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As you might expect from such a polarizing issue and thread, doing some research shows that the JD Power and Associates stat (80% of sold cars are trucks and SU

by dvt 3y ago

As you might expect from such a polarizing issue and thread, doing some research shows that the JD Power and Associates stat (80% of sold cars are trucks and SUVs) is extremely misleading, and probably meant to just be a headline-grabber. It includes glorified hatchbacks (that might be raised by 1-2 inches) like the Kona, CX-3, C-HR, HR-V, Crosstrek, Mercedes GLA, BMW X1, and Infiniti QX30.

aczerepinski 3y ago
Isn’t it still a problem as all these cars classified as trucks no longer have to meet car emissions and safety standards?
- dvt 3y ago
  I'm not sure what you mean. In California, at least, they do. But different states have different laws w.r.t. emission standards.
  - xyzzyz 3y ago
    The poster you are responding to is referring to misdesigned Obama-era CAFE efficiency standards, which created an incentive for companies to build bigger, heavier cars and classify them as light trucks or SUVs, because the customers did not like the cars that met the norms for the “car” classification. This is very much a federal issue.
- yodelshady 3y ago
  They're all sold in Europe, where they're legally cars, meet car safety standards and fuel consumption is usually only slightly worse, about the amount you'd expect from raising a hatchback body 1-2 inches. The layout also has obvious advantages for EVs, although Tesla does manage a sedan form factor. They are meaningfully different from "Jesus Christ I may have just killed a child whilst parking, because I am driving something doing a decent impersonation of the industrial equipment normally associated with an open-cast quarry".
tomtheelder 3y ago
Yeah my Kona EV falls into the comically silly class of “sub compact SUVs.” Also known as: this is a hatchback, but we know Americans won’t buy it unless we pretend it’s an SUV. Previously I owned a proper hatchback, and the dimensions are extremely similar. The hatchback was even a little longer.

by dvt 3y ago

aczerepinski 3y ago

Isn’t it still a problem as all these cars classified as trucks no longer have to meet car emissions and safety standards?

dvt 3y ago
I'm not sure what you mean. In California, at least, they do. But different states have different laws w.r.t. emission standards.
- xyzzyz 3y ago
  The poster you are responding to is referring to misdesigned Obama-era CAFE efficiency standards, which created an incentive for companies to build bigger, heavier cars and classify them as light trucks or SUVs, because the customers did not like the cars that met the norms for the “car” classification. This is very much a federal issue.
yodelshady 3y ago
They're all sold in Europe, where they're legally cars, meet car safety standards and fuel consumption is usually only slightly worse, about the amount you'd expect from raising a hatchback body 1-2 inches. The layout also has obvious advantages for EVs, although Tesla does manage a sedan form factor. They are meaningfully different from "Jesus Christ I may have just killed a child whilst parking, because I am driving something doing a decent impersonation of the industrial equipment normally associated with an open-cast quarry".

tomtheelder 3y ago

Yeah my Kona EV falls into the comically silly class of “sub compact SUVs.” Also known as: this is a hatchback, but we know Americans won’t buy it unless we pretend it’s an SUV. Previously I owned a proper hatchback, and the dimensions are extremely similar. The hatchback was even a little longer.