Essay Automobiles Essay

What aspects are considered when buying a car today? What aspects were considered when buying a car in the 60’s 70’s 80’s? What has changed for people to consider buying the cars that are being bought today? Automobiles Automobiles have been around for quite some time. They have changed in many aspects when compared to cars we have today and cars before the 80’s. A much wider variety of automobiles are available in today’s market than the variety that was available before the 80’s. The popular cars in the past were mainly American origin and had a similar base design. Around the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s many people did not have automobiles like they do today. A lot has changed for automobiles from then and now, aspects such as fuel economy, maintenance, reliability, durability, features and technology are all put into consideration when buying a car. It was the time when automobiles began being available in some average families household. The aspects that are considered today when buying a car aren’t the aspects that were considered back then. When people bought cars in the 60’s through the 80’s, they didn’t need to worry about the fuel efficiency of vehicles. Gasoline was very cheap and everyone who had a car was able to afford it with ease. A gallon of gasoline in the 60’s was about forty cents, and it went up to about seventy five cents around the 80’s. The average engine size that was in vehicles in the 60’s through the 80’s was a V8 engine. A V8 engine uses a tremendous amount of gasoline and the average fuel economy rating for vehicles in that time frame was about twelve mpg (miles per gallon)( Nicholls, Richard. ). In today’s world the most common aspect that is considered by a person looking to buy a car is the fuel economy rating. Due to the high prices on gasoline, people cannot afford to buy big cars or ones with big engines. Gas prices have gone up drastically in the last 15 years, and are still increasing. Car manufacturers began developing electrical, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles to get back into business and help people save money on gas. Many car companies lost great amounts of money because they weren’t able to sell many of their vehicles. The Japanese were the first to develop hybrid and electrical vehicles. These vehicles began to get popular quickly because of the efficient fuel economy ratings. These vehicles became popular to companies that gave vehicles to their employees, taxi services, and to some public transportation vehicles. Car manufacturers in other countries began developing hybrid and electrical vehicles to offer a wide variety of vehicles for buyers and to get back on track in business. Many of these hybrid and electrical vehicles didn’t have an attractive look to them, so manufacturers needed to work on other aspects to attract customers. (Westbrook, Michael H) Automobiles in the 60’s through the 80’s were usually two door vehicles. These vehicles were very attractive at the time, and everyone who was able to buy a car, didn’t care about other aspects in vehicles aside from the looks. It was the time when vehicles just began being popular and people didn’t know much about cars, and determined what to buy only by the looks. People didn’t care about the amount of airbags or how much gas the car burned. Cars didn’t have bad reputations at the time because; it was when they were just getting popular. Automobiles didn’t have pasts for people to think about and make a decision. Many of these vehicles had an almost equal value to one another. It isn’t the same way now; looks are just a small portion of what is considered when buying a car. (Hennessy, Kathryn, and Beth Landis. ) Looks has an important role for a person when he or she is buying a car. An automobile can have an absolutely stunning fuel economy rating, with a durable engine, and a great price; but if its ugly, it most likely won’t be considered. Having the specifications that people look for under the hood is not enough for one to buy that vehicle. It also needs to look attractive, and grab the attention from people around it. Car manufacturers have many options for each vehicle they make. A buyer can walk up to a car in a dealership, and have many options for what is under the hood. The same car would most likely be available in a four cylinder a six cylinder or even an 8 cylinder. If a person is looking for a car with that look, and that can be fuel efficient, he or she would most likely go with the four cylinder vehicle. If another buyer is looking for a car with that look, but with more power and muscle, he or she would go with the six or eight cylinder model of that vehicle. We have much more options in today’s market, but even with the many options that car manufacturers offer, these vehicles usually have a down side to them still. (Hennessy, Kathryn, and Beth Landis. ) During the time between the 60’s and the 80’s, when people were buying vehicles, these vehicles didn’t have much of a reputation behind them. There weren’t any sayings such as â€Å"GM cars do not last long† or â€Å"Ford’s break down easily†. It was the time when these cars had just started being popular, and there wasn’t much history behind them. People didn’t have much feedback about the cars, to give advice for. Back then, there weren’t as many cars on the roads as there are today, so accidents weren’t as common as they are now, back then. Owners or anyone who was seeking to buy a vehicle wasn’t looking to buy a car for its safety ratings, or the amount of air bags that were installed in these vehicles. These factors didn’t have much of an effect for a person to think about it. People knew that a Bugatti was a much better car than a ford, but this decision wasn’t made according to the amount of air bags, or safety ratings of the vehicle. ( Berliant, Adam.) When buying a car today, many aspects come into role play, and two of the most important factors are reliability and durability. Many cars have a bad reputation; many GM vehicles are known to die out after reaching 100,000 miles. When buying a car, the owner would appreciate it if he or she can sell the car after reaching a certain amount of miles, and not have a problem selling it. It is important for any person to feel confident that his or her vehicle will not die out quickly and can last a long time. Many American cars have a bad reputation for being known to die out quickly. Many foreign car manufacturers like Toyota have a good reputation and are known to make vehicles that can last up to 500,000 miles if used well. This has a big impact for anyone in the reliability and durability aspect, because he or she doesn’t need to worry about the car dying out quickly, or if he or she can sell it after some time. There are a lot more cars on roads today, then the amount there were in the 60’s, 70’s or the 80’s. Meaning that, there are a lot more accidents and a lot more deaths and injuries that are caused from automobile incidents. Safety has an important role when a car is being bought, people check for specifications such as the amount of air bags, safety ratings, ABS, or the number of impact beams that are installed in the vehicles. A driver is much more comfortable in a car which he or she can feel safer in. Aside from just reliability and durability, many other aspects such as features are given value to when buying a car. (Berliant, Adam. ) The features that were offered in vehicles throughout the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s have a wide range of differences between them. The 60’s was a time when automobiles were available in the market, and almost all vehicles had a similar system of operating. Features included seat belts, disk brakes, gear boxes and a few more. These were improvements that lead to a true automobile; the first systems that were used to develop vehicles had flaws and needed redesign to fix these flaws. Throughout those years, features such as impact beams started to appear on vehicles. The most important feature that was added to the automobile was the gearbox. They had started off with manual gearboxes with 3 gears, and later developed into gearboxes with a reverse and up to 5 gears. The improvement that had changed it all was the automatic gearbox. In the late 80’s automatic gearboxes began appearing in many vehicles, and made it much easier for people to operate. Other features such as power windows, power mirrors, central locking systems, and cruise control began appearing in most vehicles in the late 80’s and 90’s. (Hennessy, Kathryn, and Beth Landis. ) Features that were optional for vehicles in the late 80’s and early 90’s are available in the base model of nearly all vehicles today. Features that are offered in vehicles today are much more advanced. This occurs because as technology grows, this equipment became available in many shapes and forms. This allows equipment that was not available for automobiles in the past such as high quality sound systems, DVD entertainment systems and keyless entry, to be available in modern day vehicles. People used to look for features such as automatic gearboxes, or ABS break systems, but now those features don’t have the same value because they are available for anyone. In today’s world people look for features such as remoteless key entry, Bluetooth wireless technology, on star systems, electronic stability and much more. The growing of technology may have increased the options that a person has for when looking to buy a car, but it has made maintenance and repairs much more expensive. (Duffy, James E. Modern Automotive Technology) The popular cars in the 60’s through the 80’s were mainly American cars with big engines and a lot of muscle. These vehicles were the most popular vehicles and if any maintenance was needed for these vehicles, nearly all auto shops would have known the process of repair for these vehicles. Majority of these vehicles had a similar style and look to them and they had that similar concept under the hood as well. These cars were made in America, so any replacement parts that were needed, weren’t hard to find. People didn’t need to worry about waiting for parts to be imported so the proper repairs can be done; it was available and a lot easier to get a hold of. The automobile market was doing very well, and this was helpful for car owners because replacement parts weren’t as expensive as they are today. Labor wasn’t expensive at the time, and workers weren’t paid as much money. It has changed a lot over the times and the maintenance aspect of automobiles has become a problem for many. (The Peoples History. ) Today, we have many vehicles from all around the world, with different types of engineering. In America, there are cars from many Asian and European countries. Many of these manufacturers are a lot more successful than others and have more opportunities. The Japanese have a lead in the auto industry and are able to produce vehicles in America rather than import them from other countries. A lot of money is used in the starting of such an operation but saves a lot of money over time. Many American automobile companies move their factories to countries such as Mexico, and some South American Countries where employment and land is cheaper. This causes a big irony in the maintenance field of automobiles; replacement parts for Japanese cars become cheaper than the replacement parts for American cars, in America. In the maintenance field of automobiles today, it is a lot more expensive than what it was before. When people want to go to the dealer for some type of maintenance that is needed, they can end up spending a lot of money for a simple repair. This is due to the amount of money that is needed for the product to be made and imported from another country. People choose to rather go to a local auto shop or a mechanic shop, and get their job done for a lot cheaper. The problem with this is that since there are so many types of vehicles in today’s world, a mechanic isn’t always able to work with some vehicles due to the lack of knowledge he has about specific vehicles. When a mechanic is found, the total cost of repairs ends up being nearly the same as what the dealer would charge because, the mechanic is able to charge more money knowing that the owner of the vehicle doesn’t have much options. (â€Å"Auto Maintenance – Scot Richard) Many aspects are to be put into consideration when looking to buy an automobile. The factors that were put into consideration in the past have changed a lot to when compared to know. It is hard to find the car that meets the requirements for a person seeking to buy a car. The automobile industry is a lot bigger than what it used to be, and more options are available. The aspects, fuel efficiency, looks, durability, reliability, features and maintenance, are all considered, the goal is to find the one that meets each individuals standards. The aspects that are put into consideration have changed many times, and will keep changing as technology grows. Work Cited 1. â€Å"Auto Maintenance – Scot Richard. † Personal interview. 20 Apr. 2012. 2. Berliant, Adam. The Used Car Reliability and Safety Guide. Cincinnati, OH: Betterway, 1994. Print. 3. Duffy, James E. Modern Automotive Technology. South Holland, IL: Goodheart-Willcox, 1994. Print. 4. Hennessy, Kathryn, and Beth Landis. Hester. Car: The Definitive Visual History of the Automobile. New York, NY: DK Pub. , 2011. Print. 5. Nicholls, Richard. American Classic Cars. 1st ed. Rochester: Grange, 2008. Print. 6. The Peoples History. â€Å"Money and Inflation 1970’s. † History including Popular Culture, Prices, Events, Technology and Inventions. The People History Where People Memories and History Join, 2004. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. . 7. Westbrook, Michael H. The Electric Car. 1st ed. London: Institution of Electrical Engineers. Print.