No Frills - No-frills Automobiles

No-frills Automobiles

In the United States, a no-frills automobile model typically has a minimum of convenience equipment, a less powerful engine and spartan trim.

Frequently, these models represent the lowest-priced version of a larger selection of more lavishly equipped and trimmed models of that same car. Often, the less-expensive models are sold with a manual transmission and have a shorter options list.

One of the more famous no-frills cars was the Studebaker Scotsman, which was on sale from 1957 to 1958. These cars came with a low-grade cloth-trimmed front seat and contained only a driver's side sunvisor, no door armrests and painted trim (in lieu of chrome trim); even routine convenience items, such as a cigarette lighter and dome light were deleted. Buyers were allowed to buy only a low-cost heater and a few other trim and convenience items from a short options list; a radio was not offered as an option on this model (unlike Studebaker's more expensive models).

During the 1960s and early 1970s, American automakers offered several trim levels of full-sized models (each having a different name), with a price-leading no-frills versions. Examples included the Chevrolet Biscayne, Ford Custom 500, and Plymouth Fury I. While ostensibly targeted toward fleet buyers and business customers where luxury is not a concern, these cars were also available to private customers.

During the gasoline crisis of the 1970s, many American automakers began offering no-frills models on their compact lines of cars (such as the Ford Pinto MPG, and Plymouth Duster "Feather Duster"). As before, these models usually had spartan trim (vinyl seats with rubber floor covering); fewer convenience items than the more expensive models (i.e. no cigarette lighter); lighter-weight components (such as aluminum on various engine, body and suspension components); and a manual transmission.

Most no-frills cars are sold to fleet buyers, such as taxi companies or police departments. However, these models are generally available to cost-conscious private customers whose primary concerns were price, fuel economy and basic low-cost transportation.

The concept of a no-frills car in the European market was common in the 1950s with cars such as the Ford Abeille or the Citroën ID Normale. The Dacia Logan is a remarkable example of a recent no-frills car in Europe. Another example is Fiat Albea.

In Argentina and Brazil, the no-frills category takes a considerable share of the new car market. Costs cuts in base versions are listed, but not limited to:

• Very little or no soundproofing
• Low quality plastics
• Substitution of rubber on the dashboard to cheaper (rough) plastic
• String-based instead of acceleration-based seatbelt retraction mechanisms
• No seatbelt height adjustment
• No anti-lock braking systems or airbags, except where required by law
• No seat height adjustment
• No steering wheel adjustments
• Cheaper paint processes
• Overly facelifted models instead of new generations: Volkswagen Santana, Fiat Palio, Fiat Uno, Volkswagen Kombi, Volkswagen Golf, Chevrolet Corsa
• Cast iron cylinder heads and engine blocks
• No lambda sensor
• Retrofitting old generation components (older, less efficient engines, platforms, dashboard components) on a European designed vehicle: Ford Fiesta, Fiat Idea, Fiat Punto, Chevrolet Meriva, Volkswagen Polo.
• Selling the car with alternative nameplates. i.e.: Opel Corsa sold in China with the Buick Sail nameplate.
• Marketing old 1980s and 1990s designs, e.g. Volkswagen Golf Mk1 as Volkswagen Citi Golf.
• No lamps on the lateral direction lights or remotion of the lateral direction lights at all
• Single-piece plastic bumpers; any grills are designed by placing indentations on the plastic
• Low-quality springs on the suspension, compensated by a taller and harder adjustment
• Less maintenance on the tools used to build the vehicles
• No side-mirror heaters
• Smaller and more restrictive catalytic converters

While cost cuts are clearly visible in nearly any Mercosur car, the most aggressive form of no-frills cars available are the supermini and city cars sold at the Mercosur markets, notably the Chevrolet Celta, Chevrolet Corsa, Fiat Uno, Fiat Palio, Ford Ka and Volkswagen Gol. Those cars tend to be noisy and feature cost cuttings like:

• No lock on the fuel cap
• Elimination of nearly all process to polish or finish the molded plastic parts
• Substitution of black plastics by cheaper gray ones, even on unpainted bumpers
• 1-liter engine (due to Brazil's taxation according the engine displacement)
• Ultra-short gearbox, with the 5th gear scaled as the 4th gear of a regular 1.3 vehicle.
• Cheaper mufflers
• Thinner wheels (e.g. 145/70 R13 tires)
• Instrument panel only with speedometer, fuel gauge and warning lamps
• Two-point seatbelts or non-retractable three-point seatbelts for the rear passengers
• No rear headrests
• Fixed rear windows
• No anti-roll bar
• Smaller and thinner disk brakes, often non-ventilated
• Very thin and low quality trunk carpet
• No side carpets inside of the trunk and any other trunk carpet
• No cigarette lighter
• Less plastic interior coverings, including the covers of the front seat's rails
• No rear window wiper
• No rear window defogger
• Only two-speeds for the internal fan
• Cheaper, noisier internal fan
• Cheaper, imprecise mechanisms for setting the internal ventilation direction and heating.