I firmly believe that most US motorists are happiest in a mid-size or larger car, full-size truck or a large SUV
I don't believe that. During the 70s many people were FORCE to buy larger american vehicles because that's all they sold....not so when options are available. Toyota and Nissan are Huge sellers in the US...but only a small portion of their products are Large vehicles. Toyota made it's name and beat out American manufacturers by making smaller (but also more reliable) vehicles.
Since I started buying vehicles in the 70’s I’ve always taken gas mileage into account when I’ve purchased a vehicle. First I determined what I need…then the biggest factor was reliability…If there are still choices after that - I then look at MPG.
Problem with big hybrids: they need big batteries, which are big $$. And with gas prices low, it'll be hard to pay off those $$$ batteries...
For those looking to save money by buying a Hybrid…they really are a small group of people. You really need the right commute and drive a certain amount of miles every year. With lower gas prices…means more years. With that said…if you could accurately predict gas prices you could make a million on buying gas futures.
OK back on topic, last time I checked, it was even out of stock at Amazon, now they have it again. I still don’t see it in stock locally yet so I was just wondering if there was a problem with it and they had to do a reformulation or something, or the refinery where it is made was shut down due to fire or weather or something.
With all due respect . . . who cares if I was “on topic” or not
It’s still car related
And the other people that responded to my comment did not mention that I was “off topic” . . . may not have bothered them
I’m sticking to my guns, though
I still believe that many people driving small economical vehicles aren’t really that happy. Sure, they’re saving money on fuel. But they would like something larger and more comfortable, and with more pep. I’m only talking about the driving experience, not parking, by the way
The only thing I can think of that might be a decent compromise is a Camry Hybrid or maybe a Fusion Hybrid. But that does nothing for people that actually need a large suv or truck
How about a Sienna or Odyssey hybrid . . . ? Hypothetically, I’d choose the Sienna, because I have a gut feeling that Toyota’s hybrid technology is more reliable, versus Honda
People didn't stop buying the GM b-bodies until CAFE forced their prices north of 30k...
HUH??? The large vehicles were still being sold…at much HIGHER prices but in a different form…SUV’s. The price and nothing to do with it. Cafe’ numbers weren’t just of GM…everyone had to conform to the Cafe’ numbers. GM’s b-body was mainly due to people wanting Mini-vans…then SUV’s. Mini-Vans were selling MORE then the B-body vehicles. GM would probably still be making them if people actually wanted to buy them.
My local Wal-marts have been all over the place. When I had my Dodge, the ATF +4 was sometimes out for a while and then they would stock up and then be out again. Few weeks ago, all the Mobil 1’s except the high viscosity were left. There would be another week that the Supertech synthetics are out. For a while I had to be lucky to find the MAXLIFE ATF, now they have plenty.
I always felt some random guy just wants to stock up on something and would empty the shelves.
I have been using Mobil 1 EP but I wanted to try the Pennzoil Ultra synthetic instead. My wife and I just did out daily cardio walk at Walmart due to very cold weather and I noticed they have gotten the Pennzoil Ultra in 5w20 now, so maybe the 0w20 is on the way. I haven’t checked the parts stores in town lately, but I really won’t need any until this summer. I just did the oil change a couple of weeks ago.
many people were FORCE to buy larger american vehicles because that's all they sold
No, Small cars were available all throughout the 70’s.
From US manufacturers, early on, we saw the Pinto, Vega, and Gremlin and Dart. Later in the 70’s the Chevette, Horizon/Omni, Monza/Sunfire/ect GM clones, Mustang II, Fiesta, and the GM X-cars in late '79. The market had lots of foreign brands from Japan and Europe to choose from.
Mike can be forgiven for not remembering these little gems considering they weren’t very robust cars and not many have survived!
I respectfully have to disagree with the comment that most Americans would be more comfortable with larger cars and/or other larger vehicles. I myself much prefer smaller vehicles, and there are a great many like myself. I don’t know of any data source, but I’d bet that almost all people who buy (new) smaller cars are do so because they prefer them. I emphasized new car buyers because used car buyers are generally just looking for affordability above all else. New car buyers actually choose between the different vehicle sizes due to preference or need (see below).
I would even go so far as to posit the theory that many who drive larger cars and/or SUVs etc. drive larger vehicles only because of families; i.e. the utility. I drove small vans when my kids were young, but now drive and prefer a small coupe. I’d drive a sports car if I could still finagle myself into one physically.
Pickups IMHO are bought for entirely different reasons. Mine was always a second vehicle, and the utility value made much more sense than having a second car or van.
Some years back, Consumer Reports tested motor oils and a,particular brand might perform differently depending on which region of the country it was purchased. My guess is that the same refinery may be putting the same oil in bottles with different labels. I never gave much thought to the brand of oil I put it the crankcase as long as it’s the right viscosity and meets the specs for the car. Our local Rural King had 0W-20 that met the specs for my Toyota Sienna for $2.79 a quart. If I still did my own oil changes, that would be the oil in the crankcase. In my previous cars, I bought whatever oil was on sale and never had any bad effects.
I read some of this thread before heading off to work this morning. I was listening to ESPN Radio and heard that the guest phone calls were on the Shell/Pennzoil Performance Line; it used to be sponsored by Subway. So at least they have enough funds to be a sponsor on a sports radio network.
Now I’ll put my 2 cents in on the car size discussion. I have a Blazer. Most of the time, I would rather have a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle, but several times a month, I am carrying more than what a smaller car can handle. I’d love to have the money and space to own both, but have neither, so the Blazer or one of its counterparts wins out.
No, Small cars were available all throughout the 70's.
Small cars were available…but in very limited production…and it accounted for less then 10% of all their production runs. American manufacturers were very reluctant to manufacturer smaller vehicles because of the much lower profit margins.
Yeah, speaking of small cars, I had a ford Falcon. Only lasted 3 years before I had to trade it. Went from that to a Renault Dauphine, which also only lasted 3 years.
I guess it depends on your definition of “small car”. Cars downsized a bit after the “Eisenhower Recession” of the late 1950s. VW started coming to this country in greater numbers after 1956. The Chevrolet Corvair, the Ford Falcon, and Chrysler’s Valiant appeared in 1960. The AMC Rambler was the third best selling nameplate in the U.S. Studebaker made a profit on its compact Lark. I was on a Big 10 campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The small cars were popular with both students and faculty. Many faculty drove VWs. A large car was a Plymouth Valiant or Duster. I remember my dad was ready to buy a brand new car in 1959. He had not purchased anything but used cars after WWII. We had a 1954 Buick. We tested a 1959 Buick. The seats were hard in the middle and the car was so low that we couldn’t wait to get back in the 1954 Buick. My dad told the salesman that he wasn’t going to pay $3300 for a 4 passenger car. He went down the street and bought a Rambler that would seat 6 peopkle comfortably.
My wife and I bought a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 in December of 1995. It had all the bells and whistles including a power seat. Yet, that car was not at all comfortable for me. My right leg would develop a cramp aftee only 50 miles. We found out 1990 Ford Aerostar much more comfortable on long trips. The Oldsmobile was replaced by a 2003 Toyota 4Runner. I can drive the 360 miles to visit our son. and not feel tired at all.
I think that many people found big cars uncomfortable and switched to SUVs.
“American manufacturers were very reluctant to manufacturer smaller vehicles because of the much lower profit margins.” - Mike
That’s very true of domestic manufacturers. And they lost a whole lot of business to foreign manufacturers as a result. IMHO it was a poor business decision; build what’s more profitable and sell it with promotions and kickbacks.