Basic versus Bells and Whistles
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I have a question for you, if you could buy a car that came with all of the safety features that we expect of modern motor cars but did without all the unnecessary ‘bells and whistles’ and was 10 grand cheaper than it’s equivalent with all of the extra features, would you buy it?
Are we that obsessed with having the latest gadgets and gizmos in our vehicles or is it a case of simply buying what is available and putting up with the added costs of features that are not that important to us?
Sure you could just go out and buy a base model car if you didn’t want to pay for the extras, but to give you an example, listed below is the standard features of the 2008 VE Commodore Omega. I am not picking on the Commodore, it just happened to be the car I was researching before writing this post. Besides the numerous safety features this is what is fitted to the base model Omega;
- 6 Speaker Stereo - absolutely necessary?
- Aux Input in the Stereo - as above
- Body Coloured Bumpers - look nice, but as above
- CD Player - whats wrong with listening to the wireless?!
- Central Locking/Keyless Entry - what did we do before this? Oh that’s right, we had to lock and unlock the doors ourselves.
- Clear Indicator Lenses - woo hoo
- Cup Holders - for your beer? Ok, a handy item to have
- Drive By Wire or Electronic Throttle Control - absolutely necessary?
- Electric Drivers Seat - not absolutely necessary
- Light Sensitive Headlights - people with eye sight that bad should not be driving anyway
- Multi-Functional Illuminated Steering Wheel - ??
- Power Antenna - stops people breaking them off I guess
- Power Mirrors - nice but necessary?
- Front and Rear Power Windows - as above
- Speed Dependant Volume Stereo - !
- Speed Dependant Wipers - !
- Tachometer - have their uses but for everyday driving?
- Trip Computer - good for checking fuel consumption etc but not absolutely necessary
- Full Wheel Covers - oh yeah!
Ok so I am being a bit sarcastic there, but do you understand where I am coming from? This is a base model car, you can only go up in features and price from here. Perhaps the manufacturers see these features as necessary to keep up with the competition but you know who pays for it don’t you.
I do wonder how the car would be priced minus these features. As it is now the 2008 Omega has a RRP of $34,790. Of course there are heaps of cheaper new cars out there on the market, but what if you wanted a full size family car that has a good amount of power and liked the Commodore?
Please tell me if I am the only one that thinks this way or if there was an option would you prefer to keep some money in your pocket and do without the electric seat and multi-function illuminated steering wheel and the like?
