BOM minimization

Den tirsdag den 3. juni 2014 02.17.34 UTC+2 skrev snipped-for-privacy@attt.bizz:

yeh, he may have been exaggerating to make it a better story

I just looked it up Ford sold ~15000 cars in Denmark last year

I didn't intend to ;)

My point was that if it is possible to order with a mix of different options they must already have the system in place to keep the pipeline of materials and production in sync so that the right mix of options end up in the right car and at the right dealer

so there should be almost no difference between making identical or customized cars

-Lasse

First of all, it's the dealer who orders (i.e. purchases) the car from the OEM. They order only (there are exceptions) what they think they can sell. There may be incentives to push some lower than expected items or, more likely, ones that have a higher margin. The important point, here, is that it's the dealer that buys the car from the OEM. That's the law.

The dealers then swap *their* cars to match the particular cars with their customers. How this is done varies all over the map. One of the two cars I bought last summer was swapped with another dealer about 100mi from here. I didn't alter my deal though it often does.

For small values of "customized", sure. The "options" come in packages, so there aren't very many options. There were probably a half a dozen options/packages on each of two I bought last year. There were also a half dozen models in the same type.

Den tirsdag den 3. juni 2014 03.17.59 UTC+2 skrev snipped-for-privacy@attt.bizz:

yeh, I heard that Tesla keeps fighting the law that car dealers for some weird reason have a monopoly on selling cars in many states

So you can't just look in a catalog decide what options you want and the dealer will order it?

If I look on the local Toyota website, pick a car I can configure it and get the list price for that configuration

if I look at a standard family car, there's probably 10 different engine and gearbox combinations, 10 different colors, 5 different base option packages, various gadgets like rear view camera, various exterior trim etc.

That quickly multiplies to a huge number of different combinations

-Lasse

Federal law. Not that some in power care about such things.

Sure, it's all online. The point is that it's the dealer who is buying it from the manufacturer. You are promising to buy it from the dealer after the OEM sells it to him. I've done it many times.

You can do that for all manufacturers. So? The fact is that you may or may not buy it for that price. Though, usually the dealer would be more than happy to sell it to you for that much. It's not called the "Manufacturer's _Suggested_ Retail Price", for nothing. The OEM cannot demand that it be sold for that. He's not selling it to you.

Sure, I wasn't counting colors. There may be two or three engines. Usually the transmission is fixed (though some are available with standard or manual). Very few have different rear-ends available, if they even have rear-ends. ;-) Many cars will only have one or two choices of interior color, given the paint color. Above that, there may be a couple of tire options (usually in packages), a couple-three radios, and Navi (yes/no). There won't be many other choices.

Den tirsdag den 3. juni 2014 04.29.03 UTC+2 skrev snipped-for-privacy@attt.bizz:

snip

What's the rationale for such a law? I can see why an OEM wouldn't want to deal with a large number of customers and/or annoy the dealers who do all the footwork of selling cars, advertising, showrooms etc. but why a law?

ok so pretty much the same as here

-Lasse

I was told once, but I've forgotten. The law was passed well before my time.

There is the problem of selling cars behind their dealer's backs.

LOL- ummm- Vout is referenced to Adj and not vice versa, then the complicated (?) concept of regulating the voltage across a resistor to form a current source is about as old as electronics, hardly abstruse.

Which one? AFAIK it's each state that makes up those rules.

Yeah, or about the constitution :-(

Tesla is doing it in many states. And it'as all getting watered down anyhow. For example, IIRC the Fairfield Mercedes dealship in Connecticut is owned by Penske, a large Michigan company. Would there be a law preventing it from being owned some day by ... Daimler-Benz? What if, hypothetically, Daimler-Benz would buy Penske?

Nope. OEMs deal in interstate commerce.

Yes. They would have to divest themselves of the dealerships before such a deal could go through.

Den fredag den 6. juni 2014 00.18.31 UTC+2 skrev snipped-for-privacy@attt.bizz:

Seems to be a mix

sounds like the kind of law that happens because the governors cousin owns a car dealer or someone brought a checkbook to a campaign fund raiser

-Lasse

Tesla operates stores like Apple does. The one here (in Rocklin) sells Tesla cars which are manufactured in California. That is not interstate commerce.

And even across states it is state law that applies. For example, they have a store near where Jim lives, in Scottsdale, AZ. Other states have prohibited direct sales.

So why does it work with Tesla in many states?

No, it's nothing like that at all. The car industry was a mess up until the fifties. The government cracked down on them pretty hard, then. I just don't remember the specifics.

Obama doesn't follow the law. What makes you think his pals will?

Irrelevant. Federal law supercedes state laws.

Because no one wants to pick on one of Obama's buddies.

AFAIK he's go nothing to do with car sales legislation (yet ...).

Hopefully the next elections will curb any further potential damage they can do.

Then they could have easily snuffed out Tesla's showroom in the whole country. Which they tried hard. They couldn't, so federal law obviously is not there in this case.

In conservative states they would have absolutely no qualms about that.

No qualms about Obama's lawlessness? In case you hadn't noticed, it doesn't matter a damn what the states want.

About picking on his buddies.

In November that should change.

States can't enforce federal laws.

It's *not* something new. November won't change a damned thing. Obama will still be king. At best it'll slow down the damage.

On Sun, 01 Jun 2014 11:40:55 -0700, John Larkin Gave us:

Maybe you thought I meant O-BOM-a-nation.

Actually sounds better in retrospect.

Incredible.