The Chips We Love and Hate

In a list of the best and worst chips, Doritos are at the top. On the texture, crunch, and flavor scale, whether it’s Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch, or Flamin’ Hot Nachos, Doritos get the highest ratings. Next, knowing that Lay’s occupies the #2 slot and Cape Cod Kettle Chips snagged #3, we can leap to the bottom to Munchos at #17, Kirkland Signature Chips,#16, and Sun Chips, #15. According to Mashed, Munchos have a cardboard quality, Kirkland underwhelms, and for Sun Chips, diminishing marginal utility quickly sets in.

Because of Covid, snack chip makers have been cutting production of their worst sellers. A bit similarly, automakers have also adjusted to chip problems. They though have eliminated some of the options that we most love.

Let’s take a look.

Where We Have Fewer Chips

Because supply chain constraints have chipped away at snack makers’ production capacity, they’ve decided to remove entire items from store shelves. Including Salsa Verde, Doritos had to eliminate approximately 21 percent of their products. Meanwhile, it will be tough to find Spicy Jalapeno Fritos and lightly salted Lay’s. And yes, some of us might be troubled that Campbell has had trouble keeping up with the surge in demand for Cheddar Goldfish. But I doubt that few people will mourn the disappearance of Eggo Spider-Man Mixed Berry Marvel Waffles.

However, the impact of the auto chips shortage will unsettle some of us.

Also faced with shortages, automakers decided to make some cars with fewer chips. Sadly, one of the first to go at GM will be the seat warmers in their SUVs and pickups. For selected models, heated steering wheels are also on the way out. At BMW, they made the decision to remove touchscreen functionality in certain models while some Chevrolets will no longer have their HD radio capability. I could continue with a long list from Car and Driver but you get the picture.

Our Bottom Line: Tradeoffs

Snack chip makers and auto manufacturers have been thinking economically. Chip cutbacks have forced them to make tradeoffs. The snack chip people decided on product tradeoffs. They could produce more of one item if they made less of another. Dealing with a bit more complexity, the automakers took the elimination route. They reduced their demand for chips by shrinking the options list.

Online comments indicate that the most cataclysmic omission will be the seat warmer.

My sources and more: Thanks to the Hustle for alerting me to the seat warmer situation. From there, Car And Driver had the list of all the auto makers are cutting out of our cars. Then, pondering chips, I wondered about the crunchy kind and wound up at Mashed. I also went to eatthis.com.