home or a car.

Maybe if you really want a simple life you can live in a tent and ride a horse, but that's not for most of the population in the US.
 
4WD said:
Prefer a manual crank for the driver but can’t reach the others, so power windows on 3 … build me that ! 😜
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No joke, I once had a friend who pull off a manual crank door from junkyard and install it on his crashed car. So yes he has 3 door electric and 1 door manual.
 
PandaBear said:
No joke, I once had a friend who pull off a manual crank door from junkyard and install it on his crashed car. So yes he has 3 door electric and 1 door manual.
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There were a few who worry about underwater escape … guess if I felt that way I could find a Jeep Sport (crank window) door for the Rubicon … but my water crossings tend to be within vehicle rating and not adjacent to deep water … We covered the reason for no power seats already …
 
I'm holding out for this:
 

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PandaBear said:
No joke, I once had a friend who pull off a manual crank door from junkyard and install it on his crashed car. So yes he has 3 door electric and 1 door manual.
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I'm thinking of doing that on a truck because the power windows are unreliable. Broken power windows are an extremely common problem, and I can't imagine why anyone would want something as unreliable as power windows.
 
The shortages will not end any time soon. The govt. will bail out the auto makers if needed.
 
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