Why does everything need to be "all new"?
Discussion
Not for the first time on reading a Lotus thread, I hear people talking about the age of the basic Elise design. Aston Martin threads often bang on about how everything is still based on the VH platform and it needs to be replaced with something new or whatever, so that the next car is not simply a refined version of something older, and it's pretty much unthinkable that something like a Focus or a three series would go further than a midlife facelift without a pretty serius redesign.
Taking the Elise as an example- it's extruded aluminium chassis may be 90's tech now, but it is what it is, and still allows for a light rigid car. If they replaced it with a clean sheet design, how much better would it actually be? Surely there's a massive case of diminishing returns for something like this.
So is our apparent dislike of evolved/older platforms based on some kind of objectivity about what is currently possible, or is it some kind of marketing thing, where we don't want to buy an expensive car if it is too similar to one that someone else can buy for less money (IE: used).
Was it always like this or did it start in the GM days?
Taking the Elise as an example- it's extruded aluminium chassis may be 90's tech now, but it is what it is, and still allows for a light rigid car. If they replaced it with a clean sheet design, how much better would it actually be? Surely there's a massive case of diminishing returns for something like this.
So is our apparent dislike of evolved/older platforms based on some kind of objectivity about what is currently possible, or is it some kind of marketing thing, where we don't want to buy an expensive car if it is too similar to one that someone else can buy for less money (IE: used).
Was it always like this or did it start in the GM days?
Edited by glazbagun on Sunday 18th January 00:24
A few things really. There are technical reasons, like pedestrian impact regulations and new drivetrains, but mainly it's because new cars sell more.
If you've got an Aston DB9 and use it for 2,000 miles a year, even a 10 year old car is barely run in. You've got a personal plate on it so nobody knows that it's 10 years old, so what's the point of buying a new DB9 that looks exactly the same? None at all really, especially if you only bought it for posing in.
If Aston come out with a radically new car, then a lot of people who have bought previously will want to upgrade.
If you've got an Aston DB9 and use it for 2,000 miles a year, even a 10 year old car is barely run in. You've got a personal plate on it so nobody knows that it's 10 years old, so what's the point of buying a new DB9 that looks exactly the same? None at all really, especially if you only bought it for posing in.
If Aston come out with a radically new car, then a lot of people who have bought previously will want to upgrade.
The phrase "all new" in automotive terms is usually a total lie. I've seen all sorts of facelifts and small technical revisions referred to as "all new" when it's an obvious lie to any half informed observer. People also like novelty and new things - see the music industry, fashion, interior design. Old gets boring I suppose, we want something new and exciting and different.
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