Interchange

People are geared towards competition, it's in our genes...Bigger, better, faster, cooler, the definition of each changes constantly, so the market reflects this demand...Anybody who thinks different, like Checker, goes the way of the Dodo...There are some cars that seem to be perpetually cool, like the Ford Mustang, which seem to defy the trend, and there are cult cars, like Volkswagen bug and ultimately Porsche 911s, which enjoy popularity beyond others...But there are other driving forces such as safety regulation, and pollution regulation, and insurance costs, mileage standards that drive change beyond the choices of consumers that lead to cars with no appeal beyond reliability of a new machine....The automobile industry is a competitive market that can change totally in just one year, manufacturers must be constantly on guard to adapt to maintain market share and remain a viable company....Even with all that, they sometimes completely fail...So while it seems that what you say should be the norm, as it turns out, it's impossible in reality...

There is no evidence to support what you have written. What is the driving force behind 58 different horns in 1 year? AND, there was no choice to the consumer of which of the 58 horns would be in the vehicle.

So, I ask, again, how do 58 different horns serve the customer?

Probably mostly just different mounting brackets for different configurations in different models....With 26 models and multiple engine options with each, over the course of ten years, 58 doesn't sound like a lot...Besides you can put any kind of horn you want in your car...

It is a lot. You should read My Life and Work written by Henry Ford. He explains the entire thing very well.

Any number of horns beyond what is necessary is a lot and is wasteful. This sort of "engineering" is carried out for every part in every vehicle manufactured by every manufacturer.

But not everyone did it this way.

"The parts of a specific model are not only interchangeable with all other cars of that model, but they are interchangeable with similar parts on all the cars that we have turned out."

Ford, Henry, and Samuel Crowther. My Life and Work. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page, 1922. 148-149. Print.

This is how you make cars without cheating people and killing them. The deaths from the airbag problem were due to the lack of interchangeability of airbag inflators. Had they been interchangeable, the cost would have been minimal and no one would have died. Engineering is serious business that should be done by responsible people under the direction of responsible people.

..."The New York Times found the inadequate response to the risk of rupturing air bags was rooted in the industry’s ability to report safety problems in a minimal way, a weak regulatory agency and a disconnect between what automakers are aware of internally and what they reveal publicly."...

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/business/air-bag-flaw-long-known-led-to-recalls.html

And you can get your car in any color you want, as long as you like Black...

You misread your data. 58 different horns in 10 years, not one.

Besides, If you had a $60,000.00 Lincoln Continental, or a Mustang, would you want it to sound like a $15,000.00 Focus?

Then there's the Plymouth Road Runner. Beep. Beep.

There's also the issue of manufacturing capacity at the horn suppliers, and pricing.

Finally, if "manufacturers [always] put profits ahead of serving the customer," they would not stay in business.

I loved the horn on a ‘73 Plymouth Road Runner.

If one horn was to fit all cars which is possible, there would be many horn designers out of work. Things have to change even if it is just to provide employment. There is really no good reason why horns need to be different. Henry ford would have gone out of business because his model T was so reliable there were no repeat sales, so he had to "create" a market by reinventing at every turn. That's just the way the capitalist system works and it holds true for cars to toasters to widgets.

How does the use of 58 different horns serve the customer? It doesn't! It is meant to serve the manufacturer by providing a job.

If you want only one choice, move to a communist country....

Might want to check out the car market in China. BYD makes some decent sedans. Most won't win any races, at all, but with that many people on the road you can't drive fast anyway. There are many other brands, that's just my preference.

Your premise is flawed in multiple ways. Manufacturers cannot force customers to their products but they can certainly lure customers. That lure might involve the sound quality of the horns for each individual model, it might not.

The significant flaw in your premise is the idea that a manufacturer puts profit ahead of customers in the first place. A manufacturer with no customers has no profit.

A solution:

the Trabant 601.

You want cheap? It's hard to beat the Tata Nano @~$3k

As opposed to a bankrupt company would have better service... of course it’s about profits.

also, like most large companies, they analyse and use statistics for product life...

pits no different than water heaters, if they have a 10 year lifespan guarantee, you’d better start looking to replace it at 9-7/8 years...

it depends on the company,... you would better off addressing it as a company core values.and not its profits.

Marketing does studies that determine what the customer really wants. They drive the nonsensical portion of engineering changes more often than not. I have found a prime example on my 2009 Mini Cooper S; The turbo noisemaker. It is a diaphragm that resonates at what marketing considers the "right" frequency for the driver to fall madly in love with the vehicle. It serves absolutely NO logical purpose, adds complexity and cost. It can be removed and T fitting can be replaced by a section of 2.25" diameter exhaust pipe painted the color of your choice.

I'm certain that too many people sat around a conference room arguing which horn was the "best"

It confirms my hypothesis that for the majority of car buyers, the choice of car is largely an emotional decision.

For me, I’ll attest to that... at least early in my car ownership experience...

My first car, was a 1970 Chevrolet Nova,... loved it, so my next car was a 1975 Chevrolet Nova... it was a ok car,...yes an ugly ok car...

Since learning my lesson, now it depends on which car I’m currently driving...

I’ve driven 85’ Buick Regal, loved it... 180,000 miles

1986 Porsche 911 Targa Carrera... still got it... getting harder for me to get out of it...

1991 S10 Chev 4WD extended cab, got the job done, 210,000 miles.

2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue, it’s only ok because it rusted from the inside out, had to get rid of it at 200,230 miles on it....,

currently a 2007 Buick Lucerne, loved it 188,000 on it, clean and going strong...

and a 2007 Dodge Dakota, 4WD extended cab. Got the job done... but I don’t think it’s not going to hit 200,000 miles.

and somewhere inbetween there was a Chrysler 300 good car,... girlfriend had a fender bender.

I have owned 20 new cars during my lifetime and never have I been asked what horn I preferred.

Although ford may have decided to provide 58 different horns over the past 10 years, there is one thing everyone can agree on and that is when you push that little button on the steering wheel is that the darn thing works.

"there is one thing everyone can agree on and that is when you push that little button on the steering wheel is that the darn thing works."

Often that is true. But when there is a problem, sometimes people die because of this sort of greed.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e3sEfI_0JM-_9HYPzuy19TMq8fxi1_dOCE9CAmZJuzM

Deaths per million miles traveled have never been lower. Vehicles and cars have never been safer than today...

RED = Deaths per billion vehicle miles traveled(VMT), so they must be doing something right. Make no mistake, vehicle deaths are still unacceptably high; hopefully, crash avoidance technologies that are currently being deployed will make a large improvement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_safety_in_the_United_States

Indeed, it is possible they are doing something right. That is probably mostly due to capable lawyers.

"At least 23 deaths have been linked to exploding Takata airbags so far, including 15 deaths in the U.S."

http://fortune.com/2019/01/09/takata-airbag-recall-toyota-2019/

It's the mentality that creates 58 different horns that creates the thousands of different airbag inflators. The airbag problem could have been quickly and cheaply solved if standard inflators had been adopted.

Enjoy the ride.

Simply put a train horn on all vehicles.They will get out of the way then...especially pedestrians!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8yNzEviJB4

If they can standardize headlights, spark plugs, batteries and other items, there is no reason why a horn and other items cannot be standardized as well. Some things can be changed, but it can be a result of style. Things that are not seen, should be standardized. Style should be limited to the exterior.

The same thing also is true for all "nonperishable goods" like refrigerators, washing machines, stoves, etc. If you look at a list of repair parts for a refrigerator, for example, the part numbers are different from one model to the next. We all know why this is so.

All of this is true.* Do you have any idea what could be done? I have always thought that if people knew about this, it could be changed. I have been trying for many years just to get a conversation started with no luck.

*Farm implements used to be sort of interchangeable. The IBM Personal Computer was completely standardized. That is one reason - maybe the greatest reason - why the personal computer was so successful. There would be no Dell without the standardization of the IBM PC.