jimbolauski
An extra ton of batteries is not going to change the weight that much.
China makes more than small cars, they make medium and full sized too. The larger cheap cars pose much more of a threat than small cheap cars. Both US car companies and the Unions don't want cars from China and their politicians got into line really quick during an election year.
Robertson may have been able crack the squad, Decland Rice has played for both so there is certainly some players that make the team.
American companies want less competition and certainly don't want to compete against a heavily subsidized vehicle.
I wonder if there's ever been a push to combine like they do in rugby... every 4th world cup they do a UK team.
I’m assuming the demand is there because the federal government has said they are concerned people might buy so many cheap BYDs it would drive american car companies out of business. Why would they care if noone wanted them?
An electric small car still is a small car, which a Ameridans don't want the sales numbers show that. Further people seeking cheap cars are typically not homeowners which makes charging a problem so there's even less of a market for cheap electric cars.
No where is it claimed that Chinese vehicles would drive American car companies out of buisness, the article was discussing how China could use Mexico and nafta to side step terrifs.
Then why do people want a cheap small electric? It being electric changes the whole equation?
Where's the evidence people want compact electric cars?
I know a ton of people that won’t buy new cars to begin with too, you don’t think the used car crowd loves cheap small cars?
They are used cars for financial reasons not for preference. Further many people purchase a larger 3 year old used vehicle for the same price as a new small one.
Is it possible instead of the demand not being there at all, its being diverted to used automobiles and so new car sales are skewed to more expensive cars and luxury cars?
If small used cars were in demand then wouldn't they depreciate less? There are fewer used Honda fits then civics yet they depreciate at the same rate. It appears the used car market preference is similar to the new.
The working class does not buy new cars on the regular as far as I know. The median wage in america is what like 50-55k a year.
Median household income is $75k. Though car size preferences don't seem to change based on income.
The Civic has always sold well and I haven’t seen anything to suggest sales improved as the chassis size increased.
Do you have anything to suggest that keeping the civic small would not have affected sales?
American consumers are given fewer and fewer options, as you illustrate when you note these vehicles all swelling in size.
Americans don't buy the small car options they have. If Americans preferred small cars they would buy the small cars available to them. The only time Americans buy small cars is for financial reasons. They prefer the larger civic over the fit. Both have similar crash ratings and reliability ratings so buyers are choosing a larger vehicle at a higher cost due to preference for size.
But the Fit effectively competes with the Civic at a lower price point. Dealers don’t want to sell them when Civics move just as fast and guarantee higher returns.
Dealers are not hiding Fits in the hopes of selling a civic, people are just willing to pay for a larger vehicle.
Honda increased the size of the civic to meet us consumer wants, and put the fit in it's place. The crash ratings are the same between the two. Americans don't want cheap small cars it's why the civic outsells the fit 10:1.
New civics are as wide as a Corolla but have a slightly longer wheelbase. They're small compared to midsize and full size SUVs but are not compact vehicles.
The Corolla is not a compact car, is has the same footprint as most small suvs. The yaris was Toyota's compact.