Back to a simpler time

Jan. 1, 2020
When it comes to new vehicle sales, there are certain realities that affect those who make and sell the vehicles and those who repair and manufacture parts for them.

When it comes to new vehicle sales, there are certain realities that affect those who make and sell the vehicles and those who repair and manufacture parts for them. If you take a short trip back through history, you will remember that certain companies who are now “emerging” from bankruptcy attempted to prolong their fall by selling vehicles at a loss or offering loans that cost more to create than they generated in revenue because some morons — I mean boards of directors — valued units sold over being solvent and making a profit.

Back to those realities, I am encouraged to see that a sort of future-meets-past approach is starting to breach the surface of the automotive industry. Several months ago, I read in an industry publication about a great epiphany experienced by some auto manufacturers. This great realization was that yes, in fact, it is possible to be more profitable by implementing common components across a whole vehicle brand. And what’s more, having 150 different iterations of a single model of vehicle was really dumb and confusing to customers. Oh, and it was also expensive, too.

Somewhere inside this divination lies the cure for the 300,000-square-foot parts store that never has what you need in stock.

One of my favorite games to play with my friends who sell parts is “remember when.” It starts with, “Remember when one cap and rotor fit almost every V8 General Motors built?” Or, “Remember when oil was oil and the big argument was Valvoline or Pennzoil?”

I love how their eyes go all glassy as they reminisce about a 1,500-square-foot parts store that held all you needed to service vehicles, and the only time you needed a catalog was when the new models came out so you could make sure that they were still using the same oil filter they had used for the last 20 years.

Well, maybe our memories tend to overexaggerate a little. When I was in high school I worked in an import parts store that specialized in European cars. It was amazing how we always seemed to have what people needed. The only time we ran to the warehouse was to get more of something we ran out of or for a part for a car I’d never heard of. All that really started to change with the front-wheel drive vehicles. As rear-wheel drive and front-wheel drive platforms developed, the engineering differences led to very little interchange, and only recently has model engineering seemed to bow to components that are shared in more areas than just brake pads and a few oil filters.

Of course I am being facetious, mostly. Technology will continue to march on, oil and antifreeze will never be universal again, but corporate engine, transmission and control packages may again become a reality. Need proof?

Ford has trimmed F-150 packages to contain those most in demand by the majority of its customers, leaving the one-off customization to the aftermarket and its dealers. General Motors has jettisoned those brands that are not living up to its needs. While Pontiac built some of the coolest cars in the past, it has become known since the ’80s as the company most likely to turn a dependable Chevy product into a pimp-my-ride, electrical failure-prone product.
 
While it is sad in some respects to see some of these badges go away, the fact is that there are around 50 manufacturers out there today and around 23 of those are badge owned, recently sold or recently deceased by GM, Chrysler and Ford. The reduction of total North American vehicles built from around 13 million in 2008 to a little more than 10 million in 2009 is a reality I think we will live with for a while. I also think it will be at the forefront of efficiencies that will benefit the entire industry in the next decade.

About the Author

Donny Seyfer


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