View Single Post
  #3  
Old 12th September 2006, 10:33
Ex-Biker Ex-Biker is offline
Senior Member
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 684
Ex-Biker is on a distinguished road
Default

OK I will re-iterate what I consider is the problem with the industry.

Firstly, I think we can all agree that the majority of kits made today are of pretty good quality. Mostly they are now made from reliable cars (engines, gearboxes etc).

This reliability & quality costs. So kits are now more expensive. Not vastly more, but they do cost more.

One big argument comes from this. Why bother? Yes why bother when it will cost iro £10k to build a kit and iro £9k to buy a Lotus Elise?
What this does do however is give good cause to buy the classic look. You know you'll never get a Ferrari Daytona for less than £30k or an original Cobra.

One word sums up the kit industry problems - Marketing, or should I say lack of effective marketing.

I product doesn't even have to be good to sell. Make it trendy, fashionable and appeal to people's desires and anything will sell.

I realise this is a broad statement, yet I believe it is very true. The downfall is that the product then has to do everything that the marketing says. If not it is popular for a very short period of time. A good example might be the Sinclair C5. Marketing made this the trendy way to get to work, practicality and safety made it a flop!

So if the industry is building more reliable and better quality cars, once in the limelight of the mainstream it should be able to maintain popularity.

Identifying this is only a small part of the problem. I good marketing campain needs something that is lacking in the kit car industry - money. With what little profit is made, manufacturers need to live, pay staff wages and any left often goes into further development of the car or range of cars. If there is still any money left, then manufacturers can use it to attend shows and advertise.

Let's look at a different angle.
Who are we going to sell these kits to?

This is where we come across a further problem. How often do you see your neighbour under the bonnet of his / her car? When was the last time you did your own service? If you do service your own car (I'm talking standard saloon etc, not kit), do you do it properly? or just check the oil, water & brakes?
Very few people do any servicing. Very few people have the mechanical expertise to do simple repairs. Modern society has no need for this, as there is always a garage nearby waiting to take your money.

How does this relate to kit cars? Obvious really, if you can't do simple stuff on your car how can you build your own? If you could, where would you find the time?

So lets finish this with a challenge to the industry.
(These figures are not aimed at any particular car.)
We see build figures in promotional material and in magazines so:
If a kit costs £4k and the donor parts will cost £1k, the manufacturer will often quote a build cost of say £6k and an estimated time to complete of 100hrs.
Lets say build time is worth £20/hr (very reasonable as the guy doing the job will get around £10/hr)
I make that £8k for a new ready built, SVA'd car.

So build it & sell it for the price you say it can be built for!
There is certainly a market out there for that.
Reply With Quote