<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Coleman_lot:
Hey, it seem that Odyssey will be redesign to a brand new style in 2004. It is very hard to keep up with the car maker now. They should keep the same look atleast 10 years. They keep come up with something new all the time. Everytime they redesign to the new look or style, it drop the value of the previous or current model. It seem that it is getting more and more expensive each time the new model year come out. Is there anything to regulate the automobile maker to keep the price down?</font>
Once a manufacturer has been paid for selling a new model, they care little (if any) about resale value - they already have their money. After that their goal is to attract new buyers and generally speaking, people don't want to drive what's already out there. They want something that looks new.
Manufacturers can't simply wait for sales to begin dropping to usher out a new model. There's too much lead time required to plan, design, engineer and manufacture a vehicle.
Also, federal requirements change frequently(crash protection, emissions, etc.). A certain design may reach a point where it is no longer cost-effective to modify.
Regulate automakers? Not likely. Americans are pretty vain about the cars they drive which is why so many trade-in their vehicles even though their existing vehicle may have been serving their needs perfectly. Many people seem to have a perpetual monthly car payment for this reason.
Five year on the same platform is not too bad of a stretch for the Odyssey, especially when you consider the competitive nature of the minivan market. Over time, designs become "tired" in the eyes of the public. New designs sell new cars.
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