Features
Clarkson on choice
So, Mercedes offers a choice of three different wheels for the SL, one of which adds a huge £910 to the price. I'd like to see how these might look on the car, but oddly, that isn't technically possible.
I'm picking on Mercedes here, but, truth be told, all car firms are just as bad. Mean in what they offer and meaner still in how those offers are displayed. For instance, if you are thinking of buying an M3, which is excellent, you will go to the BMW site where you are invited to build your own car.
So you click the link, and the screen immediately says: "The BMW Car Configurator uses Java Applet technology for which you require a Java plug-in for your browser. Please check this plug-in is installed and enabled. In the menu option 'Tools' go to 'Internet Options' and then 'Security'. Click on 'Custom Level...' and scroll to 'Microsoft VM'. Under 'Java permissions' click on 'High safety'.
If there is no 'Microsoft VM' entry, the virtual machine is not installed. You can obtain this plug-in at: http://www.java.com/en/download. You may require administration rights on your PC to carry out the installation. If problems occur following the installation, please contact ecommerce@bmw.co.uk."
'Someone should set up a business which takes new cars and tailors them precisely to a customer's requirements'
What the hell does that mean? No one ever got rich enough to spend £50k on a car by spending half a day whittling away at the electronic wet dream of some nerd in Bracknell. Just put the car on the screen and shut up.
Or we'll buy RS4s instead... except we won't, because the RS4 isn't listed on the Audi UK website. A site where you are invited to design your car, submit the ideas to the factory and wait while it decides whether such a car can be built.
I therefore have a plan which might come in handy as the Badger and his cruel Scottish boss lose ever more control over the nation's wealth. We know from the world of interior design there are a great many people who will pay a great deal of money for something unusual, something different.
Therefore, someone should set up a business which takes new cars and tailors them precisely to a customer's requirements. Wheels. Window tinting. Electronics. Leather. Paint. You could even do a deal with Audi, BMW, Merc and Jag whereby unpainted, untrimmed shells are sent to your workshop for the last, and most important stage of manufacture.
The future's bright. You could make it orange too.
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