Shouldn't more car parts be interchangeable?

[panader0]

The parts market is crazy. To buy the individual parts for any given vehicle would cost 20 times what the vehicle cost to begin with.
Interchangeable parts would make repairs a whole lot cheaper.

[sam sarrha]

1. true.. find an old hollow VW and you can completely rebuild it.. probably could even build a body

with all the sheet metal replacement parts available..

all parts of an old VW are available as After Market parts

[TomInTib]

2. My headlight lenses were getting cloudy.

Toyota SUV, with those wrap-around lenses.

So I called the dealer to see if any were available. They were.

$200 each.

So I went to ZAP Plastics and bought this rubbing compound for $10. Took less than two minutes to make them look brand new.

[The2ndWheel]

3. Shouldn't more people be interchangeable?

The people market is crazy. To buy the individual person for any given activity would cost 20 times what the person cost to begin with.
Interchangeable people would make profits a whole lot cheaper.

Everything standardized. Everything easily replaced. All square pegs for square holes.

So my vote would be no. The less interchangeability, the more diverse the world becomes.

[DemzRock]

5. Well, if people parts were interchangeable then...

you could change your race and gender at will. Go down to the modular people parts store and buy a new skin or whatever. Hey, why not add animal parts and become a furry?

Just being silly. Don't mind me.

[Johonny]

4. Yes

for a short answer. It would help make car cheaper if the parts were interchangeable. The labor is generally more than the part at least for the repairs I've had done.

[Oregone]

6. This doesn't make sense...

So GM creates an improved alternator and patents it. Then it goes into their cars, and all the other companies are suppose to adopt it, re-arrange their engine compartments and systems to be able to use it (and GM is supposed to let them)?

If all parts were the same, all engines would essentially need be the same (who determines the standard). But there are constant improvements, alterations, different engines for different functions, etc. Yes, a company could internally consolidate parts by themselves, but they still need to offer variety (to allow choice in power, efficiency, etc).

[CRF450]

11. Doesn't make sense to me either.

Within certain manufacturers, a ton of parts are already interchangable depending on the vehicle type. With GM for instance, most of the parts in their v8 engines are interchangable. Alot of those engines used in the truck/SUV lines are based in the LSx engines such as what you'd find in the Corvettes.

[backscatter712]

7. Not just cars. Computers, stereos, TVs, other electronics. Extend to other industries too.

At least with desktop PCs, there are industry standards as to the dimensions of the motherboard, the location of the screwholes, the way the connectors are set up - so you can buy an Antec case, a PC Power and Cooling power supply, an Asus motherboard, an Intel CPU, an MSI video card with an Nvidia chipset, Corsair memory, a Seagate hard drive, etc. etc. etc. and build yourself a nice machine. These sorts of standards encourage competition, lowers prices and encourages companies to compete on features and performance.

Laptops aren't so easy - cases, displays, motherboards are all proprietary - only an Asus motherboard will fit into an Asus case, and the firmware for the display hardware is rigged so it will talk to one and only one type of LCD display - is it any wonder that laptops are so much more expensive than desktops?

We need some industry standards for the car industry - standardized dimensions for engine mounts in cars, for example, so you can swap out engines and throw in an engine from a different manufacturer. Standardized mounts for instruments in the dashboard, standardized wiring and connectors so swapping electrical hardware is easier.

And for the love of God, make car maintenance and repairs easier - it's difficult to do as much as replacing a headlight bulb without taking twenty parts apart just to get at the bulb - you know they do that so people are forced to take their cars to the dealer for repairs and fork over $$$$$$.

[PJPhreak]

8. Been Done....

Just buy a VW Baja Bug or a 67-95 Chevy Truck,Chevelle,Camaro,Impala or Monte Carlo...You dont have to go to the Builders (GM or VW) in either case....The Aftermarket has them COMPLETELY Covered...for the next three decades!

My next car after my Corolla dies is gonna be a Baja Bug...Never a parts problem Ever,Esay to fix myself, (You can get the engine out in 45 min. with just simple hand tool,a skateboard and two plastic milk crates) and with a few cheap mods,INSANELY RELIABLE!!!!

[gogoplata]

9. We could legislate that all cars be the same, we could name the car "Trabant"

[Edweird]

10. Yeah, and they should all be the same color, too! That'll be great!

What makes you think anything would be cheaper that way? Everybody is free to charge what the market will bear. Even if all of the cars are some sucky generic thing.

[LiberalFighter]

12. Rather than have parts interchangeable...

have fewer options for each part.

You don't need 30 or 40 different grills or bumpers for a vehicle.