These Are The Features You Would Sacrifice To Make Modern Cars Cheaper

Capitalism is at it again and as things have continued to get more expensive, the things we purchase are getting to be more cheaply made. It's rather disappointing when the $50,000 vehicle you bought five years ago was nicer than the $50,000 vehicle you purchased in the year 2026. And that's if you can even afford a $50,000 vehicle, which currently stands as the average new car price. 

The average used car price doesn't feel that much cheaper either as it now sits at $30,000. The problem arises from vehicles that are more expensive to make thanks to tariffs, safety features and technology, and many are much larger than their past examples. Throw in that automakers have been making less of them over the years as well, and you have the perfect storm in the form of an awful car market.

But what if we were willing to give up those luxuries and niceties? If we sacrificed some of these features could we make a car cheaper today? Many of you said no, but if it was possible, Jalops came in with long lists of features they'd be happy to part with for a cheaper vehicle. Here are some of the best answers.

Any and all "safety" features. Lane departure, blind spot monitoring, collision warnings etc... If youre actually paying attention to your driving, you dont need these things.

From Nick B

To do that would require some edits to NHTSA regulations for the industry. Otherwise, you make a fair point.

Flappy paddles.

Unless it's a 430 Scud or whatever it doesn't need an F1 style box. Manual or auto, I don't need to pretend I'm Lewis Hamilton while driving a blazer

From JaredOfLondon

Screens. All of them.

Give me an analog gauge, and a phone mount like Slate, and I'll happily provide my own screen/infotainment/navigation.

AND

To me, the better question would be, "Which features would you sacrifice?" Don't even care if it makes the vehicle cheaper. I'd happily get rid of the infotainment system, AEB, BSM, LKA, ACC, autonomous anything, and I have absolutely no need for heated seats if I've got fabric seats. The entire reason everybody loves heated seats is because leather and fake leather absolutely suck in the cold, far more than fabric. Physical controls, AC, basic Cruise, BT audio, and electric windows (stares accusingly at Slate) are all I really want.

AND

• Touch screens, large screens in general
• Digital gauge clusters
• Pretty much all Infotainment
• Any and all "safety assists"
• Adaptive cruise
• Blind spot monitoring
• Backup assist
• Lane keep assist
• Auto parking
• Auto braking
• 360 cams
• Any self driving tech
• Oversized sunroofs/moonroofs
• Cylinder deactivation and auto stop/start
• Overly large wheels with expensive tires
• Anything haptic touch
• Transmission with more than 6 gears
• Electric parking brakes
• Electric door handles
• "connected" services
• Any subscription

  Oh, so I want a pre-Tesla era car.

From dolsh, Chase and Subaru Headgasket

Self driving tech and anything AI

From WillyG63

Don't need a built-in nav system. Just give me a screen and Apple CarPlay or, at a minimum, a place to mount my phone and a stereo with Bluetooth. Get rid of power seats (heated seats are nice but not a necessity). Sunroof...don't actually use mine much. Automatic headlights? I don't have a problem remembering to turn on my headlights at night (or when it's raining). Automatic transmission...just give me a manual. Automatic wipers...too fancy. Get rid of all the plastic shrouding covering everything under the hood. Cruise control...I can probably count on one hand how many times I've used it.

From Mr. Whatsittoya

Auto start/stop. The safety nannies such as you can't do this without your seat belt on, truck in park, key inside de the vehicle, etc. Sunroofs, moon roofs. Kick under the car to open the hatch or power tailgates on trucks. Massaging seats.

From Jecketman

I'll sacrifice the manufacturer tracking me and selling my driving data for free!

From Thomas Hajicek

Scrap anything that focuses purely on aesthetics and my comfort and keep visibility and safety monitoring.

Give me smaller wheels with more sidewall – cheaper to produce, maintain and replace.

Get rid of the sunroof. Eliminate auto stop/start. No need for heated, ventilated, massaging seats.

Good back-up camera, blind spot monitoring, and a fairly decent stereo with bluetooth is all I need.

Lock in my car's features from 2014, essentially.

From Sector7GWagen

Power seats, power adjustable steering wheel, and power adjustable pedals. I'm the only one that drives my truck 99.99% of the time, so they were set ages ago and totally left alone. I would also say power mirrors but I do adjust frequently when towing.

Don't personally have them, but I'd also say power sliding doors and tailgates. Just seems to be an answer to a question no one really asked, and now they're pretty much standard on most vehicles.

From Brewman15

What I would gladly sacrifice is the size. A first gen outback is not small at 185" long, 67" wide and 63" high But a current gen Outback is 6" longer, 7" wider and 5" taller. That doesn't seem like a lot but it's BIG.

I could fit a first gen outback and a civic in my 1957 house's garage side by side and still have room for bikes and lawn stuff like mowers and snowblowers. Now, it's a one car garage because the outback has grown (as has the civic)

I just hate that every vehicle has to get bigger and bigger.

Bring back the small cars. Stop inflating every vehicle.

From Buckfiddious

Is capitalism a feature? If so, then definitely Capitalism.

From SantaCruzin