[gn4u2c]

I mean this 2 ways, 1 if you go to the dealer there is 6 freggin rebates that change every 15 days on a truck. I can get a extra 1,500 if its older, more money if I own a ford than staying loyal, if I live in xyz county only I get a extra 500.00 If i can do a hand stand for 3 min straight I get a direct mail coupon. WTF. just say 2,000 or 4,000 and thats it !!! total rebate madness B.S


2nd what ever happend to free flow options ?? I want a car with a 5 or 6 speed manual. power windows/locks Thats it !!! I don't want onstar, xm radio, mp3 player,9 cupholders,ac and a thousand other things. These drive the prices up add weight to car decreasing fuel ecomomy. Stop doing all your market research in yuppie land where they need every option known to man in a car. I never use the ac so thats should be a huge savings, Its a commuter car I only take one drink on my trip to work, F-bluetooth I can hardly think as it is with the bumper to bumper and same idiots cutting each other off everyday. Piss on the phone.
What I mean to say is you could get a car with a 2,000 lower price point and 2 mpg better :bounce:

 

[E. Haskell]

I'm thinking those options packages help them make more money. It might cost the automaker $500 to add all that stuff, but they can charge you $2000 by adding it in to the base price.

 

[likearock00]

GM and other manufacturers add options that MOST people want. They may lose 1 sale to you, but may add 3 other sales because the vehicle has something most other competitors don't. They build vehicles and options that:
A. Most people want
B. Make them money

What incentive does a manufacturer have to build a vehicle with no options? It makes them money for very little cost. I understand your complaint, but I don't think you're in the majority here.

 

[SgtJackson1982]

if i may, i can add a reasonable answer to all this. those rebates are set out for one purpose to attract customers. Certain rebates attract certain customers. Rebates are determined by a budgeted "promotions account". The promotions account is set to target specific groups of people. The sales from these rebates are then used to determin "Marketing Targets". Marketing Targets are cities or counties with a specified financial stature. This allows minimal funds for promotions and sales allong with higher sales numbers.

 

[PA Dweller]

Boo hoo, I love the Malibu but it pisses me off that I can't get things like:

A rear armrest
Navigation System (In dash, not that On Star navigation)
Dual Zone Automatic Climate Controls
AWD
Push Button Start

Too bad for them, they had a chance to make several thousand dollars more off me. Now that's lost since the options aren't available.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Manual transmissions should definitely be more readily available

 

[pgill00]

...9 cupholders...

If there were not cupholders then there would be something there that added more weight. It seems to me that if you wanted better MPG then you would push for 15-17 cupholders.

Just thinking out loud here...

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

I doubt cup holders, OnStar, and XM radio add much (if any) weight to your vehicle... Drive up the price? Sure. Hurt fuel economy? No. But something like A/C could hurt it a little bit just from the weight but I doubt it'd really do much of anything. And if you're that concerned with fuel economy should you really be buying a truck?

Also, you're (as already stated) in the vast minority here with not wanting any options. It sucks but it's just something that you have to deal with because, quite frankly, nobody is going to give you the bare-bones car you want unless you buy used.

 

[espo19047]

This is the state of the internet... Complainig about everything and anything.

 

[HoosierRon]

Boo hoo, I love the Malibu but it pisses me off that I can't get things like:

A rear armrest
Navigation System (In dash, not that On Star navigation)
Dual Zone Automatic Climate Controls
AWD
Push Button Start

Too bad for them, they had a chance to make several thousand dollars more off me. Now that's lost since the options aren't available.

I'm curious, what did you buy with all of those options for the price of a Malibu?

 

[nailhead425]

Sure, order it and be prepared to wait.

See dealers generally have loaded cars that will sell.

I luckily located my truck, but I was prepared to drop the cash for a special order to get the manual trans. I'm really glad I got it, but for the majority of folks if they get the make, model, and color right, the other stuff is negotiable.

 

[tom3]

Whole focus is to put out the most generic vehicle that will be acceptable to the most people. Auto transmissions, four door sedans, power windows and the like. And by making them all the same costs drop quite a bit while sticker prices stay up there. On star with its 14 bucks a month fee, and probably never used. Dollars and cents.

 

[t-rex]

what ever happend to free flow options ?? I want a car with a 5 or 6 speed manual. power windows/locks Thats it !!! I don't want onstar, xm radio, mp3 player,9 cupholders,ac and a thousand other things. These drive the prices up add weight to car decreasing fuel ecomomy. Stop doing all your market research in yuppie land where they need every option known to man in a car.

I sort of feel your predicament there, gn4u2c. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but many of the features that are now considered "must have" by buyers are nothing but mere fripperies to me. I like my automatic 'box (I hate driving a manual unless its a sports car) and I want power windows and remote central locking, and a/c is an absolute necessity here on the Gulf Coast.
But the old "check the options box" way of equipping a car is gone forever. It was simply too expensive (according to the manufacturers) to build cars that way. Building fewer variants of a model supposedly reduces manufacturing costs. Though I have grave doubts about this.

There are some modern features though that I'd have trouble living without. Heated rearview mirrors for one. In muggy climates like mine they're a g-dsend; without them, I've already arrived at work before my mirrors defog. I really dig fingertip cruise and stereo controls too. Saves a lot of fumbling and makes driving safer. And I'm all for any device like ABS, EBD, etc. that makes driving safer.

But sometimes I wish we still had a bit more "pick and choose" options like in the old days. I also wish we had something remotely resembling choice in color. Does anything these days come in something other than silver, metallic beige, or some shade of dark red?

 

[BigAls87Z28]

well, in the world of everyone wants everything for nothing, GM and everyone else will try to jam as many standard features into your car for a great price, getting a better value for the dollar.

 

[Old Dood]

Boo hoo, I love the Malibu but it pisses me off that I can't get things like:

A rear armrest
Navigation System (In dash, not that On Star navigation)
Dual Zone Automatic Climate Controls
AWD
Push Button Start

Too bad for them, they had a chance to make several thousand dollars more off me. Now that's lost since the options aren't available.

Seriously....no Rear Arm Rest? I would think that would be a no brainer.
I thought all mid sized cars had those by now.
Reason being even though all car makers sell mid sized cars as 5 seaters they really are perfect 4 seaters.
Comfort wise that is. Of course you can seat 5 but 4 is a lot more comfortable and that being said they need an arm rest.
With a built in cup holder too....

I also would think that the top trim level would have Dual Climate as well.

 

[Aprime]

Can't you people decontent your cars? We sure can in Canada, provided it's not too complicated of course.

For instance keeping the sport-tuned suspension on the Astra but getting the 17" wheels instead of the 18" provided by the sports-package.

 

[PA Dweller]

Seriously....no Rear Arm Rest? I would think that would be a no brainer.
I thought all mid sized cars had those by now.
Reason being even though all car makers sell mid sized cars as 5 seaters they really are perfect 4 seaters.
Comfort wise that is. Of course you can seat 5 but 4 is a lot more comfortable and that being said they need an arm rest.
With a built in cup holder too....

I also would think that the top trim level would have Dual Climate as well.

Thats what I thought also, every modern car I have seen has a rear armrest. We have a car thats 15 years old and it has a rear armrest. Someone explained to me why the armrest wasn't part of the car, thank the bean counters.

Next generation will fix all these short comings but until then GM lacks a main stream sedan with features that are expected to be standard or optional.