[Big Dave]

All the talk about the proposed bailout of the Detroit Three says they need to build cars Americans want. Everyone seems to think The only thing that will sell is some sort of Prius clone. I don’t buy that.

I think the Detroit three need to make changes so they can make a workable profit off a stripper – a bare-bones, plain-jane car. Minimal options. Basic transportation at low price.

When I was a kid my father bought such a car. A 1962 Chevy Biscayne. A 250 six-cylinder engine with a Rochester one-barrel. A three on the tree. No A/C. Vinyl upholstery. A Delco AM radio. Roll-up windows. An enormous trunk. No power brakes or steering. As I recall, it cost about $1,800 at the time. As with most cars of the time, maybe 20 MPG, tops. Carried a family of five with room to spare.

I don’t think they make anything quite like that now. If they did, they’d lose their shirts on it. With their current legacy cost burden, the Detroit Three have to get a minimum of $30,000 for a car to make any working profit. Hence they advertise the bejeebers out of their upscale stuff.

You can buy a car that is somewhat like that old 62 Biscayne, although I don’t think it is up to the standards of the old Biscayne. You can get a Kia Rio base sedan for about $11,500 sticker. A 1.6 liter 4 cylinder stick shift. No A/C. Very cheesy sheet metal. Will hold four midgets and five if one is an infant. Not overly impressive gas mileage for such a little car - about 33 MPG highway. Rios sell briskly. Must be a lot of midgets out there.

Yeah, the Tahoes and Escalades have to become niche vehicles again and not GM’s bread and butter vehicles.

What would today’s version of that old Biscayne look like?

Not as big outside as that old chromium bulldozer but something about the size of a Pontiac G8. (Physical size does not much affect vehicle manufacturing cost). Big enough to carry two adults and three teenagers. A big trunk. Make it front-engine, rear drive. You still cannot beat the old Carden drive scheme for ease of manufacture. Use the GM 2.0 liter EcoTech engine with a five speed manual. “2-70” air conditioning. Roll-up windows, manual door locks. (Let the Chinese keep their permanent magnet devices). You’d need power brakes – discs need power assist. Gotta have the air bags to satisfy Uncle Sam. No navigation. No built-in DVD player. In fact, minimal electronics. Vinyl interior. Minimal chrome (chrome has gotten expensive). What you do is to emulate the Scion and make it easy for the customer to hang aftermarket goodies on it as he/she can afford it. Make it a bit more sturdy than a Kia Rio. Try to get it built under 2,800 lb curb weight. Sell it for $15,000 sticker. They’d fly off the lots.

Could the Detroit Three make a decent profit on such a car? Maybe a demostrated ability to build such a car for $15,000 and make a workable per-unit profit should be a condition of bailout money.

It is an axiom of the car biz that any knucklehead can build a Ferrari if he throws enough money at it. It takes a genius to build a Model T or the original VW Beetle.