Dealers decide what's popular on cars, not the public...And it's always been that way!

People ask me all the time why certain musclecars always seem to have certain options, and they say-"Why would anyone buy that?"  Here's the answer-There's a few hard-nosed old school types like me and my dad left out there who will put down a deposit, and order a car just the way we want it and patiently wait 6 or 8 or 12 weeks for it to be built and delivered. However, about 98% of the buying public doens't want to wait, and they just buy something the dealer has in stock. Which means you don't always get the color combination you want or the engine / transmission combo or axle ratio or whatever. I've been thinking about buying a new truck. Every gearhead needs a truck to haul engines, tranmissions, tow things home, etc. I bought my last truck ten years ago, so it's about time. I live in Nevada. Funny thing,didn't matter if it was Chevy, Ford, Dodge, or Toyota every dealer was stocked with loaded, crew-cab 4wd models. That's their biggest sellers, so it stands to reason they'd have some of those. But that's ALL they had. If you wanted a 2wd model, or a regular cab model, or a lesser optioned 4wd model forget it. Now mind you, I'm not one of those jerks that wants a phone company truck-i.e. six cylinder,stick-shift, rubber floor mats, no radio,super-strippo price leader. I'd like a V8, an automatic, air conditioning,a CD player, cruise control, and maybe the towing package and a bed liner. I mean I'm going to drive this to work and back and haul leaking engines and transmissions from junkyards, and household garbage to the dump, and maybe tow a fishing boat behind it once in a while.  I don't need leather and Navigation and a moonroof and heated and cooled seats and heated mirrors, and a backseat DVD player, and bunch of other useless stuff that drives the price of the truck way up. If I wanted all that crap I'd buy a Mercedes or a Lexus or a Cadillac, not a pickup. It was amazing, no one had a mildy optioned regular cab 2wd ( or 4wd for that matter ) model. If you wanted anything other than a 4-door, 4wd, "Cowboy Cadillac" you were out of luck. They all said they'd gladly order anything I wanted if I gave them a deposit,and they all tried to coerce me into buying a $40,000 truck when I want a $25,000 truck. My kids are grown so I don't need a Crew Cab with a backseat. I don't NEED a 4-wheel drive. I spent part of my life in Missouri where it snows ten times what it does in Northern Nevada and my dad and all my uncles got around fine every winter in cars and 2wd pickups. The average idiot doesn't know it, but a 2wd with a posi will go just about anywhere a 4wd will. Anyhow, It got me thinking: This happened back in the musclecar era. Why do you think so many musclecars, whether their GM, Ford or Chrysler have vinyl tops? Not because every buyer thought they looked good, it's because it was a high-profit item for the dealer! The cars on the lot had vinyl tops, so people bought them and lived with them. The same thing with bucket seats. Most musclecars, even with a 4-speed, had bench seats standard. Once in a while you'll see a Chevelle or a Charger or Road Runner with bench seats, but not often. Again, not only were buckets popular, they were a high-profit item for the dealer. Ditto for center consoles. And except for a few hard-cores, most people would just buy the car anyway. That's why more musclecars are automatics than 4-speeds. Most actually had a 3 speed manual as the standard trans, with a 4-speed as an upgrade and then the slushbox as the top option. Again, the automatics made the dealer more profit, and were easier to sell. Especially if the guy had a wife or girlfriend that couldn't drive a stick. There were people that may have wanted a 4-speed that bought an automatic, but no one who wanted an automatic bought a stick. The same thing with engines. The classic musclecars were victims of their own excellence in this regard. Think about it. Unless you were a hard-core gear head / drag racer, you could be easily sold a base model. You might ask about the Hemi or 440 Six-Pack option on a Charger, but if the salesman let you drive one with a 440 4bbl, your going to say it's underpowered?  You test drive a 1969 GTO with the base 350 hp 400 and an M20 4-speed and 3.55 gears. It feels so freakin fast, and will smoke the tires at will in 1st and 2nd. If your not a total gear head are you really going to spend another $1000 for a Ram Air IV, a Rock Crusher, and a 4.33 posi? Even a 351W Mustang Mach 1 with a 4-speed or an automatic feels great when you drive it. Plenty of power, good handling. Especially if your not a mechanic or a racer, your not going to spend another $2,000 for a Boss 302, or a 428 CJ model. Actor Barry Newman-star of the car-chase cult classic "Vanishing Point" said it in an interview. They had 5 1970 Challenger R/T's. 4 of them were 440 / 4-speeds, and the Camera car was a 383/ Automatic. "We never timed them, but I have to say from seat-of-the-pants feel, that 383 model would run just as fast as the 440 cars." "That 383 was a great running car." That's why there aren't a lot of Hemis, LS6s, W30s, RAIVs, etc around. The base models ran so damnded good, that unless the buyer was a hard-core hot-rodder, they wouldn't hold out for a premium model, they'd just buy what was on the lot, usually for a lesser price, and a higher profit to the dealer than the one they wanted. That's the reason why there's 50,000 1970 SS396s and only 4,000 LS6 SS454s!!  Mastermind