When I look at the chassis, utilities, body materials, fixtures of even my entry level RV, it seems to add up to well over half the price I paid for it. So, advertising, distribution, dealer margin, labor, warranty work, etc. must make up the rest of it. So, forcing 20% higher labor cost through incentives and more inspections would only add a small single digit increase to the consumer. The kind of margin that is paid or discounted in the very last round of negotiations at the dealer, where they try to see if you'll pay for their document fee or whatever.
I don't think it would take a miracle, just demand, to have competition based on quality, rather than number of flat screen tvs. Now, how to quantify quality in order to compare it?
Airstreams don't change much year to year. Their interiors tend to be a little understated. They sell every one they make. Many other RV manufacturers try to sell on glitz, fancy frameless windows, many floor plans, outside kitchens, and all kinds of amenities whether the average user needs them or not. The founder of Airstream said that the product would not be changed for the sake of change, only for improvements. At the end of the day there would be far fewer RV's on the road if they cost what quality demands. Is that good? I don't know.
Given the choice I would much rather have had in 1970 a Plymouth Duster with the slant six that ran for almost forever than any Japanese Corolla or whatever they were back then. I think some that drank the Japanese cars are better kool-aid have by now realized that a lot of that was pure perception. And we all know that perception is reality for lots of people, reality is irrevelant. Today that Duster can be taken to car shows and people like to see it; the Corolla from 1970 has long seen its end. Is it all about quality? Maybe not. But, the one that is still around speaks volumes.
And products made by Airstream, Prevost, BigFoot, NorthernLite and other quality manufacturers are still around years after many of the other's products have gone by the wayside. Maybe in the end quality is actually less expensive on long term lifetime cost cycle basis.
