A Leaner Industrial Complex

In the interest of spurring change and competition in the auto industry and world energy market, it may be beneficial to reduce the cost of the industrial complex. Some businesses in a governmental 'shadow', where high overhead and startup cost provide them with global market protection and the ability to crush or buy out all competetors produces an oligopoly of power among the major automakers. This power has been abused as demonstrated in the crushing of mass transit and the electric car, and other anticompetetive business practices and corporate interference with governance and law intended to regulate this industry.

This industry is also pervasive into consumer and public life, and affects us environmentally in the post-combustates of its products on the health of individuals and the planet.

Personal Economics: Some try to see how much money they can earn. We should instead try to see how little money we can earn and still have what we want.

How can we make the cheapest 1000 cars possible?

Marketing and advertising pose some of the largest expenses. Megacompanies spend bull-ions on their stock and on national and international television placement. If the goal is to sell 1000 cars, it will be an easier task to personally locate and sell individuals seeking automobiles, or to provide these autos to rental agencies or other infrstructures in addition to the general market. This can reduce the cost of production substantially and improve the vehicles' value.

Government money could also be appropriated for this purpose from grants. It may also be possible and exciting to gather investors for a small car effort from those interested in supporting or a new direction in energy and automobiles. Investors might be enticed by a novel product in such a large market. The potential for growth is explosive, and the ability to customize is fantastic. However, inviting stock sharing and therefore needing to provide greater return on investment will reduce the value of the vehicles.

Providing this money is a good way to generate capital to produce the cars, but the level needed to be reached should also be lowered, not merely assets raised. Producing parts for vehicles is a major expense and often requires large varied and complex infrastructure. Using a 3D printer to machine the various parts for the vehicle will dramatically reduce the amount of machinery required to shape the parts. This method can also allow more efficient part systems, since they can be built as one piece instead of assembled. This allows wiring to be internal to the device, for example, and necessitates fewer pieces per car.

Special electrolysis can also provide the ability to cheaply run electrical and hydrogen furnaces and other metalshaping and carbon refining methods.

To outsell major autoworks, these cars must be far more attractive and efficient than their modern market counterparts. For example, a 1000-model car will not 'quickly outsell' GM unless its numbers are far more advantageous than major models.

For example, it would be easy using appropriate technology to build a car that gets 50-100mpg and has a '5-star' level crash rating, can carry 4 passengers, and performs admirably. This kind of car would explosively outsell any standard model because the demand for it would be dramatically higher.

Maintenance on the vehicle can be reduced in price by printing and using some standardized parts. One of the major drawbacks of building 1000-model cars is the number of 'unique' parts they could use. It will be difficult to maintain these vehicles and replace the parts if they all use dissimilar parts. This can be avoided by conforming to major automakers.

Major automakers make more money by building cars that require maintenance. They get to sell replacement parts more frequently. As long as the initial model sells and retains some degree of resell value so as not to be totalled and abandoned, more part failure and replacement is more profit for major automakers. This is hideous, but if major automakers' parts can be machined more cheaply using a 3D printer, some of these small businesses may overtake major automakers' maintenance departments. This may inspire automakers to rely less on failure to generate revenue.

1000-model cars can be more specially built so that they will not require substantial maintenance. Automakers used to build cars to be proud of, that would last for 'a long time'. Many vehicles from before 1972 still run, and well, because they were carefully crafted in a time before planned obsolescence.

If these vehicles can be crafted using revenue-increasing and cost-reduction methods, they can probably out-value GM. It may be easier to sell to target markets rather than mid-market. Producing a solid and efficient $10,000 vehicle, and an outstanding $40,000 vehicle will probably be the best-selling choices.

See US Transit Authority for automobile blue-details.