3 ms·
The last age of the small car, which was pretty much the late 1970s in the US: - oil embargo - cars went downhill very quickly (planned obsolesence) - inflat
by AtlasBarfed 3y ago
The last age of the small car, which was pretty much the late 1970s in the US:
- oil embargo
- cars went downhill very quickly (planned obsolesence)
- inflation meant new car buyers could buy less.
Small cars died steadily under four decades of cheap gas, globalized production and financing keeping larger cars affordable (or at least, financable). Cars got a lot better, so used cars would work perfectly fine so you chose between a crappy small new car and a much better used one.
Now?
- used cars since COVID are still really expensive
- inflation again, and even before inflation, the 7-10 year car loan was becoming really common
- gas prices are a lot more volatile in the consumer perspective, and from a political long term standpoint carbon taxes may come into play soon in addition to reduced financing for new petroleum projects
- cash for clunkers will likely appear again in the next decade / recession as a way to usher off old ICE cars off the market
- increasing urbanization of the US combined with decreased tolerance for car traffic may result in SUVs being banned from cities, or an exhorbitant tax
- the war on the younger generations means along with increased global warming awareness means that an affordable small EV is likely much more "socially" acceptable, maybe even desirable.
- All US car companies are global, and the Chinese car companies are doing quite well in international markets. If China wins this market segment (especially in the Indian/Chinese market where there are 2.5 billion people) then that provides enormous scale to assault all other market segments. They are already climbing the model ladder in Europe.
The SUV/Pickup is still king of the US, but let's face it that was always a product of marketing. Marketing can falter quickly. The most popular vehicles aren't even SUVs, they are station wagons dressed up in marketese as "crossovers". That shift has already begun.