stripper cars
Registered User
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 2,887
From: northeast Miss.
It cost money to "not" put something on a car? No wonder GM has lost money so many quarters. 
Maybe the process needs to be revamped. McDonalds never asked me for a dollar to leave the lettuce and tomato off...
Maybe the process needs to be revamped. McDonalds never asked me for a dollar to leave the lettuce and tomato off...
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,428
As many times as people have tried to explain this to me, I just can't wrap my head around it.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,176
From: Chicagoland IL
Of course, this doesn't work for you since you'll need to spend afew days stripping paint and in the end have to accept $1,200 less.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,977
From: SeVa
I've often thought about this "stripper car" for many years, and as many times i've said, I would buy one so they should come out wiht it, theres small factors that make you think twice and go, oh yeah, damn. One of the main reasons not looking at this technically, is that the US market, especially for GM hasent exactly been up to snuff in the past couple of years. Take a look at GM, I mean, they're crying about how theyre not turning a good profit. They make one to many of the same friggin trucks and SUV's, just with a different grill and price tag, and they wonder why people arent to into the GM market, cuase they continue to stick to the truck market, and the way gas is going, it doesnt look like were gonna be able to guzzle gas anytime soon and not worry. But overall, in any manufacturer's case, bringing out a car that was light, had some power to it, doesnt even have to have a V8 in my eyes, just a good power stat to start out wiht ,and a good aftermarket, and was more set onto becoming something you take to the track and then to the food market, then being a family car, wouldnt be hard, but no company wants to take a chance, not at teh way our market is looking period. I mean you gotta design it, set up a plant, have the machinery set up, buy the parts, the workers, the shipping, its literally in the 10's of millions of dollars in the end, and what if they dont turn a good enough profit from it, it doesnt exactly glisten in the car buyers mind, well now they have to lay of workers, shut down the plant, end contracts and buy out the contracts and such forth, thats why you see GM saying for a while there, oh the camaro's just a concept car, they said that to see what the car buyers market would say to it, they didnt watn to say oh its coming no doubt about it, and then have a giant stall on the sales. the Soltice is coming out with a track car version, I believe called the ZOK package, but they're already 26-30K, so id expect it to be around 35 for this car, I mean for that you could buy a GTO, and the question I have to you all is, what would you rather buy, a stripped out car with a turbo, only making 230 horses, and a tuned suspension, or a beast of the breeds out right now with an LS2 and 400 horses to your expense. I think my buzzer is going for option two, and believe me, I love nothing more then autocrossing. But at the same time look at Ford, nobodies come out wiht a more sucessful car in my mind then the new mustang, GM, and Dodge completely flopped on the run with them, both in price and style. The mustang looks old, yet hip, the Charger tho powerful, just doesnt have the looks, Y, they tried to base it off another platform so not to spend alot of money on the prgram incase it flopped, same thing wiht GM, the GTO to me looks like a 1996 Taurus bang a pontiac grand prix and birth that reject looking child, why, it's based off a platform. The Mustang and the LS came out at the same time, and tho the LS is closing down, the mustang is hotter then ever. It doesnt need 400+ horses, Its got the looks, and a fair pricetag. So should GM or Dodge take a leap, and see what happens, why not, your markets dying anyway, so throw that life presrver out of a hail marry throw, and see what happens. I mean look at the roadrunner, that was built to be a stripped version of the coronet i believe ( not too keen on dodge's history lol) and became one of americas muscle car icons, Big motor, stripped car, fun times. My personal suggestion, come back with the fiero, just make it more....fireproof, and safer, but keep that engine in the rear, put the 2.0 soltice turb oin it, or the 3.8 buick in it ( preferably supercharged) and bam, you got a small, light, agile car, wihta nice power to it, and could be low cost, and they could some out wiht a spec version just like the miata, and wipe the floor wiht them now that the weight distribution would be more in the rear. Thats ,my person al view on it, the fiero baby.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 2,887
From: northeast Miss.
Okay. Lets say that you are selling your used car. The guy that wants to buy it, says that you must strip off all the paint and deliver it in bare metal. And he also wants you to knock off $1,200 because he doesn't want your paint.
Of course, this doesn't work for you since you'll need to spend afew days stripping paint and in the end have to accept $1,200 less.
Of course, this doesn't work for you since you'll need to spend afew days stripping paint and in the end have to accept $1,200 less.
Lets say that im not selling a used car. Lets say its hasnt been assembled yet.
Lets say when the guy reaches for an a/c compressor that cost $300, he reaches for a pulley made on a bracket that cost $30 and installs it instead.
Then lets say that instead of reaching for the condensor to put it up front, he goes on a smoke break.... ect....(helps the guy next to him install an accumulator )
Think outside the box for a seccond.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2002
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- Corvette-people that want looks and performance
- v6 Camaro-people that want the looks
- Sky/Solstice-people that want the looks
- Sky/Solstice turbo-people that want looks and some performance
- GTO-people that was to move the kids and performance
- CTS-V-people that want a GTO, but have more money to spend
- Stipper vehicle-people that want only performance for as cheap as possible
- Z06-people that want only performance at a relative bargain and money isn't too much of an issue
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,176
From: Chicagoland IL
Hmmmm
Lets say that im not selling a used car. Lets say its hasnt been assembled yet.
Lets say when the guy reaches for an a/c compressor that cost $300, he reaches for a pulley made on a bracket that cost $30 and installs it instead.
Then lets say that instead of reaching for the condensor to put it up front, he goes on a smoke break.... ect....(helps the guy next to him install an accumulator )
Think outside the box for a seccond.
Lets say that im not selling a used car. Lets say its hasnt been assembled yet.
Lets say when the guy reaches for an a/c compressor that cost $300, he reaches for a pulley made on a bracket that cost $30 and installs it instead.
Then lets say that instead of reaching for the condensor to put it up front, he goes on a smoke break.... ect....(helps the guy next to him install an accumulator )
Think outside the box for a seccond.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,176
From: Chicagoland IL
That's what I mean, what EXACTLY are we talking about?
And getting back to that $30 pulley vs the $300 compressor. Any idea of how doing that might disrupt the assembly line? How much would doing that cost? Would the car need to be certified differently? Would it need to be crash tested without the AC?
And getting back to that $30 pulley vs the $300 compressor. Any idea of how doing that might disrupt the assembly line? How much would doing that cost? Would the car need to be certified differently? Would it need to be crash tested without the AC?
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,428
If I say roll down windows someone will jump all over the post saying GM would have to design entirely new doors, and cause the assembly line to have a catastrophic meltdown.
{wait, couldn't just do them all together? someone told me that the mystichrome(sp?) mustang were all painted one after another to save paint costs}
I don't know what who wants and doesn't want. For all I know, it might be possible to delete individual items.
(What we could do, as with the "Z/28" badge, just talk like its already on there and some how it magically gets done
)edit: I also defined what the stripper model was in another thread when you asked (Or someone that worded the question the same way; may have been someone else) but it'd take too long for me to go back and quote it.
Last edited by number77; Nov 24, 2006 at 11:05 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,502
Hmmmm
Lets say when the guy reaches for an a/c compressor that cost $300, he reaches for a pulley made on a bracket that cost $30 and installs it instead.
Then lets say that instead of reaching for the condensor to put it up front, he goes on a smoke break.... ect....(helps the guy next to him install an accumulator )
Think outside the box for a seccond.
Lets say when the guy reaches for an a/c compressor that cost $300, he reaches for a pulley made on a bracket that cost $30 and installs it instead.
Then lets say that instead of reaching for the condensor to put it up front, he goes on a smoke break.... ect....(helps the guy next to him install an accumulator )
Think outside the box for a seccond.
And they have to order all this from 6 different suppliers, making sure to get the numbers right. And stockpile it. And move it around. And make sure everything is put on correctly. You get the idea.
And then market research comes and says that 98% of the buyers would pay for the damn A/C. Once you look at that way, that 2% seems like they are costing you money.
Actually, with those huge option lists they had in the 60s, it's a wonder GM made any money at all.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,597
From: oshawa,ontario,canada
i worked on the line (building parts for GM). doesn't make on difference to me...i just grab the part from a different box.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,176
From: Chicagoland IL
So is the goal here to have a 'stripper' in order for it to be cheap?
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 13,713
From: The Golden State
I do. You can add a variety of skins, and have different models. Possibly a more expensive car to offset the costs of the cheaper one.
Also, using a live axle would be pretty weak. It wouldn't be a drag car, so arguments over the durability don't really hold. Besides, if I wanted a cheap body on frame car that couldn't handle, I'd just get a colorado. 
but if i was gona offer a stripper i would take a car and this ist just an example. i would take a camaro body re badge it say oh firebird. take a ls2 shove it in there make manual door locks and maual windows radio , ac nothing really fancy inside. i put a solid rear axel in the rear. very simple eaily moddable car. get the price down as low as you can.and not offer a traditional chevy warranty, and advertise it as a car you can drive to work on Friday and race on the track Saturday...
Look up what made up most all of Firebird's sales. The loaded to the gills WS6 Trans Am was the best selling Firebird. The worse..... by far.... was the cheap, low budget Formula LS1.
Pontiac Firebird buyers are more flamboyant than even than Camaro buyers, and are willing to spend money on their cars. A stripped car with a Firebird name isn't going to be popular. The sales history doesn't support it.
HOLY RUN-ON PARAGRAPH!!
Small advice:
PLEASE!!!! We'd all be alot more intrested in what you say (and might even attempt to read more than the 1st sentence) if you would break up your posts into paragraphs.
Makes it far easier to read.
Last edited by guionM; Nov 25, 2006 at 02:46 PM.