I know safety has increased but how well would a Mirage fare in a major collision compared with a 1980 boat car? I would think a large Oldsmobile or Cadillac would still win in terms of mass. The airbags and ABS might help though in the overall picture.
The Mirage will be no more as of 2025 as they are discontinuing the model. I was reading an article that said this may be the end of a new car being available under $20,000. Amazingly I only paid half that like 8-9 years ago and I could still get $7500 or so out of it according to my research.
I wonder if they will make a more costly and profitable model or eventually exit the US market. Mitsubishi had really been making a comeback with their sales numbers for a while but I ahven’t been paying attention recently.
With the possible exception of the Eclipse Sport they’re selling better this year but down from the peak in 2019. Outlander PHEV gets good reviews as does the ICE Outlander but they’re working with a much smaller dealer network than Toyota or Honda (At least in this area)
There is a new Subcompact SUV for certain markets called the X-Force but there’s no word if that will eventually come to the US but would probably replace the Outlander Sport being about the same size.
What is the current opinion on CVT transmissions? I know they seem to have improved but am a little gunshy after all the horror stories. Many of these smaller SUVs are now using this, likely to meet CAFE standards.
Yeah, CVTs are just about unavoidable. Like you said, the good thing is they are much improved. Look at Nissan models on carcomplaints.com, they went through a very bad period, but transmission problems have dropped way off. I would have the “lifetime” fluid changed with factory fluid every 50,000 miles, though.
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OK going through the steps
1, Generally larger cars are safer than smaller cars.
2. Modern cars are “safer” than older cars because of the current safety requirements and the willingness of manufacturer to incorporate them into their vehicle design
For myself I recently purchased a new Mazda CX 30 simply because it incorporated all the new safety technology while retaining the old engine and transmission design.
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I like the fact that Mazda still uses a more traditional transmission. Personally I would prefer a manual but those are getting quite rare. Folks tend to snatch up good used models with this quite quickly as well so that adds to the rarity.
We had several Mazdas when I was a kid and they were always solid and reliable.
I know CVTs are being pushed to add that extra MPG for CAFE standards but it seems like they have a shorter life overall. One of the mail carriers around here used a Nissan Juke with a CVT. That thing didn’t last long and she said it was in the shop more than it was on the road.