From:	Chris Siebenmann <cks@********.UTCS.TORONTO.EDU>
Subject:	custom cars for mom & pop
Date:	Thu, 28 Jan 93 23:10:45 -0500

Why doesn't everyone have a custom car?
Well, for one thing, there's the short-term cost, as has been mentioned.
However, there's also some other hidden costs:
- requires custom servicing. After all, there's no car quite like
it; the mechanic is going to at least take longer to figure out
what's where and how it all fits together.
- watch those custom exotic bits; getting replacement parts will
at least cost more and take longer, possibly a lot longer (sure,
they can just fab you another one ... be here in three weeks).
and the big one:
- designing a good car is a lot of work; there's a bunch of
tradeoffs and balances involved. Mom & pop don't have that sort
of expertise, even with software helping them avoid truly stupid
choices. It's much easier to buy a Nissan Jackrabbit from the
dealership.

Custom cars are probably a vague status symbol among some groups. No doubt
there are some firms who make their living selling car/motorcycle/truck
designs to people, instead of the actual thing, not to mention customizing
them further for customers.

- cks