So why do you think there are no cheap basic cars being sold new?

[jcp123]

I wouldn't mind that. My ideal car is pretty much what the OP listed, if you think of the special-order drag cars from the 60s then you'll get some sense of what I'd like - not even carpet or radio, I'd have to be convinced to even have a heater in it. An even better example are the period hot rods, stripped of anything which didn't make the car move forward faster. I really just don't care for all the fluff and crap in cars these days - granted it is not adding much unit cost at the volume in which touchscreens and power window motors and such are ordered at the OEM level, but down the road it adds maintenance costs. I'm just not interested in the "goodies".

Much of this philosophy will spill over into the Chevy wagon I'd like to build, though for the sake of using it as a family vehicle I'd likely retain the heater and add ac as well.

This is a subject I could go on an on about - when words like "old" "low-tech" are considered pejorative, it just makes me roll my eyes.

[user removed]

9-83 bought a CRX 1.5 new for $7000. No ac, in fact it had power brakes and probably didn't need them. No radio, nothing.

32 years later I pay $12.6 k for my Mirage, all kinds of options, cd player, climate control, power steering, brakes, windows, mirrors. It's just not worth it to build a stripper anymore.

regards
mech

[freebeard]

Doors? With roll-up windows? Hah!

[niky]

I've always wanted to try out a Manx.

-

Here's a modern one:
Sand Reeper 4x4 by Oreion Motors-STREET LEGAL YELLOW | Oreion Motors | UTVS | tobefast.com

Unfortunately, they're asking more money for it than it's worth.

[mcrews]

so we know that labor cost are in the $2,200 -2,500 range from an earlier post.
Here is a quote from an article I saw today avout the Ford F-150 truck sales.
THis quote was towards the end of the article, the quote referes to andaverage per vehicle produced, not just the trucks
"Ford cut spending on marketing promotions per vehicle 16 percent in this year’s first half to an average $2,736, according to Autodata, which found smaller increases by General Motors Co. to $3,427 and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to $3,277."

When you talk about making and selling things, many people have no idea what the true costs are to bring an item to market. Especially in the manufacturing end.
Claiming 'they can use an older model where all the design cost are already covered" ignores how companies work. Each item/vehicle produced has to carry it's share of existing overhead costs.

[freebeard]

True that. Which is why I think Local Motors business model is disruptive.

Edit: inrekor™ | ultra lightweight sandwich panel technology. They promise:

• lightweight solutions
• design flexibility
• rapid prototyping
• low investment

Introduced to Ecomodder by Giovanni LiCalsi on 20140108 (and he hasn't posted since 2014050); their website is still alive, but Google News shows no news since 2011. They show a replacement chassis for the Atalanta a retro-revival marque in UK, but their Wikipedia page claims none shipped and an hand-beaten aluminum body over an ash frame. (Whoa.) Maybe they made that gas tank for Aston Martin.

Inrekor starts to sound like another Elio, but there exists at least one Chesil Speedster 356 clone on a composite flat-pack floorpan. As a proof of concept.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

you're never going to convince people to buy cheap crap that's too small when they have the choice of buying cheap crap that's simply old

Sure. In many situations, said "cheap" car would be the only one for the entire household, then it must fulfill all the needs of its users. Otherwise even a low-displacement motorcycle with a sidecar could still be equally either useful or useless (and cheaper anyway)

[Grant-53]

The car could not be sold at a profit and most people are accustomed to more sophisticated vehicles. The best new vehicle at that price would be a scooter or motorcycle with full fairing.

[Xist]

Smegway with a full fairing!

[samwichse]

Originally Posted by ThePrudentNinja

Never seen a $20K vehicle sell for $5K within a few years.

Clearly you've never owned or bought a Fiat-Chrysler product .

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...788108031.html

10k new, 5 years (6?) later and $4k.

I just picked up a Fiat 500 Abarth that was $28k new optioned out. Paid $8200.

Sam