grogee Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 What are your favourite manufacturer cost-saves? I'll start the ball rolling with MK1 Panda grille, mounted one way round for air cooled and t'other way up for posh water cooled models. Then there's Skoda using a hatchback bootlid on their estates so they don't have to tool up for a separate version. bangernomics, Cookiesouwest, adw1977 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timolloyd Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 The first thing that springs to mind is the L/H and R/H drive dash holes in the SD1, with the spare hole filled with a vent. adw1977, grogee, LT84 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New POD Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Garrett (Honeywell engine boosting) Rather than drill 2 holes, Mark an aluminium plate, and rivet it to the compressor housing they (we) decided to Percusion Mark the aluminium housing saving £0.17956765498765 per turbo. Rather than machine a flat on the housing for washers to sit flat on, they used bolts that had a shoulder which eas serated that cut its own flat. Saving the cost of machining, and the cost of a washer x 8. Oh no wait. They decided to have slightly bigger bolts and drill 2 less holes. Total saving per turbo £1.2345239865 Lucas. Smart stop start solenoid. Rather than have the plunger during in a brass tube with an o ring at either end (On the outside diameter of it) and a brass washer at the end, (to stop the plunger sticking due to magnetic attraction) replaced with a brass flat ended bullet and one seal. Saving £0.48 per DPC pump x 1 million a year x 7 year product life. twosmoke300 and Back_For_More 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New POD Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Citroen: 3 wheel nuts. AxWomble, Eyersey1234, grogee and 4 others 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyslexic Viking Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 The T-150K tractor from Kharkiv tractor plant used the same door on both sides, which meant that one side had a suicide door while the other had a regular door. somewhatfoolish, mercedade, timolloyd and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skcat Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 39 minutes ago, grogee said: Then there's Skoda using a hatchback bootlid on their estates so they don't have to tool up for a separate version. Its even worse then that, if you pull the carpet up on the estate you can see where the estate "extension" is welded onto the hatch body. At least there was on mine! What about the volvo 200 estate using saloon doors so only one set of doors would need to be made. It's the same on the 700 and 900 series but the 200 looks odd due to the doors having the odd saloon shape up top. grogee, hennabm and Datsuncog 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBiscuits Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Peugeot 309 & 205 using the same doors (took me years to spot that despite owning a 309 😀) Ford were good at this too, mk1 & mk2 escort estates had the same panels from the front wings back. Also Land-rover Discovery - the first ones had sherpa (freight rover) headlights, Maestro van rear lights and Marina door handles LT84, timolloyd and grogee 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJK 24 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Back to the Panda’s in the OP, I think they had flat glass so that the same glass could be used in the NS and OS. HMC, bunglebus and scruff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBiscuits Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 No expense was spared on the Favorit van either, I always thought this looked odd: Tenmil Socket, Eyersey1234, ProgRocker and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJK 24 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 The vast majority of manufacturers today… Remove the spare wheel and tool kit Angrydicky, HMC, Barry Cade and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Charm Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Morris Marina Coupe: they didn't want to make special doors for it so used the front doors from the saloon. The coupes were three inches shorter than the saloon, overall, but had the same wheelbase so the proportions were odd. It's effectively a two door four door, aesthetically speaking, like some old fashioned kustoms with welded up rear doors. The saloon looked like this. I'd wager that with a little bit of bodywork alteration it would be possible to fit saloon rear doors to a coupe, creating a four door variant. The gap between the rear wheelarch and back of the front door looks very similar on both types. bunglebus, warch, inconsistant and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 31 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said: The T-150K tractor from Kharkiv tractor plant used the same door on both sides, which meant that one side had a suicide door while the other had a regular door. See also: new Citroën Ami. Dyslexic Viking 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffcortinacentre Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 The MK1/2 escort van was the same from doors back too it also used 105E Anglia rear doors & rear 1/4 bumpers (the MK2 van had square frt bumpers as per car). The MK3/4/5 cortina EST used the same shell (only the rear doors/ wings, scuttle panel ,frt valance panels,slam panel differed on the mk3). Same for MK1/2 Granada EST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoverFolkUs Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Left hand drive wiper mechanisms.. Renault & Peugeot being the prime culprits (MK2 Clio, MK2 Grand Scenic, 206 etc) Instead of engineering a RHD mechanism like most other manufacturers, they just add in another linkage to the offside arm to increase the sweep Despite how irrational it is, it irritates me every time I see one - it's like they thought "oh shit, we forgot to make a RHD model, quickly think of as many things we can leave as they are" See also - bonnet releases on our passenger side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split_Pin Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Said nobody: The entire Rover range 2001 to 2005. Everything from the deletion of the badge on the key fob, removal of plastic caps from the lower seat belt bolts, to the substitution of wood with plastic on the dashboard. LT84, AnthonyG, Angrydicky and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Sills Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 This has always annoyed me. VAG (various models) on a facelift, moved the side indicators from the wing to the wing mirror. Adding a stupid little fucking badge in the oval indicator recess!!! Also see Ford Focus MK2 face lift for the same hennabm, bunglebus and Tenmil Socket 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 6 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said: Left hand drive wiper mechanisms.. Renault & Peugeot being the prime culprits (MK2 Clio, MK2 Grand Scenic, 206 etc) Instead of engineering a RHD mechanism like most other manufacturers, they just add in another linkage to the offside arm to increase the sweep Despite how irrational it is, it irritates me every time I see one - it's like they thought "oh shit, we forgot to make a RHD model, quickly think of as many things we can leave as they are" See also - bonnet releases on our passenger side... @dollywobbler ^ Rover 45- later models have the passenger front windows lift on the transmission tunnel only - so it doubles as the main passenger switch and in lieu of extra componenty on the driver’s door. Clever but stingy. timolloyd and Angrydicky 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Longbridge Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 There seem to be a number of Ford lickers on here so thought I'd ask. Mk1 Onions had a stubby tailpipe as standard. It was much shorter than the equivalent on the mk3 Escort and tucked quite far in contrast. Father Longbridge replaced his C plate Onion with an E plate Ghia equivalent with a mild facelift. From what I remember, the tailpipe had a short extension piece bolted onto the end from new so it appeared someone in Ford decided to do a cheap fix*. Can anyone confirm this? I'm assuming the exhaust was sourced from the Escort and then bodged onto its booted brother to save Ford's design team a few £££ ... As an aside, Orions have aged very well, haven't they? inconsistant, Tenmil Socket, warch and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leyland Worldmaster Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 I had a VW Lupo. An early example. When I looked at later ones in the showroom, I noticed quite a lot of cost cutting. One that really stood out was replacement of chromed metal door opening levers with plastic ones... At odds with the their perceived quality image... 🤓 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 LT84, Leyland Worldmaster and Tickman 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 7 minutes ago, Crusty Sills said: This has always annoyed me. VAG (various models) on a facelift, moved the side indicators from the wing to the wing mirror. Adding a stupid little fucking badge in the oval indicator recess!!! Also see Ford Focus MK2 face lift for the same Mercedes of a similar era did this but then also revised the tooling to avoid having the redundant hole. So very thorough- except they then did a short cut and time save on the rust prevention instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Sometimes these little short cuts are beneficial- some manufacturers supply a fairly standard loom to most models so lower spec models are often plug and play with DIY bolt on extras - eg elec/ heated seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Charm Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 6 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said: There seem to be a number of Ford lickers on here so thought I'd ask. Mk1 Onions had a stubby tailpipe as standard. It was much shorter than the equivalent on the mk3 Escort and tucked quite far in contrast. Father Longbridge replaced his C plate Onion with an E plate Ghia equivalent with a mild facelift. From what I remember, the tailpipe had a short extension piece bolted onto the end from new so it appeared someone in Ford decided to do a cheap fix*. Can anyone confirm this? I'm assuming the exhaust was sourced from the Escort and then bodged onto its booted brother... As an aside, Orions have aged very well, haven't they? I had a G reg Orion at one point and don't remember there being anything odd about the exhaust pipe, other than the amount of blue smoke that used to come out of it of course! Perhaps your one was just an oddity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Longbridge Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 4 minutes ago, Missy Charm said: I had a G reg Orion at one point and don't remember there being anything odd about the exhaust pipe, other than the amount of blue smoke that used to come out of it of course! Perhaps your one was just an oddity. Nope. Standard setup on them as per photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leyland Worldmaster Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Also, car manufacturers that use nice feeling plastics, etc in the front of the car, and harder; less nice feeling materials in the back... Noticed this with VW Golf, Audi A3 and some Ford Focuses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Early standard 8- no opening bootlid. Rock bottom penny pinching; later reconsidered. Angrydicky, grogee, rml2345 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Charm Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 4 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said: Nope. Standard setup on them as per photos. I'm still not sure what you mean. Mine looked like this: Except in white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Pug 107 and its variants was a fantastic example of penny pinching...though I don't really feel it's fair to call it that as it wasn't a car that was made cheaply, rather it was a car that was designed to be cheap to make. [] Instrument pod attached to the steering column rather than dash, minimising the amount of mouldings differing for LHD/RHD cars. [] Identical ns/os seats. [] Power window switch on the respective doors only. [] Interior light switch on the driver's door only (that DID feel like penny pinching). [] "Frameless" bootlid ala Citroen AX. Albeit less prone to spontaneously shattering I believe. Sure there were a dozen other things they'd done to simplify construction too but I can't remember them all now. Despite that though it never felt cheap or flimsy, and when you realise when it was launched it still was a clever bit of packaging. Only really started to show its age when VW came out with the Up and started to shove big-car luxury toys into shopping trolleys. Skcat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandeth Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 5 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said: Also, car manufacturers that use nice feeling plastics, etc in the front of the car, and harder; less nice feeling materials in the back... Noticed this with VW Golf, Audi A3 and some Ford Focuses... VW do that with the accent lighting in a load of models too - runs all the way across the dash and along both front doors - nothing in the back though! That just feels so obviously stingy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Longbridge Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 4 minutes ago, Missy Charm said: I'm still not sure what you mean. Mine looked like this: Except in white. Yes, yours was a facelift, same as my father's E plate Ghia. I mentioned in my post that the facelift cars had a sleeved extension bolted over the end of the tailpipe to make the exhaust longer. I think you're missing the entire point I'm stating about the pre-facelift Orions which didn't have this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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