The problem with new cars is they’re too good for their own good. Well, too good for the car companies trying to sell new cars.
Rust has become almost a non-problem. Reliability is a given.
The internal combustion engine has been refined to near perfection; the huge gains made in the past – from flatheads to overhead valves, from carburetors to fuel injection – are no longer being made.
Hard-starting/stalling, hesitation and surge – these are things which haven’t been “features” in new cars for at least 25 years.
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All new cars are largely maintenance-free for the first several years of driving. Most will run for 12-15 years before anything major requires repair. This has been true since at least the early 2000s – almost 20 years ago.
It’s been hard to buy a new car without standard air conditioning since Bill Clinton was president.
It is not possible today.
Power accessories which were regarded as luxuries once upon a time – e.g., cruise control, intermittent windshield wipers, climate control AC and electric seats – are commonplace and generally standard equipment in most new cars and have been for at least the past five years.
Power windows and locks are givens.
Every new car has a pretty good stereo system – included. Most offer a very good one.
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No great strides in functionality, reliability or even luxury are happening anymore – as was routine and expected when a buyer went new car shopping for most of the past 100 years. What’s the difference – in meaningful terms – between a 2015 and 2020 car?
Not much – other than the price, of course.
Which probably explains why it’s getting harder to sell the newest ones.
So how to sell them?
Gimmicks!
Electrify everything – including things that probably shouldn’t be.
