Car chips and the lack there of....

[Smilingreen]

I was pondering today the car chip "shortage" problem we are having. Is it really a "shortage" or is it a fast timeline forced obsolescence of Petrol cars? It seems strange that Covid has been over for a while, yet there remains a mass "shortage" of "chips" for petrol cars and yet, there doesn't seem to be any shortage of chips for electric cars. Enquiring minds want to know: Which part of a petrol car seems to have a chip shortage, what does it control and what controlled those parts before they were controlled by chips? One would think, there would be a whole lot more chips in a electric car than in a petrol powered one. Yes?

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

My neighbor is a car salesman for Chevy. He told me not too long ago they are selling vehicles with all the power features but they don't work. I really don't get it...

I kind of laughed when I seen a picture of the new Ford Edge has a huge screen now. I thought there was a shortage?!

 

[Smilingreen]

My neighbor is a car salesman for Chevy. He told me not too long a go they are selling vehicles with all the power features but they don't work. I really don't get it...

I kind of laughed when I seen a picture of the new Ford Edge has a huge screen now. I thought there was a shortage?!

The only creature comfort i need in a metal box that takes me from point A to point B is heat and air conditioning with a push rod cable inside the dash that makes it warm or cold. I surely don't need a playstation built into my vehicle, or a disco-tech or any of the other shit they have thrown on vehicles for millennials that drives a $15,000.00 plain vehicle to +$70,000.00 price tag. And for what? I would rather spend my money on things that make a difference in my life....like guns & cameras.......

 

[redpoint5]

My understanding is the chip shortage is related to 6" or 8" substrate, which is an older technology. Auto manufacturers are always way behind in the technology curve, partly because they have 5 year development cycles, and partly because they just go with what they know.

In other words, if their chips were based on modern 12" substrate, there wouldn't be a shortage.

The silicon fab I worked at previously had considered expanding their smaller diameter production, but they were hesitant to invest in that old tech which has a lot more manual labor than their modern lines. As an aside, these fabs already run 24/7. When there's fewer orders, they run extra material and warehouse it until demand picks up. There's not a lot of room to increase production capacity.

 

[garycrist]

A local chip manufacturer in here in Dallas, makes automotive chips. The problem is the "Let's Go Brandon"'s
"get a jab or get fired" policy. All the good ones retired or said F.O. Self inflicted Woke Wounds, ( I should copy right that)
has hurt a bunch of them! The replacements are sub-standard, semi-exburger flippers, that have problems just showing up.

A sub-standard, semi-exburger flipper one asks? Yes he will be cooking your burger next month when the last pay-check comes.

 

[redpoint5]

I'm curious what rules were imposed at my previous job. The fab workers already spend 12hrs in a bunny suit with face covering, and level 100 air filtration.

Local hospital is sending people away due to staffing shortages. Apparently it's safer to not treat people than to employ one of the few that didn't get the now ineffective vaccine.

 

[rolibr24]

The only creature comfort i need in a metal box that takes me from point A to point B is heat and air conditioning with a push rod cable inside the dash that makes it warm or cold. I surely don't need a playstation built into my vehicle, or a disco-tech or any of the other shit they have thrown on vehicles for millennials that drives a $15,000.00 plain vehicle to +$70,000.00 price tag. And for what? I would rather spend my money on things that make a difference in my life....like guns & cameras.......

Reliable, a crank up window, manual locks, am/fm radio, heat and vinyl floors is all I ask for.
Carpet on a truck floor is as useless as tits on a boar.

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

The only creature comfort i need in a metal box that takes me from point A to point B is heat and air conditioning with a push rod cable inside the dash that makes it warm or cold. I surely don't need a playstation built into my vehicle, or a disco-tech or any of the other shit they have thrown on vehicles for millennials that drives a $15,000.00 plain vehicle to +$70,000.00 price tag. And for what? I would rather spend my money on things that make a difference in my life....like guns & cameras.......

Reliable, a crank up window, manual locks, am/fm radio, heat and vinyl floors is all I ask for.
Carpet on a truck floor is as useless as tits on a boar.

I'm a 80's child and my first car was a 1968 Camaro. I actually still own it... I've got real comfortable with butt warmers and a steering wheel warmer haha. Also my defrosts work now!!!

On a serious note I will be starting to work on this car in 20 years and the one feature I will upgrade is adding fuel injection. I could never get carburetors to run smooth.

 

[garycrist]

With all of the car auctions on tv, ie. Barrett Jackson, Mecum etc. Then...

Reliable, a crank up window, manual locks, am/fm radio, heat and vinyl floors

can be had for less that 1/3 the price of a new one.

 

[vandyman]

It is hard to pin point what is going on here. Try to find a Raspberry Pi for sale.
The Pi uses an Arm7 chip.

 

[adamg]

The optimisitic answer is simple incompetance by people in the procurement departments of various car supplier and car assembly companies and transportation industries.

The pessimistic answer is as the OP mentioned: market manipulation to massively improve margins, eliminate many risks related to uncertain consumer purchase volume, and transforming consumer opinions.