My ‘93 Pontiac Grand Prix had both the liner, and roll down window to open passenger door issues. I loved that car, but it was all sorts of busted when it died.
That got a laugh out of me, as I’ve been there, but the thought of the Arabian Nights somehow never occurred to me amid my cursing. (And yes it was an American car.) I like the analogy.
When we got married '88, my wife had a POS Plymouth Horizon with the same problem. “Arabian Nights effect” sure didn’t occur to me either.
Now that oil prices are going up due to stuff with Iran, this move is likely going to play out poorly for Ford.
That’s the interesting thing about this move. Ford could not have been dumb enough to expect low oil prices to last forever. Maybe they think people will just gravitate to their small SUVs. They just added the compact Ecosport this year.
There is also this, which just happened and is a good example of why you don’t rely on just one model to carry the company.
Most of the automobile press is fairly bullish on Ford’s decision, noting that the fuel economy of current SUVs is, in some cases, quite a bit better than that of sedans from a few years ago. Of course, fuel economy would be even better with modern technology and smaller cars, but the simple truth is, no matter how expensive gas gets (barring Mad Max levels of unobtainability) Americans are not going to buy small cars, in large enough numbers, to make it worthwhile for a company like Ford to produce them. And even if American buyers somehow made themselves buy small cars, they’d buy Korean anyway.
Everyone always says that every x number of years, and then our gas prices go up 50-60 cents in a handful of weeks.
I’ve lived through this big car vs small car cycle thing now at least three times.
America tends to buy a lot of small cars… they just aren’t American ones. Honda and Toyota have been selling tons of small cars to Americans, for ages.
What in particular? Just curious as to what you’re responding to, as it isn’t clear to me whether you are responding to the idea of gas prices going up or the idea that Americans don’t want to buy American-made small cars.
It is indeed a cycle though, you’re right about that, in terms of gas prices. American manufacturers, though, haven’t had much success selling small cars, in terms of making a profit though.
Surprisingly Minivan’s are the best segment seller this past quarter.
That Americans don’t buy small cars. They get these big things, panic when the gas prices go up, try to unload them while their underwater, gas prices drop and then they buy the big ones again.
I feel old saying this but I have seen this happen multiple times. Our gas prices have sky-rocketed. I am just waiting for the articles, which they always seem to run, about whether or not ditching a gas-guzzler you barely own is financially sound for a better fuel economy vehicle (it’s not).
Now it’s true a gas guzzler now is still way more efficient than they were years ago. I think the truck my dad had was 7 gallons a mile or something like that, but they still suck gas compared to some of the cars.
I think Wombat’s point is that even when that happens, it’s not small American (e.g., Ford) cars that they’re going to buy.
Yeah, Nesrie’s right, this is something that we go through all the time, and yes, people do end up trying (sometimes desperately) to ditch gas guzzlers. As Stepsongrapes notes, though, it’s not American small vehicles that get bought, at least not in the sorts of numbers necessary for profitability. And if Ford and others manage to do what they are clearly trying to do–that is, sell small cars that are masquerading as SUVs but which are really just, well, small cars lifted up a few inches–then gas mileage shouldn’t be a big issue.
The big problem for Ford, I think, and for GM, is that the small SUV/crossover segment is still being owned by the Japanese, with the Koreans starting to really ramp up (anecdotally, around here at least Kias and Hyundais are ubiquitous). In the list of top selling vehicles last month, according to some data at the WSJ, the only domestic SUV (not a pickup truck) in the top ten was the Chevy Equinox. Only six of the top twenty best selling vehicles were American SUVs of any type, and three of them were Jeeps. The only non truck/SUVs on the list were from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Pretty much all of the strength that GM and Ford show in sales numbers is in pickups and large vehicles right now; everything else is sort of blah to wretched.
Commercial truck drivers are usually awesome! But non-commercial pickup and SUV drivers suck. They can never stay completely in their own lane. There’s always a bit sticking out into neighboring lanes when they make turns. Or they take up both lanes at a two lane stop. Also, they will either slow down for no reason, or race past you in the right hand lane.
If you are unable drive a truck properly, don’t buy one.
Even if you reverse that, I don’t think any consumer grade vehicle made in the last 20 years got 7 mpg. :)
The last one I had was a 1979 full-size Blazer, with full-time 4WD. Thing was a beast; would go through anything. I had it raised up 4" with 33" tires. Big V8. And you know, that thing still managed 10 mpg. City OR highway. Didn’t matter. It got 10. Not much for aerodynamics.
hehe, oops, yeah like 7 mpg, not 7 gallons per mile. I don’t think I am that far off because I am talking about the truck my dad has when I was kid, and sadly, I’m not twenty. According to Google, I am not that far off from those 60s and 70s American trucks.
Haha. At 7 gallons per mile, it would probably be cheaper to hire a few neighborhood kids to push the truck while you’re in neutral to get you to where you want to go.
Hey, in high school a friend had a 1972 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron with a 440 V8. 4 MPG. You could see the gas gauge move, literally.
IIRC, military tanks actually do measure fuel efficiency in gallons per mile.