Posted on 11/18/2009 12:24:56 AM PST by bruinbirdman
It's an economic contradiction to order the industry to build small cars but not encourage people to buy them.
The government is trying to push us into smaller, fuel-stingy vehicles. The plan is not working. Motorists don't seem excited by the small cars out there. They'll sit on their hands rather than buy. The end result is not so much fuel efficiency as depressed sales of new cars.
The top seller in the American market is still the big Ford f-150 pickup. Then comes the family-size car, the Toyota ( TM - news - people ) Camry, then the big Chevy Silverado pickup, then the family sedan Honda ( HMC - news - people ) Accord.
Honda's Insight, the smallest hybrid, has sold only 16,000 cars through September, maybe half what was expected. Sales of Toyota's Yaris, no hybrid but Toyota's smallest car here, are down 40% from last year. Chevy's Aveo, its small Korean-made car, is down 30%, and Hyundai's smallest, the Accent, is off 40%. The VW New Beetle is down 50%, and the Scion 1c is down 60%. Sales of all cars and trucks this year (through September) are down 27%.
To be sure, sales of big vehicles (pickups, SUVs, vans and large luxury cars) are also down sharply, and the smallest cars never sold that well here, anyway. But it is still worth noting what is selling well despite the general downturn: smaller crossover SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Pilot; the Toyota RAV 4 and Venza; the Ford Escape; the Chevy Equinox; and the Dodge Journey. Sales of this group are down only 10% for the year. The category even includes models from Saturn and Pontiac that have been discontinued.
This doesn't mean Americans don't want fuel economy; it may mean that vehicles that were
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
They replaced the Smiths gauges with Veglia-built ones after 82, part of the 82.5 quality housecleaning/redesign (and because Smiths bailed out of the instrument market). I have a couple of engines hanging around in storage here including one that’s perfectly good but that I want to rebuild.
I might be able to do you a favor on that back seat. Where are you located and what trim level is your car?
In case you’re wondering - in order that is programmable digital gauges (so you can use other sensors now that ours are starting to go out of mass production), twin electric fans to eliminate the blade ejection problem and get much better cooling not to mention engine performance, a TH700R4 automatic transmission with overdrive to massively improve performance/reliability/fuel economy, and part of the MegaSquirt engine management system which eliminates the last of the proprietary sensors and the always restrictive air flow meter while adding distributorless ignition and active idle control.
Hi Test! Yup. Sunoco was ‘custom blended’, maybe 10 (?) ranges (it was a selling point). Good octane though for the 64 Vet.
After the de-leading of gas, it was beneficial to have a friend at a small airport. Every ‘now and then’, a fillup for the ‘70 XKE. (lol, there’s always a way!)
It sure beat running around filling up gas cans during the gas embargo though (while riding a full years off road m/c schedule).
Got through that, will get through this. tnx
How do you like it compared to a suburban?
We are on our fifth suburban in 18 years and will never buy a new GM
vehicle and need a big vehicle for the kids and equipment .
Obama doesn't want you to do that, you have to take the train to the Union Retreat Facility if he had his way....
That's why I'm keeping my Merc Mountaineer with the good ol' 5.0 V-8 until the government goons come and drag it away in the dead of night. I can keep it running for a long, long time (there's even a spare long block in the corner of the garage).
As the gearhead former front-man of Dire Straits recently wrote in his solo tune Border Reiver:
"Three Hundred Thousand on the clock
and plenty more to go,
Crashbox and lever,
She needs the heel-and-toe..."
‘ow about a NEW Ferrari for only 3K,eh?
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/11550?promo=search&query=11550
Regards
alfa6 >}
I just got my first “big” vehicle a couple months ago, and do I ever love it! 2007 Trailblazer LS. And yes, most of the time I’m the only one in it. But...and this is what the envirowhackos don’t get... I’ve got 3 kids, 2 gkids,and various assorted of their spouses and sig others.
Any time we want to go somewhere—vacation/out to eat/ whatever—we had to take at least 3, if not 4, vehicles. Now—we’re down to 2.
Does it use a lot of gas? Yeah. So what? I drive >20 miles a day to work and back. It gets comparable mileage to all the old clunkers I’ve ever owned.
Hubby has a Geo Prizm that he drives to work. I detest that car. It’s like riding in a go cart on the highway. He also has a Silverado for serious stuff—pulling the boat, etc.
Most of the people driving those mini-cars? I feel like telling them—Nice coffin.
Thanks for all the great pics of hot cars, y’all! Drooling all over my moniter here! :)
Why should the American citizenry be ‘nudged’ into small vehicles, while the elitists fly all over the world? Drive big SUV’s and motorcades, limo’s....
No.
Of course!
The theme of the article is the government regulates SMALL and customers like BIG (as verified by most on this thread).
Also, the small car drivers seem to pick thier choice because of price.
yitbos
TBH, I have never driven a Suburban, but my Expedition got me, three kids, two large dogs and luggage across the country very comfortably. It seems no matter what we need to put in it, it fits. Plus, it’s a V8, so it has some power. Only downside is the gas, but I only work down the street from my house, and my hubby has a beater to get to and from base, which is much further, so the gas only hurts on long trips. We drive back and forth to Mass from NC quite often, and it is just such a comfortable and roomy trip for us all. I haven’t had a lick of trouble with any of it, and it has 54,0000 miles on it so far.
‘98 Chevy Silverado Z-71 & ‘94 Pontiac T/A-GT. Both have 5.7 but the T/A gets way better MPG. Well, as long as I don’t “kick it”. :-))
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