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The market is pushing for all SUVs, more than 70% of new cars sold are SUVs or Trucks. The car companies don't decide to make all SUVs, the consumer decided the
by Frogeman 2y ago
The market is pushing for all SUVs, more than 70% of new cars sold are SUVs or Trucks. The car companies don't decide to make all SUVs, the consumer decided they only wanted those vehicles and the car companies obliged.
- downrightmike 2y agoThat's because no one makes a sub $35k car anymore. They have pushed all options to luxury and are not meeting the demand of the market, so you buy what you can get.
- analyte123 2y agoA new Civic, Elantra, or Corolla all have MSRPs under $25k.
- dylan604 2y agoNot one of the cars you just listed are GM et al US makers. Sure, they might be made here, but not one of them is an "American" car.
- floxy 2y agoChevy Malibu -- starts at $25,100 https://www.chevrolet.com/cars/malibu https://www.chevrolet.com/cars/malibu
- downrightmike 2y agoMSRPs aren't actually that low in practice
- floxy 2y agoSeems like the Chevy Malibu is currently selling significantly under MSRP: $20,915 -- https://www.jimmckaychevrolet.com/new-Fairfax-2024-Chevrolet-Malibu-RS-1G1ZG5ST9RF190780 https://www.jimmckaychevrolet.com/new-Fairfax-2024-Chevrolet... $20,999 -- https://www.cooperautogroup.com/inventory/new-2024-chevrolet-malibu-ls-fwd-4d-sedan-1g1zb5st3rf186464/ https://www.cooperautogroup.com/inventory/new-2024-chevrolet... $20,665 -- https://www.earnhardtchevrolet.com/new-Chandler-2024-Chevrolet-Malibu-LS-1G1ZB5ST8RF136806 https://www.earnhardtchevrolet.com/new-Chandler-2024-Chevrol... $21,065 -- https://www.graffchevy.com/inventory/new-2024-chevrolet-malibu-rs-front-wheel-drive-sedan-1g1zg5st8rf195047/ https://www.graffchevy.com/inventory/new-2024-chevrolet-mali... $21,995 -- https://www.homewoodchevy.com/inventory/new-2024-chevrolet-malibu-ls-front-wheel-drive-sedan-1g1zb5stxrf220819/ https://www.homewoodchevy.com/inventory/new-2024-chevrolet-m...
- nativeit 2y agoTo indulge a tangent, which attribute would you say is determinative for an “American car”? Is it just where the corporation is registered? That’s probably international across the board, after all Jeeps are Chryslers are Fiats are Peugeots are all Stellantis and are headquartered in the Netherlands by way of France, Italy, and America. I suppose Ford still resembles its original American identity, even if they’d really like to build more cars in Mexico. General Motors is still mostly an American brand, but it also sold Hummer to a Chinese company, and has several platforms that are shared with European and Asian brands. If it’s simply where the board members hold meetings, then I’m not too keen on buying American for its own sake, but the broader point is, what the hell even is an American car anymore? I would argue the location of its manufacture is probably the most significant factor, as it contributes the most towards what I think of people commonly think of as buying “American”—things like supporting the assembly line workers, and as much as possible keeping the economic activities surrounding its production domestic. To that end, my BMW 3-series was built in South Carolina, and would then rank as an American car. But that notion is pretty absurd to my sensibilities, so maybe it’s more of a cultural idea? So American cars could be made anywhere, as long as they’re huge, overpowered, and are a Ford F-150. By that logic, I’d call a Jeep Wrangler American, but probably not the Wagoneer (see: Range Rover), and certainly not the Compass (see: pre-Genesis Hyundai). This definition seems far too ambiguous and subjective. Ultimately, I think globalization has effectively ended the whole idea of nationalistic car manufacturing. Like a lot of now-vestigial cultural institutions, the modern world economy has consumed these old modes of thought, and left them to be wielded as marketing by advertising agencies who eagerly leverage our nostalgia and cultural identities to craft the illusion that these brands still represent the American Way®.
- tcmart14 2y agoIf only I could find one on the local car lots that where under that price... Instead the local car dealers all have those cars tricked out, then it becomes a question, pay for that with all the bells and whistles (which I don't want) or buy the SUV that is the same price that they do have on the lot?
- wannacboatmovie 2y agoThis is patently false.
- notaustinpowers 2y agoWell, when you haven't updated your sedan in 6 years but still charge the same price as when it first released, it's easy to claim "lack of customer demand".
- tashoecraft 2y agoLook around you when driving. If you're in a small car like me, vw golf, you realize how out of place you are. Every vehicle behind me feels like they have their high beams on because their car is so much higher off the ground. I love the efficiency of my small car, but the lack of safety to those outside of the vehicle is a huge concern. One can buy a 2ton vehicle off the lot today that can do 0-60 in 3.0, the hummer ev. I really don't feel safe in a small car anymore. I'm not the only one who thinks this. It's a race to get bigger and beefier cars . Unless we put in regulations, it's only going to get worse. No wonder pedestrian deaths have risen.
- ZoomerCretin 2y agoNit: the hummer EV is 4.5 tons. The average SUV only has 2 tons of mass.
- NegativeLatency 2y agoThis ignores the effects of marketing through advertising, product placement and taping into stuff like masculinity and toxic individualism. It's more profitable to sell us larger/bigger/scarier cars in the vehicle size/weight arms race.
- mc32 2y agoI dislike overweight behemoths as much as any cyclist of pedestrian would, but neither masculinity or individualism have much to do with it. Arguably cycling is more individualistic than driving an automobile. As for masculinity, if you were saying that about muscle cars, yeah, ok; maybe -afterall men get accused of buying those to compensate for lost masculinity. But anyway women like SUVs as much as men (women buy more SUVs, men buy more light trucks). No surprise they’re called hausfrauenpanzer.
- NegativeLatency 2y agoLet's say collectivism is the opposite of individualism, so if I was to take a collectivist mindset about my car choice something I might consider would be making sure I can see the other people in my community well while driving (because cars are dangerous) and I don't want to hurt someone. I'd argue that the opposite of that choice would be to buy a larger vehicle which makes me more safe at the expense of other people, by making them harder to see and hurting people more because of vehicle mass. As for masculinity, anyone regardless of their gender can do stereotypically masculine or feminine things. For example men who do drag are generally dressing in a more classical feminine style. In the barbie movie, when the Kens took over they were pictured with a big hummer EV, not any of the other smaller cars we saw in the movie.
- mc32 2y agoMacho is driving 120+ in 1000 or 1200cc Honda, BMW or Ducati, or other times a driving a cambered small car down the road at high speed as well. Or it could be going down the middle of O'Shaughnessy on a skateboard. Fem is getting behind a 5000lb SUV. So it's no surprise women and families choose SUVs. Individualism could be getting up early to bike all the way to Mt Tam, or getting up early to catch the surf. Collectivism might be taking the family out to a BBQ at the park, or going to the supermarket and doing the grocery shopping for the fam.
- OtherShrezzing 2y agoThere's pretty significant tax exemptions on SUVs [1] - so a big part of that "consumer choice guiding the market" is actually "the government's choice guiding the consumer's choice, guiding the market". Given the size of automotive lobbying in the USA, you could reasonably extend that to "the automotive lobby groups guiding the government's choice, guiding the consumer's choice, guiding the market". [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/07/trucks-outnumber-cars/# https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/07/trucks-ou...
- fire_lake 2y agoYes. The taxes on these vehicles need to be raised considerably to discourage people.
- wannacboatmovie 2y agoNanny state nonsense and government overreach. If you want to drive a Smart car no one is stopping you. Others make can their own appropriate choices.
- fire_lake 2y agoFreedom doesn’t include the freedom to expose others to excessive risk. No way I’m driving a smart car in a herd of F150s
- megablast 2y agoThese cars cause way more damage to road, cars, infrastructure and people. And they are twice as likely to kill someone in a serious crash. You don't think that should be discouraged.
- wannacboatmovie 2y agoEVs cause way more wear and tear damage to the roads due to their weight.
- otterley 2y agoCompared to what? A Honda Civic or a Ford F-150?
- wannacboatmovie 2y agoTesla Model S and Model X each weigh more than most Ford F-150 configurations, the largest V8 models excepted, but not by much.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
- asciimov 2y agoAnecdotally, it has to do with people feeling safer around the super-sized trucks in an SUV than they do a sedan.
- deadbolt 2y agoIf only we knew why consumer demand changed to gravitate toward SUVs...