Idea Napkin 1 - Week 6

1.     My name is Jon Dasher and I am a first year mechanical engineering student.  Although my previous idea had to do with computer applications, I have decided to switch my idea to something I am more passionate about, which is cars.  I have always been fairly mechanically oriented, as I have worked on cars and various other machines with my dad for years.  I hope to be able to develop an exhaust system for more affordable sports cars that allows for variable sound. 

2.     This system is already present in high end sports cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but when it comes to the middle of the line sports cars, there are very few options.  It is one of the biggest decisions for anyone who is looking to modify their car, whether they should get a loud exhaust or keep it soft.  Many people want to be able to really hear their engine sometimes, but when they are driving it on the highway, the sound becomes extremely irritating. 

3.     I would design a system for a few different cars at first like the Hyundai Genesis, Ford Mustang, Honda Civic, and Subaru BRZ/Scion FRS.  I chose these cars because they are the most common choices of cars for people who are modifying their cars (16-30-year-old males).  With this age range, customers are often not able to afford higher end sports cars, but they still want to be able to have a car that sounds fast and looks good. It is not all about the high performance, rather the aesthetic.  They are willing to spend maybe a thousand dollars on a new exhaust system, but anything more than that would be better spent on other car parts.

4.     My company would be appealing to these customers because there is virtually no other affordable, quality, variable exhaust system in the world.  With this exhaust system, they would be able to cruise with a high performance sounding exhaust, but when they are on longer road trips, they won’t have to worry about the annoying drone commonly found in high performance exhaust.  This would allow for a steady base to start the company off and eventually allow for the development of systems for other cars as well. 

5.     I think my technical background in mechanical engineering really sets apart as well as the fact that I am a part of my customer demographic.  I have a personal interest in my product because it is something that I would definitely want on my car and it is something that I have looked for but never found. 

I think these elements all fit together pretty well, especially the idea of just limiting production to the cars I mentioned because they are the most common middle-tier sports cars in the country.  The biggest weakness in my business concept is proving the quality of the product.  There are already many well-established exhaust companies like Ark, HKS, and Magnaflow, so it would be very difficult to get customers away from the brands they already trust.  My biggest strength is offering something that none of the more established companies deal with. Although there are a few other variable exhaust systems, they are extremely expensive and more oriented around performance, whereas mine would be much more affordable because it is mainly focused on the idea of having a powerful sounding car.