End of the sub-$18,000 car?

[MX793]

Software engineering! Each manufacturer has to reinvent thr wheel for every touch screen interfacr.

Screens don't have to be touch.

[12,000 RPM]

So you think they'll offer a feature from an upper range model without charging more for the base model? I dunno guys. It seems obvious to me the easiest way around this regulation is to no longer offer stripper base models altogether.

Nobody buys the stripper base models anyway, at least in the Versa realm

And the stripper model is important because it's a great advertising tool. They rope you in with the impossibly low price, then have you come in to see how much of a POS the base car is and upsell you. If anything this screen will help to that end.

[2o6]

GM's Spark sells for $9999 CAD and comes with a screen.

[ifcar]

Software engineering! Each manufacturer has to reinvent thr wheel for every touch screen interfacr.

But they already engineered it.

So you think they'll offer a feature from an upper range model without charging more for the base model? I dunno guys. It seems obvious to me the easiest way around this regulation is to no longer offer stripper base models altogether.

If mandated airbags and mandated stability control didn't kill the existence of base model, why would a screen that adds comparatively little extra cost? They'll still keep off enough features that make people want to upgrade -- sell a base model with crank windows and it doesn't matter if it has a screen.

[BimmerM3]

So you think they'll offer a feature from an upper range model without charging more for the base model? I dunno guys. It seems obvious to me the easiest way around this regulation is to no longer offer stripper base models altogether.

If they didn't think they were gonna lose money by not offering stripped down versions, they'd have stopped selling them long ago. Changing one component isn't going to erase that demand.

[12,000 RPM]

Like I said if anything it will increase demand. Infotainment is a huge selling point these days. That screen could be the difference between a used Corolla and a new Yaris.

[Laconian]

Do you guys realize how absolutely fucking cheap modern infotainment screens are? All GM cars come with GMmylink which is a screen (No CD player) that has a backup camera that would easily be added in for minimal cost.

Right. You can get full blown Android tablets from China for $50.

[giant_mtb]

Right. You can get full blown Android tablets from China for $50.

Thanks, China!

^^ One of my favorite sayings.