Alternatives for Improvement
- Discover more applications
for the current parts that are being produced: This would include off
road vehicles such as four wheelers, dirt bikes, or any other type of ATV.
This could also apply to motorized carts, buggies, or even wheel chair type
apparatus used for physically challenged individuals. Granted, a large
percentage of current products would not apply for some of these applications,
but any new applicable usages would help the industry. Pros of this
alternative would be the increase in products sold, more stability for the
industry through not being solely reliant on automobile sales, and the ability
to avoid much of the research and development costs because of the fact that
the products are already being produced for other purposes. Cons associated
with this alternative could be that there are not enough current products that
would be compatible for these applications, profit margin on the products
could be lessened because of the price that the customers are used to paying
is lower for these parts, and that there may be costs involved with
negotiating deals with the producers of these products.
- Support more vehicle usage:
This alternative would be an attempt to get consumers to use and purchase
vehicles more. This could include an advertising campaign that points out the
wonderful aspects of driving and owning vehicles, and emphasize how vehicles
are the best form of transportation out there. This could be done in
combination with large car companies such as Ford and Chevrolet because this
would be something that would be beneficial for both parties involved. The
more cars that are sold means more profit for the car dealers as well as the
auto parts manufacturers. Pros of this alternative would be the increased
profit of more products being sold, a lessened cost of the campaign because of
the joint effort, and the development of long lasting returns from the steady
increase of vehicles being used and sold. Cons of this alternative would be
the cost of putting together an advertising campaign, the difficulty of
working out any type of cooperative partnership with the car companies, and
the fact that there is no guarantee that the plan will be successful and help
sales at all.
- Discover more alternatives
for manufacturing materials: This would include a lot of research and
development initially, but it could be worth it in the log run. Steel is
currently the manufacturing material of choice. This is a good durable
material that does a very good job at what it is meant to do, but it is also
very expensive to buy. There is also fluctuation in the price of steel, and
this has had a negative effect on the profit margin of the products in this
industry. The reliance on steel forces the companies in the industry to pay
what they have to in order to get the needed amounts of the material. This
alternative is suggesting that the companies in the industry work together, in
order to spread out the costs, to research any other alternate materials that
would have the same durability as steel and could be used in its place. For
example, if a type of aluminum alloy could take the place of or be used in
combination with steel then there would be a cheaper and more readily
available material to use in production. Pros of this alternative would be
the elimination of dependence on the availability of steel, the use of a
cheaper material in production to increase profit margin of the products, and
the possible discovery of a lighter, more durable, and more available material
to use in production. Cons of this alternative would be the huge research ad
development costs associated with looking for such a material, the possibility
that a there is no better material that could be used for these purposes, and
the possibility that a material is chosen to replace steel that turns out not
to be compatible and causes many quality problems.
- Alternate fuel sources:
This alternative will take a lot of cooperation between the parts
manufacturers and the big auto dealers such as Ford and Chevrolet. This
teamwork could be possible because of the dependence that the two industries
have upon one another. One’s success has a great bearing on he others ability
to be successful. Therefore, I once again propose a partnered effort in
finding alternate fuel sources for vehicles to run on. This is mainly due to
the continued rise in gas prices. The gas prices are becoming a type of
deterrent that will keep people from wanting to use their vehicles as much,
and it can even lead to trying to find alternate forms of transportation. An
example of an alternate fuel source would be a fuel made from corn. This corn
fuel is already being experimented with and could become a very good source of
fuel. This natural plant can be grown over and over for the same low price,
but gas is created from a diminishing natural resource, and can become more
expensive to produce over time. Along these same lines, there could be many
more fuel sources that are available and could be discovered through
research. If a cheap alternate fuel source could be easily implemented into
the fuel systems that are in the vehicles, there could be great long run
profitability from the increase in willingness to drive more. Pros of this
alternative could be an increase in the use of vehicles, the building of a
cooperative relationship between the related industries, and the environmental
improvements that would result from a safer fuel and the reduction in the
depletion of a natural resource. Cons of this would be the immense costs that
would go into research and development, the possibility that there is not
another fuel source that would be compatible, and the chance that the
industries would not be willing to share the costs of this project.