Posted on 04/07/2018 9:56:30 AM PDT by upchuck
After a century of ferrying millions of daily commuters and taking countless family road trips, simple passenger cars are disappearing from American life, and they may not come back.
Detroit's Big Three automakers — Chrysler, Ford and General Motors — pioneered the mass production of the car, but in just four years, all three may be known to Americans simply as truck and SUV makers, with only a stray sedan for sale.
The automotive industry in America is making what many observers think is an irrevocable shift toward pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers. While carmakers are producing sedans and sports cars that are safer, faster and more comfortable than ever, customers continue to flock to taller vehicles with features cars simply cannot offer.
"Since 2009 or 2010 it has been a truck story," said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, which tracks the auto industry. The exception was a slight pullback in 2012, when the midsize car segment underwent a major refresh, he said.
The trend shows no sign of abating, despite cries from car enthusiasts that crossovers lack the driving dynamics of sedans and complaints from environmentalists that SUVs and trucks are typically less fuel-efficient than cars.
By 2022, LMC Automotive estimates 84 percent of the vehicles General Motors sells in the U.S. market will be some kind of truck or SUV. Ford's ratio of domestic SUV and truck sales will hit 90 percent; Fiat Chrysler's will notch a whopping 97 percent.
"We have SUVs eventually crossing the 50 percent threshold by themselves in the near future," Schuster said.
Signs suggest SUVs and crossovers are also taking hold elsewhere in the world.
Automotive executives and industry watchers think there will be only a small space for sedans in the U.S., perhaps consisting mostly of sports cars or niche vehicles favored by enthusiasts.
A few factors that drove this unprecedented shift can be attributed to gas prices, a stronger economy and big improvements in the design of sport utility vehicles, said Karl Brauer, executive publisher at Cox Automotive.
"It was really a one-two-three punch," Brauer said. "Essentially every force lined up to help SUVs, and that has been hurting car sales."
More at the link.
I have two 06 Crown Vic ex-police cars. Both are super reliable and great on trips.
There was a 1940 Ford pickup in my neighborhood that I lusted after. The owner wouldn’t sell, wouldn’t sell, and then one day sold it.
I was disappointed but started looking for old trucks in earnest. It took me about 6 months to find my Chevy. It was a basket case with boxes and boxes of parts. Now it and my Mustang are my daily drivers.
My 2004 GMC now has 304,000 and hardly gets a rest
Looks a lot like my Tacoma.
My dad still has this Caddie. I think it still runs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8hucOCTfms
I was never sure why that clip got so many thumbs down.
I learned to drive in a LUV.
It’s been a decade or two since I’ve seen one anywhere.
Wasting 34 secs of each of the downers' lives?
#105 I bought her a Corvette...
er... does she let you drive the car? : )
I get reminders about 70s build quality tackling different problems of the long languishing 79 Blazer.
Yesterday I finally got to replacing the rusted and damaged steel auto trans cooler lines with flex steel lines.
GM did an exceptional job of making sure that it was a miserable experience to take them off. The flared fittings appeared to be stripped. They would spin but never break loose.
Snip, snip with some bolt cutters. The main fittings backed right off. Good thing the floor pan is pretty well rusted. I had to make an access with a sawzall in the floorboard. K5 will need a fair amount of sheet metal work anyway.
Those harbor freight thick mechanic’s gloves worked really well.
Now I need a radiator and front support section.
I guess I’ll strip the AC portion. It didn’t work anyway when I got it. AC eats up so much room and cuts access. The top can come off and windows go down.
https://cjneil82.smugmug.com/Project-K5/
Out of ignorance I bought some 16 inch Cragar 5 lug wheels for one of the jeep projects several years ago. Steel and gray.
I guess with some low profile AT radials they will fit on my CJ7. Yesterday I read up on the subject of rattle canning them. I might. If I stay gray, my color choices for painting that CJ7 seem kind of limited.
Sounds like a good theory to me.
Besides, it’s impossible to please everybody.
At least I used a tripod and at the time a 3 chip mini DV camera.
I see all this shaky smart phone crap with junk audio for lots of stuff that people for some reason like.
My standards are a tad higher. Too many years in TV and stock video contributor I guess.
Dad still has a long bed Dodge Diesel that’s a late 90s or so. People have offered him essentially blank checks. He won’t sell. I wouldn’t either.
You would get cool points for driving that Courier!! I miss my ‘75 Ranchero GT.
Perhaps it’s because America cars are overpriced junk on wheels. I have gotten consistently good service out of my full-sized GM pickup trucks and SUVs, but my last six American cars — two Chevrolets, three Chryslers, and a Ford — all died from catastrophic drive train failures that weren’t covered by their warranties.
If I buy another car, it’ll be Japanese or Korean.
He was in his late 80s.
My 2004 GMC has 304,000 and uses no oil but definitely needs shocks!! I replace the plugs every 100,000 or so but didn’t replace the plug wires until 210,000 even though it was running fine.
Truck still has the factory front brake pads, oxygen sensors, A.C.compressor, starter, alternator, top and bottom radiator hoses (asking for trouble on those), and fuel pump. Gas gauge quit working a couple years ago but until the fuel pump goes out I’ll just keep filling it up and zeroing out the trip meter.
I don’t see Dad selling that Dodge.
If it were a shortbed, I’d love to have it. That 2500 longbed isn’t the best for the burbs. Dad loaned it to me a couple of years ago. I lost a Tacoma (and nearly myself) in the floods around Columbia.
However, he and his brother are giving up the fix/sell tractor game. Plenty went through their big shop. Two or three are still in the pipeline. After that, done.
They are selling some stuff off. Implements and spare parts for now.
I agree. Here in “Ithaca, the City of Evil”, we have many STEEP hills and rural roads. AWD (formerly 4WD or 4x4) is almost a necessity. Many people have them.
I have had several Jeep Cherokees (3) and recently have had Subaru Foresters (2). The Forester is a GREAT car (small SUV). TONS of interior room, I’m a BIG guy. The front doors swing WIDE almost 90 degrees. Easy exit and entry. SAFE, 7 airbags. Peppy 4 cyl. (hauls the mail when you want it to) Great gas mileage. We loved the Forester so much we bought a second one and are going to buy a third. (every 2 years).
I also have a 2004 Dodge Durango if things get really bad.
Never used my snow blower this year. With AWD on both vehicles, we just drove through it. End of the driveway and all.
“cars” are for summer.
Back in 2000, with one child and planning on another, my Chevy pickup of 20 years was on it’s last legs. In looking for a new vehicle I was lamenting that they didn’t make the large station wagons that we always had growing up. My dad was a builder, and was always picking up some plywood or whatever. Put the seat down and get it all in out of the weather.
I wanted an 8-foot bed, wanted the two rows of full seats, but didn’t want a huge pickup. I had even thought about getting a short-bed and having a welder try to do something with cutting out the back of the cab, etc.
Then - sitting in the doctor’s office was reading about the Avalanche that would be coming out the following year. Almost every sentence and I would think “This is exactly what I need!!”
So I waited until they came out and got one. Bought it right after 9-11. Still have it. Compared to my 1980 truck, the Avalanche is much better built, still going strong with the normal repairs. I have started to use the car more though - thinking the the Avalanche is going to have to last me another 5 years.
Dad has a ‘69 Mustang Mach 1 428 CJ ram air. Great cars!!
My dad purchased a chev vega station wagon, green with faux wood plastic glued to the qtr panels and doors. The car prolly had a roof rack IIRC.....
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1977/189500/chevrolet_vega_estate_wagon_hydra-matic.html
Ford is going to make the ranger again. It will stil be a little bigger than prior rangers.
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