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What is strange is we have cars in 2016 that don't have power windows/locks/mirrors. Yes, I do find that strange. They tried to go bare bones and cheap but left in back-up camera and bluetooth.
These features should be standard on all cars and should go without saying. It's like having four wheels, yes it's standard. All cars should have four wheels. Why should you even ask. Same should go for power windows/lock/mirrors as well as AC (a bit hyperbole but you get my drift)
No I don't get your drift. There are cheap people out there that want to buy the cheapest p.o.s. they can get...like a base model Versa. Obviously anyone looking at any Versa wants a cheap vehicle. if you want power windows/locks/mirrors, ya gots ta pay. pretty straight forward Nikon.
But back then there were less options. How many options can a car have these days? From safety, convenience, power, etc there are a myriad of options it would substantially raise the price of modern cars.
Just a quick rundown of what possible options a modern car could have:
Power everything (seats, windows, locks, mirrors, liftgate, brake assist)
Memory seats
Heated/Ventilated seats, steering wheels
Cruise control
Radar cruise control
Lane keep assist
Blind spot monitoring
Automatic rear sun shade
Rain sensing wipers
Headlight washers
Heads up displays (HUD)
Audio sound systems (basic to 18+ speaker systems)
Navigation
Backup camera
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi hotspots
LED/HID headlights
Foglights
Parking sensors
Panoramic sunroof
etc.
I'm probably missing a bunch more but you get the idea. You want to tell me giving the customer options to check/uncheck any and or all the options above won't substantially raise the per unit price of that model car?
Now "package" them and you trim it down to 3-4 options and it becomes more feasible and still gives customer a sense of options.
Is it me or does this just seem like a first world issue? All I will say is directly about the question or concern at hand, is companies are always looking to make a profit. This was explained better in previous comments and also companies listen to the majority of people's wants. Majority of people want power locks and windows. If enough people disliked power locks and windows they would probably offer manual windows and manual locks throughout more cars.
My daughter went to buy a Spark. She wanted power windows and door locks. To get that (or some other thing she wanted), she had to get a package with an upgraded stereo and some other things. After adding the option package, the salesperson pointed out she was now at or near the price of the Sonic which is a better car and comes with those things for the base price, is larger, has a bigger engine but gets nearly the same MPG, and is better made (or maybe it was a cruze). My daughter still decided to stick with the spark because it was so little it would be easy to park plus it was cuter than the other one. Plus kids buying cars, seem to latch onto one car and even when something else is clearly a better option, they will not change. (giving her her due, I think there was some other semi-logical reason to stick with spark that I do not remember, it just did not make a lot of sense to me at the time, but it is her decision I am just supposed to cheer her along and negotiate a free spare key. - and - in the long haul - it has turned out to be an ideal car for her, so it was a good decision after all (so far). If it were my call, I she would have learned to drive manual, and had no electric anything. For a first car and buying new at the bottom end of the spectrum, to me the most critical thing is a short loan term so you car can outlast your payments. Lucky for her, it was not up to me.
One thing that annoyed the pee out of me was that I wanted a Chevy truck with a sunroof but I could not get it unless I got a package with bucket seats (which i did not want) and a bunch of other costly options I did not want. (I think it may have been an avalanche, I do not remember with certainty). Since I could not get what I wanted, I got nothing. Eventually I found a used Ram with a sunroof and bench seats. However the sunroof promptly broke (it is a Chrysler after all). That drives me nuts. Options should be a la carte. Why do I have to get a bunch of junk I do not want in order to get one thing I do want?
Admittedly I haven't read all the comments, but am I the only one who prefers the crank-up windows to the electric type?
This was also my stepfather's preference, which he shared with me many years ago. His point was that crank windows are so simple that the mechanism rarely breaks, while electric windows are the opposite.
A light bulb moment He was right. (He knew a bit about the way things work, my stepdad.) It's happened to me a bunch of times (I have the habit of driving old pieces of junk, due to financial eccentricities &/or insufficiencies) - sometimes at very inconvenient moments, not that there's ever a good time to have a car window stuck in some random, unwanted position.
It was always the automatic windows that broke. The crank windows never broke (and I've had several, because I seek them out when I can, though it's not always available nowadays - similar to how a "standard" transmission isn't so easy to find anymore).
Anyway if the crank window does break, you could simply pry off the inside door panel cover and do something to it with a wrench - maybe not make the handle work exactly as it should (if the gear was stripped or whatever) but you'd be able at least to turn the window up or down with a wrench, because it's a very simple mechanism. All you need is a wrench. And maybe a drop of oil, it's cool to have 3-in-1 oil in the little can with the tiny red top that squirts it but really any kind of oil will do for this purpose. People might look at you funny if they notice you pouring olive oil into the car door but that's just their ignorance showing.
So yeah, I mean you can use vegetable oil in a case like this, where it's only a drop or so to get something loose. I'm not recommending using vegetable oil for engine oil so if you decide to do that, don't blame it on me. (One day, all our current petroleum products will probably be replaced by field-grown oil though, I think.... all, or most. Sustainable all around.)
Last edited by Claudia Dare; 06-22-2016 at 04:55 PM..
Reason: Having remembered the formerly forgotten detail, to add it into the comment.
The first one only uses animations in their videos to demonstrate how it works. I’m skeptical of a cheap device, made by a manufacturer who can’t take it to a junk yard to show how it really works.
Yes, you can break your way out of a car if you know what you are doing and if you have the right tools (I’m not convinced that those are the right tools). But anyway, you shouldn't really have to carry tools to break out of your own car.
While driving, I like to be able to open and close windows other than mine.
I could do that with my last car. On the highway I could reach across and roll down the passenger window while driving. In traffic, I could do it while stopped at a red light. I think you are stretching to find an advantage to automatic windows. The only advantage I can see for them is to promote laziness. But there is nothing wrong with that. I’m lazy, I enjoy my automatic windows too.
How else do you think they get to certain price points? By cutting equipment.
It’s not about cutting price. As others have pointed out, the manufacturers actually save money by making features standard. It’s about nickel-and-diming consumers for things that should be standard.
My daughter went to buy a Spark. She wanted power windows and door locks. To get that (or some other thing she wanted), she had to get a package with an upgraded stereo and some other things. After adding the option package, the salesperson pointed out she was now at or near the price of the Sonic which is a better car and comes with those things for the base price, is larger, has a bigger engine but gets nearly the same MPG, and is better made (or maybe it was a cruze). My daughter still decided to stick with the spark because it was so little it would be easy to park plus it was cuter than the other one. Plus kids buying cars, seem to latch onto one car and even when something else is clearly a better option, they will not change. (giving her her due, I think there was some other semi-logical reason to stick with spark that I do not remember, it just did not make a lot of sense to me at the time, but it is her decision I am just supposed to cheer her along and negotiate a free spare key. - and - in the long haul - it has turned out to be an ideal car for her, so it was a good decision after all (so far). If it were my call, I she would have learned to drive manual, and had no electric anything. For a first car and buying new at the bottom end of the spectrum, to me the most critical thing is a short loan term so you car can outlast your payments. Lucky for her, it was not up to me.
One thing that annoyed the pee out of me was that I wanted a Chevy truck with a sunroof but I could not get it unless I got a package with bucket seats (which i did not want) and a bunch of other costly options I did not want. (I think it may have been an avalanche, I do not remember with certainty). Since I could not get what I wanted, I got nothing. Eventually I found a used Ram with a sunroof and bench seats. However the sunroof promptly broke (it is a Chrysler after all). That drives me nuts. Options should be a la carte. Why do I have to get a bunch of junk I do not want in order to get one thing I do want?
Are you saying you would support Chrysler's decision to make a spare tire an option as they did on my 2015 van? It will cost me $300 to get one now, ten months after I bought it, thinking that it was included. I do agree when talking about power windows. I mean that we should be able to choose if we want it or not.
I remember my mom bought a brand new Honda in the mid 90's and even the radio was an option, lol. Times have certainly changed.
I bought a Mazda B2000 long-bed pick-up in 1987 and did not get one extra option, so I didn't have a radio for over 13-1/2 years. I didn't even miss the radio, but I sure had a blast with that truck!
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He was right. (He knew a bit about the way things work, my stepdad.) It's happened to me a bunch of times (I have the habit of driving old pieces of junk, due to financial eccentricities &/or insufficiencies) - sometimes at very inconvenient moments, not that there's ever a good time to have a car window stuck in some random, unwanted position.
