"TheBlacktopExperiment" (theblacktopexperiment)
12/04/2016 at 11:09 • Filed to: None
2
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"TheBlacktopExperiment" (theblacktopexperiment)
12/04/2016 at 11:09 • Filed to: None | 2
| 24 |
I’d assume this question had been asked here before, but I can’t find any threads on it. And I hope this doesn’t perceive me to be idiotic or annoying. This could be in my part my OCD.
What is the logical reason you can buy a 2017 “model year” car in 2016? In short form, perhaps if condensed to a few sentences. I once got a long 2 minute rant going essentially nowhere from a motorhead when I asked. I still consider it inconclusive or ridiculous because the answer wasn’t logical.
I mean, doesn’t this only really work with transportation vehicles? You don’t finish building a house in Sept 2016 and go “Yea, my house is a 2017" If I planted a tree in Oct 2016, it’s not a 2017 tree. (I know, I’m being silly).
Or if you were born in Oct 1996, you can’t have a drivers license or government issued ID as a 1997 person. Then you are really a year younger.
So how and why does it work for cars? Why isn’t it as clear cut as “The car was built on a date from Jan 1, 2016 to Dec 31, 2016, then it is a 2016 car. If the car was built on Jan 1, 2017, it is a 2017 car”.
Wouldn’t that be more logical? Because you get people with 2001 cars that I’d really consider a 2000 car because it was built in Sept 8, 2000. Or even people trying to cheat and have a car built in early 2000 but passing for a 2001 car.
Is there a simple, concrete, logical, & sensible reason? Or is it just some marketing gimmic started many decades back to sound like you are buying the freshest, best vehicle?
Jcarr
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:15 |
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Marketing, plain and simple.
BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:19 |
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I think it is something american that has to do with marketing, and drawing a line to slightly change the standard equipment.
Here in Europe cars are just referred to by the date on which they have been registered.
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:19 |
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Pure marketing. A gimmick conceived so that those buying the new model right away can feel ahead of the curve.
Birddog
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:23 |
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Can’t tell you why. I know it dates back a long time though. For some reason the new model year for several machines started in the “Fall”. I have two 1986 trikes that have build dates of 1985 and one 1985 that was built in 1984.
E90M3
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:24 |
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Marketing, it’s the reason my granddad has a “2008" Escape when in reality he got the car in 2006.
Klaus Schmoll
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:27 |
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http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/11/why-us-model-years-come/
This article should clear things up. As BvdV stated, this obesession with model years is a purely American thing. In Europe the “year” of the car is when it was first registered. But we are a made-to-order market where cars don’t sit on dealer lots for months or years.
Chuckles
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:28 |
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It’s the same reason that black Friday sales start earlier every year. It’s because these companies are competing against each other. If 2017 model year cars were all available January 1st, some company would release theirs a week early to beat the competition to market. There are people out there who need the newest and best car. If Honda releases the new Accord a week early, next year Toyota releases the Camry 2 weeks early. Over time, all of the new car releases creep forward until you can buy a 2017 car in June 2016. I think it will get to the point where you’ll have to look at the date of manufacturing to know the age of a car instead of going by the model year.
jariten1781
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 11:34 |
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Lots of things are offset from the calendar year. At work I’ve got calendar years, contract years, fiscal years, and production years that all have different periods. It’s not abnormal. Some of it is cash flow, some is marketing, some is just an artifact of when contracts were signed, some is based on fund expiration and some is random.
Even human ages work that way in some cultures. Look at how Koreans calculate their age. They’re already ‘1' when they’re born and they all go up in age on on the same day (Lunar New Year)...
LongbowMkII
> jariten1781
12/04/2016 at 11:42 |
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Japan is similar, every baby turns 1 on Jan, 20 (iirc) whether born on jan 21, 2016 or Jan 19, 2017
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/04/2016 at 12:11 |
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Also there’s the whole fiscal year thing, but I don’t think that’s the reason for the early model years.
BigBlock440
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 12:42 |
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Or if you were born in Oct 1996, you can’t have a drivers license or government issued ID as a 1997 person. Then you are really a year younger.
But someone born in, say October 1997, will be in the same grade as someone born in June 1998, so essentially the same age.
Also, differences between option packages, colors, etc. are only offered on certain model years, and refreshes, new models, etc. You’d wind up with pretty substantial differences between two vehicle with the same year, which would make even less sense. Can you imagine trying to order parts for a car that was all new mid-year?
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BigBlock440
> Birddog
12/04/2016 at 12:44 |
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12/85 though, by the time it got to the original owner it would have been ‘86.
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Birddog
> BigBlock440
12/04/2016 at 12:52 |
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True. My 200X is 09/85 though. And it’s definitely an 86. Square “tube” frames only happened for 86 and 87.
gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 12:55 |
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I’ve always assumed it was for production reasons. Say you introduce a completely new model, you’ll want to run them off the assembly line in advance so you know everything will go smooth when you really ramp up production. If you star producing in May, all the kinks are ironed out by June, by August you’ve got a bunch of cars sitting around that you need to sell, which is when they start hitting showrooms so people can order and get cars by October. And there’s a definite marketing advantage to having your new product ready before the other guy.
But I really have no idea.
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TheBlacktopExperiment
> Chuckles
12/04/2016 at 17:07 |
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Exactly. It could get out of control then. I could in Jan 2020 buy a 2022 car maybe. It drives my OCD insane. I never liked model years because it never represents when a vehicle was produced. I am always forward about telling what year my car is by when it was made (my Buick built Sept 29th, 1971. It’s a 1972 model year car).
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TheBlacktopExperiment
> BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
12/04/2016 at 17:08 |
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I think that’s smarter. Europeans are great that way.
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TheBlacktopExperiment
> E90M3
12/04/2016 at 17:12 |
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I don’t like why they don’t follow a simple calendar year. We, in this world, use the calendar scheduling for so much. We don’t celebrate the new year in Sept 15, 2016. We don’t celebrate your birthday 3 months early (normally). So why do they essentially market being able to buy a car from the future, a new “model year”. I refuse to use it. If your car was built in Dec 2013, you should have a 2013 car.
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TheBlacktopExperiment
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/04/2016 at 17:19 |
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It appears so. For me, it just messes up your explanation of your cars age. When buying a car, I always look about when it’s built, not it’s model year. Because sometimes you have the people that even try and get away with an extra year. The car built in 2000 they claim is a 2002. It’s really a 2001 model year, but they can pass it off as a 2002 (cheat a bit) since it’s marketed as almost a year off to start. When people ask how old my car is, I tell them when it was built, not the model year. I’m a bit surprised when you have motorheads that don’t know the month and year their car was built. I know all the months and years of when my cars were built, sometimes even the week or day.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 17:27 |
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I don’t know the month or year my car was built, nor do I really care. It is a model year 2001, registered as a 2001, and I tell people it is a 15 year-old car (soon to be 16) from 2001. Was it probably in the factory in the year 2000? Most likely. But when people ask what year your car is, they just want the model year. I know this is going to sound snarky, but unless it’s a historically significant car, nobody cares what exact date it rolled off the assembly line.
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TheBlacktopExperiment
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/04/2016 at 17:31 |
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To each their own. I’m a bit of a James May type pendantic car lover. I actually share a lot in common with James interest in automobiles. Not everyone should care about the exact date their car was built or what year it is. I will always care, I know people that care so much they have birthdays for their car. But again it just depends on the person.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 17:32 |
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That is fair enough.
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Chuckles
> TheBlacktopExperiment
12/04/2016 at 17:32 |
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I do think there is a limit to the madness. Car companies may just find a different way to identify cars besides model year, or maybe we’ll go to half years instead of full years. Get the all new 2021.5 Chevy Cruze.
As for the OCD, here’s how I look at it: the model year refers to the version of the car that was on sale January 1st of that calendar year. My 2003 Honda Civic is the version that was on sale in January of 2003, even if I bought it a month earlier. It’s just an identifier so I can get the right part out of a catalog.
19JRC99
> Klaus Schmoll
12/16/2016 at 07:09 |
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Wait, so if I buy a ‘67 Mustang that was never registered, does that mean it’ll be a 2016 in Europe?
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Klaus Schmoll
> 19JRC99
12/16/2016 at 07:41 |
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Technically yes. BMW Classic built a “new” 2002 from scratch a couple of years ago as an exercise to prove that they have all the spare parts in stock. They had big problems registering it, since it was a new VIN that had never been used before and therefore the car had to meet modern emissions and safety standards. IDK if they found a way around that problem or if the car never got a registration. So your ‘67 Mustang would have to meet modern standards as well.