I think you would need to start as a cross between a sheetmetal & a body shop. The things you can do with an english wheel & a bead roller would astound you. Do one off custom work until you get templets & tooling for different models & years of cars. Once you have tooling you can make items for the shelves. Requests will tell you which vehicles are the most popular.
I would guess cars people buy for fuel economy in the first place & trucks/SUV's would be popular.
Whatever you sell will not only have to works & fits well, as well as look decent. People may make something that looks like they made it themselves, but they won't buy it. Body color matching would make them go over better.
Grille blocks
Wheel skirts
Modular Undertrays
Aero truck caps that open
Soft aero tonneau covers
Short Kammbacks (for flow seperation really) for SUVs
I think that you should consider cars which have a large installed base of current drivers - example, Ford Escorts (I have a LX, am considering making parts for it) - I don't expect to make a fortune off this project.
The more of em there are out there on the road, the more potential customer base - making parts for an Insight is to me sort of mad - only 18k were made!
The more common the vehicle the better the possibility of sales - and the more wasteful the current beastie is, the more room for improvement.
You need a vehicle to 'experiment' on - I would think that it would be cool to do a freebie 'prototype' for a friend, in order to have their vehicle as a 'model' for new molds/parts.
More to the Point, your question seems to reduce to :
1) What would Sell Most (Bang for the Buck analysis - most mileage return for least expense and effort, and least sales resistance (ugly factor))
2) What vehicle to try first?
the jeep - '02 nissan kingcab Last 3: 29.07 mpg (US)
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do you think it can actually be worth to make such items? you can suppose that people that are willing to buy things to mount themselves, will probably be the kind that tries to make the more easy stuff themselves (unless you can make them verry cheap and professional looking). so the largest market would be in the more complex things, and the things that are visible( so people want things that look factory built). and there comes the problem; complexity and production time. ask any bodyworker to make you some wheelskirts for your car, painted and ready to mount. hell say "come back in a few days and bring a handfull of 100 dollar bills with you.
seems unlikely that such things can be handmade for a reasonable price. that is if you want to earn something on it.
the material cost of some of these projects alone is oftenly and in these kind of branches the material cost usually only represents 10-20% of the total cost.
Good points. No, I do not expect this to be a practical exercise, except in frustration. Perhaps make some generic little tweaks, which can be assembled or otherwise mounted.
Kammback (attaching with magnetic sign material). Smooth plastic wheel covers.
Who cares what you make? Look at the ads on this site. Quality doesn't sell products, BS advertising does. Sell a piece of tape that you hang from your rear bumper and claim it gives 15mpg increase for 100 dollars on sale for 50.
If you actually want to benefit the world - Three factors to consider
1) What demographic of car buyer wants to mod their car? (civic, scions, cobalts)
2) What vehicles can most easily be helped (full size pickup trucks, mom-mobile land-yachts)
3) What vehicles are most highly produced for the biggest possible market
It strikes me that dodge pickup truck owners like to be in the mod crowd more so than the other pickup trucks (gmc, ford, etc used for work) and there are plenty on the road.
BUT with pickup trucks, you haev to be very careful. If a truck owner doesn't think that the mod will make people believe that their manhood is larger than it is, they won't buy it. The poor reviews given to Bondo's bed cap are a clear example of that. So are "truck nuts".
Maybe a lip/skirt/diffuser kit and an airbag kit so they can lower the truck for aero or raise it to tow. Add a full belly pan and then maybe extend into taller final drive ratios.
MazdaMatt; I agree wholeheartedly with what your saying. The problem is that personally I can't get excited over pickup trucks. Never have. Just a personal preference thing. Whenever I see a 4x4 all jacked up with huge knobby tires, chrome tube brush guards, and twin 8" exhaust stacks sticking up behind the cab, I mutter under my breath, "Sorry about your penis."
the jeep - '02 nissan kingcab Last 3: 29.07 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango Charlie
The problem is that personally I can't get excited over pickup trucks. Never have. Just a personal preference thing. Whenever I see a 4x4 all jacked up with huge knobby tires, chrome tube brush guards, and twin 8" exhaust stacks sticking up behind the cab, I mutter under my breath, "Sorry about your penis."
yup, forget about those guys. but if your goal is also to help the global problem somewhat then you should aim for the least efficient vehicles or the ones with worst earo. if you save 1 pickup 10% fuel, it would save as much fuel as when you save 4 smaller cars 10% fuel each.
people or companies that use these for work may be alot more interested in saving fuel. plus you have the "look we are doing something" marketing effect that they could use.
I'd make one of those"Honey,I shrunk the kids!" kinda devices.When you were ready to travel,you zap the car,reduce it's frontal area to a couple square inches 'n off you go! Works on all vehicles.Texas Aggies say the miles will get smaller too and cancel the gain.Would ya thunk it?------------------- Maybe Jeep Wrangler and CJ.Complete nose piece,wheel/fender gap fillers,belly,replacement curved windshield and frame,rocker panel extensions,wheelcovers,tapered hardtop roof,and hinge fairings.At 16-mpg they can use the help.
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and in these kind of branches the material cost usually only represents 10-20% of the total cost.
