Option bundling

Inspired by the Acura TLX review, I hopped on the configurator and promptly blew a gasket.

Option bundling. Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch... OPTION BUNDLING.

You can't get a grey interior if you get a blue car, only black. If you get a silver car, you have your choice of grey or black interior... but not if you get blue paint.

WT everlasting F? It's not like I'm trying to order some klown kar kolor kombination. It's a blue car with a grey interior. DENIED.

I understand drivetrain / chassis combination restrictions. It costs a lot money to get them certified. I even understand equipment vs. trim level restrictions to some extent if it limits how many specialty parts they need to design and inventory.

But this literally take a body in Color A and an interior in Color B - both of which are standard colors they already make all the bits in - and stick them together. BIG BOX OF NOPE.

I don't get it.

It's Honda and Acura. That's how it's been there for years and years. BMW, Porsche and Mini will mix and match all you like, however.

SERIOUSLY YOU CAN GET A BRIGHT BLUE CAR WITH A SCARLET INTERIOR in the A-spec package. So we know it's got nothing to do with taste. You can't even get a black car with a grey interior.

[edit] Can't get the 4 cylinder with AWD. Disappointing, but at least understandable.

Every time this topic comes up, I think of the B?15?Nissan Sentra Spec V Brembo package. Brembo brakes, sunroof, sub woofer and a few other things, all of which either detract from, or have nothing to do with, the fabulous Brembo brakes.

Which really are fabulous on that car.

I had to get the unwanted rear park assist sensors to get the backup camera on my truck. That was so counter intuitive to me, because I wanted the camera to see behind me instead of sensors to beep because i was about to back into something i could not see. There were a few other goofy things but nothing i ended up with. It was near impossible and took 6+ months to find the combination i wanted as it was

Duke wrote: **SERIOUSLY YOU CAN GET A BRIGHT BLUE CAR WITH A SCARLET INTERIOR** in the A-spec package. So we know it's got nothing to do with taste. You can't even get a black car with a grey interior. [edit] Can't get the 4 cylinder with AWD. Disappointing, but at least understandable.

Twenty or so years ago, GM sold the S10 pickup in a "price leader" configuration. $8999cdn got you an iron duke, a manual trans and a windshield. By the time you added 4wd and everything that was required, it was over $16 grand. So, I bought a used Commanche pickup with a 2.5 and 4wd.

Not that I could have afforded it but the Altima coupe couldn't be optioned with the red interior and Malbec black paint together. Seemed annoying at the time.

Some of this is to simply make life easier for the manufacturers. Especially on imported cars, if you have too many potential combinations you'll never be able to have the "right" cars on the lot. All those old muscle cars that are "one of six made in Championship Brown with the 440 and a single barrel carburetor" might do well at auction, but they're a royal PITA for inventory control.

Aren't parts imported then turned into vehicles once they're state side? Or is that old history?

If it's the former, it really doesn't make sense a to why someone couldn't make the change. If that's ancient history now though, I kind of get it, seems dumb you couldn't get one made though filling out the order form. Especially in this day and age where people get Twitter updates on their new cars from the ship.

RevRico wrote: Aren't parts imported then turned into vehicles once they're state side? Or is that old history?

Depends on the vehicle. Some are assembled in the US from parts sourced all over the place. I don't think there are many coming in in a CKD (completely knocked down) form, which is basically a kit to make cars. Some are assembled in other countries - which means that it takes a long time from order to delivery. That's the problem with a special order on an import, you have to wait for the car to reach the front of the production queue, get produced, get shipped over a big puddle, then transported to the dealer somewhere in the US. People are willing to wait for that on a special car like a Porsche, but not your typical Nissan Sentra.

Honda is particularly bad about stuff like this. Such as requiring you to get a higher trim level to get the bigger engine or a base model to get a manual trans. Or the Accord V6 issue where you can get a manual in a coupe, but not a sedan. The 4cyl get get a manual in either form though.

Others have generally been more flexible. Toyota and Jeep both have a much better history of allowing base models with the bigger engine or higher models with the small one and things like that.

I can understand certain combos being special order only to simplify dealer stock, but if they clearly have the parts to build it and I'm willing to wait, it should be possible to order it.

A few years ago, I really wanted a Mazda CX-5 Sport with a manual transmission. You could only get a stick in black or 2 grays. There was a perfectly lovely blue, but to get it, you had to give up the clutch pedal.

I didn't buy a CX-5.

I was looking for a used cobalt SS lsd trans for a while... I was told a few times to look for yellow ones as all the manual yellows got them. Why a yellow cobalt needs the lsd is beyond me... I don't understand why anyone would choose to drive a yellow car not a bus or a taxi for that matter

I'm not sure if you can still do this, but at one point Porsche offered both black paint and a blue interior among their no-cost options on a 911. I "built" one that way. It looked good. I'd drive it. A friend at Porsche then said something like if you ask nicely you can get blue stitching on the dash for free, too, to tie it all together.

It's all about money. The Japanese manufacturers are masters at driving down production costs while maintaining quality, and one of the ways they're doing that these days is by only making a limited number of car combinations. It reduces costs on the assembly line (less stuff to keep track of), shipping (easier to keep track of which cars go on which ship), distribution (same, but with trucks), etc.

The luxury German manufacturers offer customization options, but you'll pay a lot of money for it. Audi has a $5K option and they'll paint your car any factory color from the last 20-30 years, with Porsche you can hand them a paint chip and they'll match it, but that's even more expensive.

You can have it in any color as long as it's black.

codrus wrote: The luxury German manufacturers offer customization options, but you'll pay a lot of money for it. Audi has a $5K option and they'll paint your car any factory color from the last 20-30 years

Maybe this explains the S5 I saw a few weeks back in a gorgeous shade of bright blue that I couldn't find on the website.

If you build a Porsche on their website, when you get to paint you'll see the options for custom colors. Yes it's a few grand, but it will likely be worth more later on. Plus it's one of one.

A friend was going to do this with his Cayman. In the end, the long wait time made him pass. Instead he went with anthracite over a paprika interior. It looks awesome.

I was talking with a new Camaro SS owner who barely had any miles because he was basically planning to Barrett-Jackson it in 30-40 years and I pointed out that the new ones will likely never have the crazy value of the originals, because, due to option bundling, there is no rarity. Unlike in the '60s, there is only two engines (LS3 and L99 and those are locked in by trans choice) and 2 transmissions, everything is in bundles, so you can't get weird combinations of options, and you can't special order stuff like all-aluminum Can-Am engines anymore. He kinda looked at me and went "Oh, I never thought of that"

David S. Wallens wrote: Instead he went with anthracite over a paprika interior. It looks awesome.

That sounds amazing.

Jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, virtual reality, pretty ugly, original copy...standard options.

EvanR wrote: A few years ago, I really wanted a Mazda CX-5 Sport with a manual transmission. You could only get a stick in black or 2 grays. There was a perfectly lovely blue, but to get it, you had to give up the clutch pedal. I didn't buy a CX-5.

My MZ5 was supposed to be special order; but, I couldn't really order anything special. Manual trans? No sunroof. Red paint? No grey or black interior. Sport package? No fog lights. Really? I will pay for all of it....

So it's a sport with six speed, red paint, sand interior and no fog lights. Oh well.

Welcome to the 21st century

Yep, I'd love to be able to order a new Mustang with:

• Performance Pack (but with the stock gearing, not the shorter gearing in the package. Same setup on my '13 GT, gears are a big short for a car with that much power)
• Big Stereo

Done.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Yep. I waited 10 weeks when I ordered my TDI wagon back in 2003. I wanted a fairly specific option spec: Indigo Blue with tan leather. There was still some bundling of things I didn't want. To get leather, I had to spec the GLS package, which included the hated sunroof (that I eventually "fixed" by yanking the fuse).

In reply to z31maniac:

yeah... it would be nice if they offered a "Performance Pack-A" version... A = Autocross.