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Build-to-Order Cars?
MadMonk writes "Baseline has an article about a new car company that wants to be 'the Dell of the auto industry.' Build-To-Order, Inc. could turn the auto industry on its ear. At worst, BTO will be an interesting technology petri dish. I want a customized car to match my customized computer."
If I recall correctly, GM has already had designs in the works for an electric car that would be built on top of a "skateboard", basically a car base with batteries and electronics all built in. You could pop any shell/interior top onto that base. The idea was that you spent the big bucks on the base, and then spend your fashion dollars on a new top from year to year. In fact, an aftermarket was envisioned for custom, made to order, modularized, pop-together tops for the base.
*** *** You're just jealous 'cause the voices talk to me... ***
The current auto manufactureres are already the "Dell of automobiles." They give you a selection of options (color, radio, interior, etc.) and you can choose what you want. If you want something for which they don't have a configuration then you don't get it (go ahead and try to get a real Windows CD from Dell, I dare you) or it costs you more than it should.
The dogcow says "Moof!"
All Mini Cooper models are built to order. I toured the production plant in Oxford England recently. 100% just-in-time manufacturing process. You'll have a blue British spec followed by a yellow North American spec followed by another color Japanese spec, etc. Of the hundreds of cars in the plant at the time NONE of them were exactly the same as mine and probably not as each other.
Now, if this guy has the same 280 Million British Pounds to invest in building a plant (as was done by BMW group for the Mini), more power to him. I doubt he realizes what he's really getting into. Probably trying to build hype in the media to attract the investors he needs for such a project.
Do really dense people warp space more than others?
Option bundling is because of the imports. When you're shipping a car from Germany or Japan to the USA, you're gonna have to wait a while for them to build you a car to your specs. So the imports got into the habit of offering two or three option packages, then building cars with those packages in all possible color combos. Then, if one dealer didn't have the package you wanted in the color you wanted, probably another dealer in the area did. The domestic makers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) picked up on this because it's what the public wanted. Most people want their car NOW, not in 4 to 6 weeks, and they're willing to take fog lights to get the sunroof.
I don't see how this company is going to overcome the public's desire for instant gratification. Pick a car, drive it home today.
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
http://www.btoauto.com/
It would have been nice to see exactly what the article was talking about, by linking to it in the summary...you know, because this is slashdot.
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
I know that all large European car makers are doing this already. My VW Golf that I bought last year was custom made, as are most VW's that you buy. You have 4 basic trims (Base, Comfortline, Highline and Trendline) and you can add options, features, colors (inside and outside), fabrics, ... like you wish. These trim levels are even not decided by VW, but by the importer in each country. A Base model in Belgium does not have traction control, in Germany that is standard on all Golf's.
Only very few cars of the VW/Audi group are built by order of the factory, and most of these company ordered cars end up in the showroom to give the public a general idea of what is available. Often you get even a discount on those models because they are not 100% configured to your own wishes....
Volkswagen has a "car configurator" on their website that can make thousands of possible Golf configurations.
Do you really mean you cannot order your own car in the USA? I'm stunned... I thought buying stock cars was almost impossible these days...
The current auto manufactureres are already the "Dell of automobiles." They give you a selection of options (color, radio, interior, etc.) and you can choose what you want. If you want something for which they don't have a configuration then you don't get it
The difference is that if you don't want something that they do have, then the unwanted car will be standing, and potentially sold at a discount (whereas the unwanted Dell is never built). The losses from the unwanted cars are passed on to the consumer, in the price of the popular varieties.
Tor