Online configurators

The style of writing on this blog can sometimes be likened to a textbook, I concede.

Customization of a product by the consumer is a hallmark of modern business, in this case the automotive industry. If one visits the website of any automaker, and selects a particular model, then one is nearly always presented the option of "Build Your Own".

The tool appearing on the website, after one chooses that option, is sometimes called a configurator, which generally uses Adobe® Flash® to deliver the content.

An article on AutoBlog inspired me to write this post. Car and Driver reports that"McLaren Launches Online Configurator for MP4-12C Supercar."

In the United States, the Chevrolet Camaro was first introduced in 1967 to compete with the Ford Mustang. Another pony car, the Pontiac Firebird shared the platform with the Camaro, which was known as the F-body. With declining sales, General Motors ceased production of the Camaro and Firebird in 2002. The Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT) was a black 1982 Firebird Trans-Am.

At the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Chevrolet debuted the Camaro concept coupe, which was inspired both by the 1969 Camaro and by the retro design of the 2005 Ford Mustang. The fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro shares the Holden-engineered Zeta platform with several Australian models. Kitto I enjoy the sight of the rows of Camaros at Superior Chevrolet, a Kansas City dealer near which I reside. The Camaro outsold the Mustang for the ninth month in a row, and also has a configurator on its site.

Whatever is said about Nissan, I especially like the 370Z®, the cube® and the legendary GT-R™. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) premiered the series Heroes in 2006 with the character Hiro driving a Versa®. In fall, 2007, the character Claire was given a Rogue®. An on-line advertisement for the Nissan Rogue caused me to include its configurator.

Any further configurator, to which I link in this entry, will have been discovered with a search of AutoBlog. A crossover-utility vehicle (CUV) usually shares passenger-car characteristics (a unitized platform, a car-like ride, and good fuel economy) with the cargo- and people-carrying capabilities of a truck-based (body-on-frame), sport-utility vehicle (SUV) . The Nissan Rogue is an example of a compact CUV, but the Ford Edge is an example of a mid-size CUV, whose configurator is located off an another page.

Ford has introduced many new and redesigned vehicles in the last year. EcoBoost™ technology, a gasoline, turbocharged, direct-injection (GTDI) engine, was first produced in the Lincoln MKS, but my favorite application of this technology is the Ford Taurus SHO (super-high output).

Saddle Up! Like your girlfriend, 2011 Ford Mustang configurator comes online — Autoblog.

Perhaps the most interesting configurators are for luxury or exotic cars: the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Ferrari 599 GTO, the Jaguar XJ, the Koenigsegg Agera, the Lexus LFA, the Porsche 911 C4S, and the Porsche Panamera.