Re: Detroit makes great stuff

If you did a search of Delorian and the Fiero you would know GM management did not believe there was a profitable market in the US for a small sporty car. Delorian knew that was how they felt. He sold the Fiery to management as a small low cost commuter car. GM was right, it never sold well enough as designed. The later investment to make it a true sporty car by offering the V6 and a higher price, resulted in even fewer sales. NO two seater car has even sold well in the US, foreign or domestic. Toyota continues to offer the same S2000 for ten years but it sells for $36,000 in order to make money at its sales volume. On other hand the Miata that sells a rate thee times that of the S2000 sells for $10,000 dollar less and that includes a metal convertible top not cloth like the S2000 The only exception was the Corvette and the T-Bird. T-Bird sold well as a sporty RWD car for three years but it sold more than twice as many when it was changed to a four passenger car and far outsold any Corvette ever. Economies of scale is what makes it possible to offer a lot of car for a relative little amount of money. It is the profits of high volume cars that keeps the price down on low volume cars for a manufacturer. If you have trouble understanding economies of scale on the cost of cars, go price a forklift.

It does not cost Ford much more than a few thousand dollars more to make the T-Car than the CV/GM but it sells for $25,000 more. If not for the T-Car the CV would have to be sold for $10,000 more.

The same if true for Toyota and Lexus or any other manufacturer. Surly you don't think a Ferrari is worth 200K.. Ford recently offered the Ford 500 for only three years, at 130K because they planed to make a sell 1,500 to

1,800 a year, that is more than Ferraris sells to ten years

mike

"Brent P" wrote in message news:ErGdne4-ad5lzY3bnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

In article , Scott en Aztlán > wrote: >> said in rec.autos.driving: >> >>> >>>"Brent P" wrote in message >>>news:3_SdnfrMXI3kqI3bnZ2dnUVZ_o snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com... >>>> In article , >>> snipped-for-privacy@nospam.nix wrote: >>>> >>>> > If there really ARE quality engineers, they have not made their case >>>> > with management,and GM has not made its case with the consumer. >>>> >>>> Find the story of the Fiero's development. That will tell you what >>>> engineers have to deal with and how their great ideas get turned to >>>> crap. >>> >>>I owned one...bought a new one in 1984....GM is seen with one face... >>>Regardless of the engineering challenge, this was bad situation. And, in >>>fact, the Fiero could have been a spectacular little car.. > >> Didn't they just about get everything right immediately before they >> stopped making them? > > Because management doesn't see their stupid ideas as stupid until they > crash and burn. Once the cars were burning at the side of the road, the > engineers got to implement corrective action to solve the problems. Then > the car became pretty much what they wanted it to be in the first place. > Of course the name was ruined by then and it was probably too expensive > to build. > > The 'engineering challenge' of the fiero was the penny-pinching ground > rules set by mangement and the management bonus structure that made it > better for them to make crap. The story is a very sad one. > >
Reply to
Mike Hunter
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It will be interesting to see how the Saturn and Pontiac 2-seaters sell.

Toyota continues to

The S2000 is a Honda.

Reply to
Ray O

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