When Indie Auto opened up its comment threads, I failed to “enable” that function on a few stories. That included, “What a simple modern car should look like.” So Kim Margosein used our contact form to offer his response to the article:
I would nominate the Ford Maverick here. It seems to be the last of the simple cars before mandatory gadgetry and near-mandatory options became the norm. I have no information on its sturdiness and reliability, though.
The article mentioned manual windows. Like air conditioning, this would be a problem. Electric windows and air conditioning seem to be standard on all cars now. I assume they are built in, not added on like back in the day, and well integrated into the structure of the vehicle. It would probably be an engineering headache to delete them, down to changes on the armrests, etc. Probably the best place to start looking would be in India and the former USSR.”
— Kim Margosein
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A lot of people claim to want simple cars but the question is, would they actually buy them? The Maverick was not too different from my ’70 Mustang coupe that I owned less than five years ago. It came equipped with the big 250 six,automatic, non assisted drum brakes, but with power steering. No a/c or power windows. To my modern sensibilities it was a penalty box of a car. Poor performance,fuel economy,poor ergonomics and comfort, and of course terrible safety features. It’s only saving grace was it’s styling.
I had bought a new F150 truck in 2007,to replace my old ’66 F250. It was a simple vehicle, V6 auto combo, with power steering and brakes and a/c. No electric windows,seats,locks,or cruise control. Base level seats that are very comfortable with a smooth ride and a quiet cabin. It had the rubber floor covering that I wanted! The chassis was very well designed with four wheel disc brakes with ABS,rack and pinion steering. I only miss cruise control, but not that much.
Now I just bought a very low mile ’17 Ford Flex. I tried to keep it simple. FWD only, no turbo Eco Boost system. Of course it has all power assists and features, including Nav, blue tooth connectivity Sat radio etc. It also has preset auto positioning of seats and pedals. The Lincoln version has self parking available, as well as adaptive cruise control.Luckily mine only has proximity key with remote start and of course push button stating on the dash. It’s got a lot of electronics, I bought the best extended warranty available to me 100,000 miles and remaining seven year bumper to bumper. I hope that it will cover any potential problems that may arise. There are no simple cars anymore.
The salesperson will tell you that the electronics are foolproof,sure!
How many laptops, phones and computers have you replaced within the last ten years?
It’s an interesting question as to whether a truly simple vehicle would sell. I would imagine that it would have the most potential during an economic downturn. There’s also the potential for the development of a “counter-culture” fad vehicle akin to the original VW Beetle.
In theory, I would be a good target for a simple vehicle. I still have a 1989 Honda Civic with a manual transmission, roll-up windows and no intermittent wipers. However, I also don’t buy new cars.
This is not a new question. Is there a viable market to support a new simple car or will the majority of those candidate buyer actually buy a more equipped used car? One can point to the manufacturers Certified Pre Owned programs to see that this is one solution that has been effectively used.
Going further, cost structures will enter into this consideration. The Koreans used the bottom end as their initial beach head. Then they moved up so they had additional attributes beyond lowest cost. Will this be what happen again when other countries (China would be a candidate) try to make their attack upon the US market?
For many buyers the answer is about making the financing side work. Make the terms so that the monthly payment (lease or purchase) is low enough that the actual purchase price is not the buyer determining factor.
I do believe that one of the lessons learned that changed the concept of long option lists to high standard features with limited options was the hidden cost, in addition to the specific component cost, of having all the alternative with/without matrix solutions – different parts, maintaining inventory, spare parts support, productionline manufacturing complexity.