Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace

Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by Kirby64 on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:00PM (#33195804)

Does anyone proofread these?

"GM confirmed the price of the taillight to Car and Driver and explained the reason: each light has a microconductor in the housing that allows the individual lights to perform their respective animations."

Not sure what a 'microconductor' means, but any reasonable microcontroller that exists on the market for controlling something as simple as headlight automations shouldn't cost more than a few dollars, even in an automotive variant. Sounds more like price gouging to me.

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Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by thedanbob on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:22PM (#33196025)

> Sounds more like price gouging to me.

Exactly. Unless each taillight is run by a gold-plated Mac Studio there’s no reason for them to be that expensive.

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Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by hulitu on Thursday October 13, 2022 @05:11PM (#33196537)

They are not "expensive to produce". They are "expensive to sell".

I think even GM realised that the only people who buy Hammers are those with a lot of money and little knowledge in cars.

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Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by ncmncm on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:09PM (#33195894)

Some microcontrollers cannot be had for love or money nowadays, but they could surely substitute about any other.

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Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by exabrial on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:54PM (#33196348)

Is nobody asking why taillights "need" animations? Just use a fricken light bulb.

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Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by bsder on Thursday October 13, 2022 @06:44PM (#33197450)

It's risk shifting.

GM has almost certainly forced some subcontractor to bear the risk of holding the required inventory for the legally required repair period. That subcontractor worked out the cost per item to be able to do this--especially for something qualified as a safety system.

This price has very little to do with material cost and everything to do with outsourcing.

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Re:Pay Up: GMC Hummer EV Taillights Cost $6100 to Replace by rasz on Friday October 14, 2022 @04:59AM (#33201202)

microconductor makes all the difference here. This is why one light costs as much as TWO iMacs with 8-Core CPU/GPU, 512GB Storage, 8GB ram, 24-inch 4.5K Retina display. Apple doesnt have microconductors.

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