3 ms·

This all assumes the "perfect information, even playing field" theory that capitalists love to use but is completely unrealistic. Reviews rarely talk about thi

by franga2000 3y ago

This all assumes the "perfect information, even playing field" theory that capitalists love to use but is completely unrealistic. Reviews rarely talk about things like this, this information is not explicitly given to reviewers or customers and neither can be expected to find out on their own (i.e. by trying to hack the car themselves), the car manufacturer spends insane amounts of money advertising to the buyer using every psychological trick in the book, the buyer is often under time pressure, the savings from cost-cutting are rarely passed down to the consumer... Buying things in the current market landscape is a battle, not an optimization problem.

AnthonyMouse 3y ago
> this information is not explicitly given to reviewers or customers and neither can be expected to find out on their own (i.e. by trying to hack the car themselves) Reviewers don't get the information by penetration testing the car themselves. They get the information because their profession is reviewing cars, so when they hear of this through their high contact surface area with industry news, they add it to their review on their website. > the car manufacturer spends insane amounts of money advertising to the buyer using every psychological trick in the book Because cars are big ticket items where a single incremental sale can justify a lot of ad spend, not because buyers are incapable of reading a review. > the buyer is often under time pressure The buyer is rarely under time pressure. Most people don't wait until their car breaks down to replace it, and even if they did and desperately need to have a car, then they would rent or lease one in the interim while shopping for another one. This is often even covered by insurance. Almost nobody is in the position of having to buy a car immediately without time to do any research, and the percentage of people who are isn't enough to significantly affect which cars or features succeed in the market. > the savings from cost-cutting are rarely passed down to the consumer That would imply that all new cars sell for the same price. Clearly they don't, because customers distinguish between them and are willing to pay different amounts. > Buying things in the current market landscape is a battle, not an optimization problem. So what you propose is that we reduce the information available to the buyer by requiring cost cutting to be underhanded rather than overt because overt cost cutting is prohibited, or that it not occur and instead prices go up even if you didn't need that feature and then poor people go broke because everything is more expensive.

AnthonyMouse 3y ago

> this information is not explicitly given to reviewers or customers and neither can be expected to find out on their own (i.e. by trying to hack the car themselves) Reviewers don't get the information by penetration testing the car themselves. They get the information because their profession is reviewing cars, so when they hear of this through their high contact surface area with industry news, they add it to their review on their website. > the car manufacturer spends insane amounts of money advertising to the buyer using every psychological trick in the book Because cars are big ticket items where a single incremental sale can justify a lot of ad spend, not because buyers are incapable of reading a review. > the buyer is often under time pressure The buyer is rarely under time pressure. Most people don't wait until their car breaks down to replace it, and even if they did and desperately need to have a car, then they would rent or lease one in the interim while shopping for another one. This is often even covered by insurance. Almost nobody is in the position of having to buy a car immediately without time to do any research, and the percentage of people who are isn't enough to significantly affect which cars or features succeed in the market. > the savings from cost-cutting are rarely passed down to the consumer That would imply that all new cars sell for the same price. Clearly they don't, because customers distinguish between them and are willing to pay different amounts. > Buying things in the current market landscape is a battle, not an optimization problem. So what you propose is that we reduce the information available to the buyer by requiring cost cutting to be underhanded rather than overt because overt cost cutting is prohibited, or that it not occur and instead prices go up even if you didn't need that feature and then poor people go broke because everything is more expensive.