themotorhood.com6
CONTRIBUTORS
RYAN VAN PELT DANNY WOOD RENE VERMEER
KEEGAN CLARKE-LATHAM SHAUN CONSTABLE RICHARD OPIE
W
e’re living in a rapidly changing
world and our automotive
landscape is being hit by the roll-
on effects. Half a century ago,
manufacturers were cranking out
sub-models, trim packages, and limited editions as
if it they were going out of fashion. Gripped by the
ups and downs of manufacturing, the need to stay
competitive against other brands meant that there
was a seemingly endless supply of options for new-
car buyers to get their hands on.
However, that was a different time, and the
way we live has changed a fair bit over the past
10 years, let alone the past 50. Consumer trends
are showing a shying away from a wide range of
vehicle purchases and a move towards focusing
on safe, family-oriented haulers and economy
cars that attempt to combat rising fuel prices. In
response, many automakers are scrambling to
crank out the latest and greatest in electric-vehicle
(EV) technology and tap into a booming demand
for the clean and green. As a result, the production
of outliers such as sports cars is being whittled
away and disappearing altogether; you can blamethe lack of buyers and a constant restriction on
emissions for that.
This puts automakers and consumers alike in a
difficult position. Those of us who are waiting for the
next performance model to drop are unlikely to free
up the budget to purchase a new car unless it is truly
worthwhile, reducing the cash flow that automakers
need to stay in the game. On the other side of the
card, those automakers know that consumers
are less likely to buy sports cars that aren’t new,
innovative, and attention grabbing; therefore,
developing one from scratch is not only costly and
time-consuming, but runs a huge risk of flopping and
putting the company into a bad financial situation.
All this is why it doesn’t surprise me that, in
recent years, we’ve seen an increasing trend of
manufacturers teaming up to produce a common
model that is sold under multiple monikers. It isn’t
strictly a new phenomenon, with badge-engineering
dating back to the ’70s; however, we haven’t really
seen such deep integration as we have in this
decade. It may seem like a crime against nature for
brand-dedicated fans, and there have been a few
questionable crossovers, but, when you put loyaltyaside and think about it from a logical, cost-oriented
point of view, it tends to make a bit of sense.
Designing, developing, and launching a new
model requires extensive funds and is a huge risk to a
manufacturer. Knowing the trends and where buyers
are spending their money at present, the chances
of a successful performance car is reasonably low
— you’ve got a niche market, to say the least. To
spread that cost and risk by teaming up with another
manufacturer to pool resources is generally the only
way to make the investment viable, typically using an
adapted version of an existing platform.
While this means that we don’t always get the
exact configurations that we’d like, it does make the
difference between getting something and getting
nothing. Rather than slam it, put your money where
it counts and support manufacturers when it’s
deserved. After all, given the circumstances, we’ve
had a few solid offerings!NZPC TEAM
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: jaden_nzpcmagazineJaden Martin
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