Featured Why the auto industry is in trouble

ABS and Airbags, like early air con or power assisted steering, always followed the path according with implementation costs. First high end trims/models, 10-15 years later then medium level cars, and some still lack some of those equiments (see Indian/chinese markets).
All-software cars are possible "mainstream" some years away...
I would never call this adaptation a "trouble".

 

What is the over/under on how long until orenji comes on this thread and says how Tesla is worthless and that 100 years of innovation is worth far more than what Tesla is doing?

 

So car sales are bad because nobody wants Detroit ICE cars now, everyone saving up for a Tesla?

 

The sharing economy has to be at least partially (no matter how small) to blame for the lower car sales.

 

Not sure of detailed history of ABS, but I would comment on three innovations that were fought tooth and nail by Detroit's Big Three during my lifetime. In all three cases, my memory is that Federal legislation and regulation had to be brought to bear to force the change :
1. Seat belts : Already in the 1960s there was clear + evidence of effectiveness, but refusal of Big to install them as standard equipment. On my 1960 Chevy Impala, I ended up buying the bloody belts , drilling holes in the strongest part of the floor pan behind the front seats that I could find, and installing them myself. When Big 3 were forced to install seat belts, they left them as a tangled mess that they derisively called "spaghetti " rather than use Volvo's proven 3-point lap and shoulder belt system, so for 10 years I bought Volvos.
2. Rear middle auxiliary brake light: After fleet studies showed clear benefits in reducing rear end collisions and Congress was considering mandating them , the Big 3 testified that it would cost hundreds of dollars per car to install these. I bought a kit for 20 dollars that included the 3rd brake light and two electrical connectors that ensured the light came on only with braking and not for turn signal use , and installed in on our 1964 Valiant in less than 15 minutes.
3. GM developed and tested airbags in the 1960s, but then the Big 3 refused to install them as standard equipment until the "passive restraint" laws were passed in the late 1970s (?). Even then, Chrysler put a horrendously awkward automatic belt system in instead of an airbag because it was cheaper, even though they had to know the system was so bad that moat drivers would disconnect the moving shoulder belt.
So, I have to agree with the OP that the American companies, at least, fight every real innovation, and instead have played games with styling changes and rinky-dink innovations like "flexi-fuel" vehicles that have no discernible merit.

 

Except that in the U.S., the great majority of cars got the airbags in one fell swoop, by government mandate.

 

US automakers seem to be in a different era now though, don't you think ? (not the same old we/they adversarial game like the air bag fights of yesteryear). The automakers have pretty much gone along with the CAFE proposals, more or less following the "if you can't beat 'em (EPA), join 'em..." philosophy. Unfortunately the public is not committing to the lifestyle change request as yet. Actually some are, but the request is a large sea change in a short time frame.

Com' on this article is just click bait by a dis-ICE-chanted EVangelist. I am looking to invest in FORD any day now (fixed income bonds maybe).

 

just wait until mercedes ev comes out, tesla will be eating their dust...

 

you forgot some of the other industry fights - padded dash - catalytic converter - abolish solid steering columns that would punch a shaft through your chest on impact - unleaded gas - side and windshield safety glass, instead of that stuff that would shred you like a cheese grater. That's just off the top of my head. Even modernly - as Honda shows benefits of corner crash crumple zones being important, the industry begins to fight tooth-and-nail to not regulate that as part of a higher standard. Nothing new Under the Sun. Status quo at all costs.
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I suspect there are several answers to the problems facing the auto industry. First, remember that last year was a good year for the industry.
Second, at least here in the USA, we face an uncertain future in 2017 politically. Regardless of what the administration says, the economy is not robust. There are a lot of underemployed people ... and wages have not increased for many. A new car is out of the range of many, and/or is not the highest priority for even more.

Maybe more important however, .... cars last for 100, 200 and even 300,000 miles without major repairs. Most people do not buy a new car because the old has worn-out. My point is, I suppose many, if not most instances, at least with anyone that can afford it, new cars are bought because auto enthusiast see a new model and want it. SUV's sell because of increases on the family, and here in the west, trucks are a necessity on the farm. Gas is reasonable, and trucks are needed to haul recreational vehicles as well. Now on PC, many say they don't care what it looks like .... many of those will not go into debt to purchase a new car if the old one is still serviceable and dependable.

Regarding the Prius ..... everyone will have a different opinion on my last point. That's okay ... we are all entitled to our opinions, but I suspect (too early to know for sure) the Ioniq and it's three variations, will take market share from the Prius. Many will favor it's looks, as I do .... and it is said to include many commendable features. It will all come down to the cost, quality, value for the 'buck' and drivability. The Volt has reportedly sold over 100,000 vehicles. Many will view it's 50 + mile EV range favorably. And Tesla ... I'd buy one if I could afford one. My brother has one and he cannot stop telling me that it is the finest car he has ever owned.

 

wow! how did you possibly manage to bring your ionique argument into this thread? you're a magician, that was amazing!

 

Zero interest in the banks?

 

ya, that's one possibility. but still, the cash injection has to come from somewhere.

 

I did mention the Volt and the Tesla as well.

 

Ironic Ioniq

 

We LOVE our 48v electric - so what if it only will do 10 knots, and takes 12 hours to recharge.


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and of course, mercedes is coming. ev, and snootiness. how can you go wrong?

 

I don't know, where some see trouble or failure.....well...not to sound too much like a self help book, but I see opportunity.
The Auto Industry is extremely competitive, but has the foundation of being a market in which people want the product, and for most people their automobile(s) are their most expensive investment outside of their house.

Which means to me? The Auto Industry can never really be in too much trouble.
If you fail? It's because you didn't learn from what is happening.

I do sense a change, from my generation and previous, to the younger and new generation.
That is, even as a young child, I grew up when "Automobiles" were sold primarily as "Automobiles". By that I mean a vehicles primary allure, was getting you from point A to point B. Style, Engine Power, and what today would be considered bare bone "luxuries" were about the only minutia within the industry. My Grandfather paid "extra" for an.........AM radio, in a 67 Mustang.

Obviously we've come a long, long way since then.

I read threads here, and elsewhere, where buyers or potential buyers are making decisions about vehicle choices based on technology available within the vehicle and the "infotainment" package. The vehicle itself has become simply the "moving" foundation for the environment the driver wants to surround himself with.
Maybe that change has been in play for quite a while. But it does represent a change in thinking.
My parents, and most of my generation the "technology" was NOT the primary allure of a vehicle. There were not the alternatives available today in the form of Hybrids and Electric vehicles, and there also wasn't the foundation for the technology that exists today in the form of cell phone interface, and blue tooth connectivity, and the expectation that your vehicle should also be a moving hub that supports that environment.

When my parents shopped for a vehicle, their concerns were "gas mileage"....gas shortages of the 70's, but beyond that? The actual "tin" itself. Utility and Comfort.
Today? A vehicle is expected to be a "technological solution"...The utility and comfort, have nearly taken a fold down back-seat, to the available technology.

It is however always a dance between all elements. I find it interesting that there was a huge cry of failure, when it was revealed the back-seat, center console in the Prius Prime did NOT fold up. Which I offer as an example of when you may have great technology...but if you fail in the fundamentals of ergonomics and utility, still be labeled as failing.