Manufacturers cost conciousness
Quote:
Originally Posted by drivesafe
I think you may mean oldest electric car in Australia ( ? ) or Mr Doring’s father would have to have been a very old man because mass produced electric cars, NOTE NOT the first electric car, were available in the USA as far back as 1904.
As far as manufactures taking the easiest way out, in many cases, in some vehicles, connecting to the alternator rather than the battery would be the easiest way out but NONE of the manufacturers do it.
Plus it’s a bit of a stretch, trying to compere mass production cost of standard engine manufacturing to the huge cost of blue printing every engine that came off a given assembly line. Very few people could afford the vehicles.
Cheers.
A good while ago I worked at General Motors. A change to a vehicle costing less than five cents could be made by any of the divisions involved, Supply, Engineering, Service, Manufacturing, etc. A change of five cents or greater involved a full committee meeting of all involved. They are there to make profits for the shareholders, and do so by making and selling vehicles. I believe the reason most new vehicles have relay switched headlights is the increase in wattage of headlight bulbs in the last 10 or so years from 60/55 to commonly 100/90 and even up to 150/90. Why the hell they have all gone away from round sealed or semi-sealed light units is a mystery. you can buy them anywhere at minimal cost, usually less than $20. A headlight assembly for my late model Falcon ute was quoted by a Ford dealer at $370. A non-genuine (Taiwan) replacement from an aftermarket supplier was $125. Ford, by the way, recommend against installing higher wattage bulbs than the standard fitment, in their headlights. I did so and found the high beam wiring at the last connector got hot enough to melt the insulation. So, out with the heavy gauge wire and the crimping pliers. This should have been done in manufacture, but probably exceeds the five cent barrier.
