O/T: Talking Cars Tuesday: The death of cars?
So, with Ford and Chrysler essentially abandoning the car market, and many other automakers investing heavily in crossovers, are cars truly dead?
I've been fairly open in my slow conversion to sedans. I was a (kind of) early adopter to the SUV scene back when the people in the school of natural resources were bemoaning the popularity of SUV's. I had an XJ Cherokee and loved it.
But as time went on and my little ones came along, it stopped working out for me. My grumpy old ass just doesn't like sharing space with my luggage. And with AWD and new tires the clear foul weather advantage of SUV's started to fade for me. Now I have a Commander and a Five Hundred, and the Five Hundred is far and away my choice for trips.
So, what is your preference? Sedans or SUV's, and why? And while Toyota Honda, and other makes still make some mass market cars do you truly think their days are numbered?
I'd rather commute in a sedan. I like the higher-up seating of the SUV, but I just like sedans better overall. I have a small SUV, though, because it's just me in the household. I need the cargo space for trips to Lowe's and other stuff-hauling events. Bigger cars just aren't that fun to drive, though.
Toyota, by the way, made like a 1-1.5% profit margin in North America last year. The Asians don't really have a magic formula for making money off sedans. They've been incentivizing the H-E-L-L out of them - particularly Camry in order to keep it at the top of the non-pickup heap. Now that RAV4 has taken over that role for Toyota, I wonder how much stomach they'll have for continuing the incentives.
Truthfully, I think fuel economy rules killed the demand for sedans. Before they existed, you had cars the size of icebergs. The first wave of CAFE rules in the late 70s killed the land yacht, but not the need to haul stuff. Eventually the Plymouth Voyager and Ford Explorer were invented and people loved them. The next wave of big CAFE changes in the 00s was supposed to kill the SUV and force consumers into Nissan Versas. Too bad people still wanted a car they could fit things in. The automakers responded by making their SUVs fuel-conscious enough for most consumers, so now they're buying SUVs again. Personally I like the ride height and need the space, and that's enough for me to stick with the SUV. If I had a two-car household (well, I do, but one is a toy and that's not the point) then probably one would be a commuter-car sedan and one would be a stuff-hauler.
My wife recently changed jobs and now has a long commute. This means that it's time to trade in our Pilot, that gets roughly 18 mpg, for something of similar size that gets better MPG. The problem is the vans don't get much better MPG themselves and we don't have the money to get some new hybrid. How is it 2018 and we can't produce larger vehicles that are more affordable for families? Is it that the industry refuses to make it happen, or just that the size and engines of the vehicles prevent it from ever happening?
Many moons ago, I owned a 1983 Mercury LN7 (first car I every bought, so give me a break here) with a 1.6L 4-cyl motor that got 34MPG on the highway. It was not exactly a powerful motor in a pretty small car. I just bought an Audi A5 Sportback with a turbo 2L 4-cyl motor that gets 34MPG on the highway. The car itself probably weighs 500 pounds more than my old LN7. All the technology in today's motors doesn't come cheap and consumers are pretty price sensitive when it comes to buying vehicles.
Also, your Audi gets 252HP, where the Mercury was at 70HP. And the Audi emissions are ridiculously tiny compared to the Mercury.
Horsepower up, emissions down, weight and safety up, gas mileage equal is pretty great!
SUV's are typically engineered to be more durable than sedans, more like a truck. Even CUV's do, too, although to a lesser extent.. Better for road potholes, off road, etc.
They are also:
(a) are capable of towing/hauling larger loads, etc.
(b) larger, requiring more/larger interior trim. larger wheels/tires, larger Roof, more Roof Bows, etc;
(c) have Liftgates instead of Decklids which costs more due to all of the added/upgraded hardware (more trim, wiper/washer, power operation, lightweight materials to assist with opening/closing, hinges, elec. wiring, etc). Also requires a more reinforced Liftgate opening to prevent matchboxing, squeaks (also due to item D below), etc;
(d) don't have a "Package Tray" (the shelf between the rear seat and rear window/backlite) so they inherently have less torsional rigidity than a sedan which requires stiffening other areas that are not as efficient as a direct beam connection that the Pkg Tray enables (items C & D exist on a smaller scale for hatchback cars);
(e) many have large sunroofs often combined with panoramic fixed glass panels, etc.
This is not an all inclusive list, but gives you an idea why sedans cost less.
I think that there are a number of factors. A big one is that while I'm on board with you, most of the demand isn't for the big, cheap econoline with canvas interior that my aunt had for her family.
People want big cars, but no one wants a rock bottom car anymore. For years, the first car for most people in my family was some sort of econobox (Toyota, Ford, or Chrysler) with canvas interior and carpet delete.
Now, try to find any car that doesn't have a kick ass stereo, uber nice if not leather interior, ridiculous key fob, and infotainment system.
They're there because that's what people buy, and the automakers are way more than happy to supply them.
As engines get more and more eco fuel efficient, cars are becoming more and more pointless. They often take up the same footprint as small SUV's. I think small cars will have their place for a while, but mid to large size sedans seem pointless to me.
Know what's better than a small SUV (a hatchback on stilts)?
A hatchback!
I think it depends. I used to think as you do. But then I realized that my Jeep Commander, which has a decent space behind the mid row seats, doesn't have 100% usable space back there if I want to actually see out of the rear of the vehicle, or not worry about shit falling on my kids heads in a sudden stop situation.
And even with eco engines aerodynamics and mass play a part.
How about: the death of MGoBlog?
I drive a Ram 1500 Big Horn because I like trucks and I will likely always drive a truck. Up higher, feel safer, snow is never an issue, can haul just about anything etc.
The wife drives a hatchback crossover/mini-SUV (Ford Edge) and absolutely loves it.
I always preferred sedans, but with all the vehicles on road around me SUVs and Crossovers I am getting a terrible view of the road ahead. It is like being the shortest kid in class when every body is standing to see something.
In the days when MGoBlog allowed embedded videos, by now we might've heard from Gary Numan about "the death of Cars".
