And this looks like a convincing argument against a state driven economy.
I will take the looks of Teslas (and other market driven cars) any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
- Chevette was one of many models on the market. Trabant was one of two cars produced in East Germany and there was a wait list of several years just to get one. Perhaps it is better to compare Trabant to what its creators' West German cousins made in Wolfsburg (ironically very close to East German border) - the VW Golf!
One of the functions. But when I say "unchanged" I was referring primarily to the technology. It still had 1950s technology in 1989 because lack of competition in the socialist system meant there was no incentive to evolve. When the border was opened and Trabants came to the West it was a problem because they were polluting 4 times as much than allowed in West Germany.
No, it's the people who want their cars to look good as well as well as have a lot of features.
Who should determine what's "best"?
Mandate unity square bodies so cars can't be distinguished by looks? What's wrong with updating the looks of a car every few years?
Hallelujah! The unthinkable has happened!
The looks of a car do not change significantly if at all (sometimes models get a mid-generation "face lift" but those changes are minor) from one year to the next. Changes occur every few years when the new generation is introduced and it has many changes under the skin as well. Take for example Toyota Corolla - it has had 11 generations in about 50 years. Or take BMW 3 series. Introduced in 1975, it went through 6 generations until today. The first generation lasted from 1975-1981, and the current generation has been with us since 2012. That doesn't seem like too rapid a change to me.
Well it wouldn't if it were true which it isn't.
Then buy a 911. Jeremy Clarkson called Porsche designers the laziest in the business because the 911 changed so little visually over the years.
Which is why no car manufacturer changes their design on a yearly basis.
Which is what we have really. Model generations of about 5 years are the norm.
Customers.
Of course there is. There are many car manufacturers with different models, design philosophies and price points.
Perhaps because nobody would buy it unless the design is already iconic. Otherwise they want their new car to look new.
Again, buy a 911.
Then we already live in a balanced middle position. No unnecessary change every year and no socialist stasis either.
If they change the mechanics the dimensions will likely change as well. So they will need to change the sheet metal to go with it anyway. And again, it's not "least year's model" as models do not change on a yearly basis.
Actually, it's like saying Stark Industries is what it is because his father made a tremendous windfall from the defense contracts in World War II and later their support of the U.S. military in the Vietnam War, the anti-mutant defense programs of the 60s and 70s and the formation of SHIELD in the 80s and 90s.
