You know the saying -- little wife, big wheelsIssacZachary said:Oh man! I think we just derailed this thread! But anyhow, here's another one.
I'm so proud of my wife!
You know the saying -- little wife, big wheelsIssacZachary said:Oh man! I think we just derailed this thread! But anyhow, here's another one.
I'm so proud of my wife!
Sort of. Sports CUV is a bit of an oxy-moron. For the rest, Enter Model YLTLFTcomposite said:If anything I'd add this changing consumer preference to the list of risks for Tesla, they are mostly selling cars in a world that is looking for a different form factor.
Not true for the US auto market.DarthPuppy said:They are attempting to distract from their failure to effectively compete in the car market by claiming the issue is a shift in consumer preferences to SUVs. The shift in consumer preferences has actually simply been away from Ford cars, not cars. While there has been a definite shift to SUVs, that is only part of the story.
cwerdna said:Not true for the US auto market.
Look at ...
Dec 2009 year end: https://web.archive.org/web/20100121063904/http://wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html - almost 5.5 million cars vs 4.9 million "light-duty trucks"
Dec 2017 year end: https://web.archive.org/web/20180106200934/http://www.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html - 6.3 million cars vs. almost 10.9 million "light-duty trucks"
Weird interpretation.DarthPuppy said:cwerdna said:Not true for the US auto market.
Look at ...
Dec 2009 year end: https://web.archive.org/web/20100121063904/http://wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html - almost 5.5 million cars vs 4.9 million "light-duty trucks"
Dec 2017 year end: https://web.archive.org/web/20180106200934/http://www.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html - 6.3 million cars vs. almost 10.9 million "light-duty trucks"
Quite true. Your own stats indicate a 14% increase in sales of cars in 8 years (6.3m vs 5.5m). Yes, there is a shift toward SUVs and CUVs causing those segments to expand faster. But the car market is far from as weak as they are trying to pitch it.
The Honda HRV is supposedly based on the Fit platform (I've never understood what that meant). Does it matter that a bunch of people are opting for the HRV over an Accord?LeftieBiker said:Another thing being overlooked here is the fact that CUVs are essentially station wagons - NOT trucks. Light SUVs like the Rogue, and even the Rav4 and CRV are also more like station wagons than trucks, with cabin height being the main difference...
Well you're right about the line not being very clear as to what is what. But I do think there is a fairly good difference between crossovers and station wagons as well as their pros and cons.LeftieBiker said:Another thing being overlooked here is the fact that CUVs are essentially station wagons - NOT trucks.
from Car and Driver.the Mazda 6 wagon actually had more passenger and cargo volume than the Mazda CX-7 crossover and was quicker, and got better fuel economy.
LTLFTcomposite said:You'll notice Ford is keeping the Focus. There's still a market for cars like Corolla, Sentra, Focus etc with people looking for the cheapest thing possible to drive around, but buyers of a mind to spend a little more are opting for crossovers.
RonDawg said:otherwise that market is being fully ceded to the Asian manufacturers.
DarthPuppy said:Also thinking about some of the above observations, I think they may be trying to flout the safety, emissions, and fuel economy regs. They could simply be shifting to producing 'cars' that they will classify as "CUVs" and therefore are subject to less stringent restrictions as they will list them as part of the light truck category. :x
True. But you'd be amazed at what else is going from truck to car. Vans for an example. The only truck chasis van now is the Chevy Express (also called the GM Savana). The Ford Transit, Dodge Promaster and Mercedes Sprinter are all uni-body car type chasis and suspensions.LeftieBiker said:Crossovers are in part an attempt to graft modern SUV styling onto a station wagon, and the curving roof that results usually means less cargo room than a similar wagon. They also make CUVs so the passengers sit higher off the road. Despite that, most CUVs are more car than truck.
IssacZachary said:But you'd be amazed at what else is going from truck to car. Vans for an example. The only truck chasis van now is the Chevy Express (also called the GM Savana). The Ford Transit, Dodge Promaster and Mercedes Sprinter are all uni-body car type chasis and suspensions.
That's really the whole point. Similarities don't make vehicles the same. Crossovers aren't really just taller station wagons. Taller has a big aerodynamic penalty. There are guys making their gasoline powered cars get over 100mpg just by improving the aerodynamics. (e.g. AeroCivic.) it seems as engine efficiency improves the general population is happy with 25-30mpg by making that car taller and less aerodynamic, counteracting any improvement in engine efficiency. Trying to sell bigger taller cars as SUV's with car-like fuel economy is a scam in my opinion.RonDawg said:Unibody construction is not new for vans, not even American vans. The Dodge "Tradesman" and "Sportsman" B-series vans built from 1971 to 2003 are unibody. Same with the first and second generation Ford Econolines.
And don't mistake "unibody" for "car-like" as they are not the same. The vans I mentioned above do NOT have a car-like drive quality to them at all. Conversely, there have been many body-on-frame luxury cars (the Lincoln Town Car being the last in production) with smooth rides.
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