Posted on 05/01/2023 4:40:50 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
It isn’t quite a comeback yet, but things may actually be looking up for car sales. A new report from Automotive News shows that cars have held — and even won back — some market share in the U.S. that has been held by bigger vehicles. Before we go any further, when I say “cars,” I’m talking about sedans, coupes, convertibles, hatchbacks and sports cars, all of which tend to be cheaper than their SUV counterparts (that’s important).
The outlet says those types of vehicles have been dropping from brands’ lineups for years now in favor of crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks, but things are sort of looking up! In the first quarter of 2023, cars represented 21.4 percent of the 3.6 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. The Auto News Research & Data Center says that is up from a low of 19.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.
That might not sound like too much… because it isn’t. But, it is still absolutely noteworthy. Cars’ share of the market has been on a steady decline in the U.S. since 2002, according to the outlet. That’s when cars were first outsold by light trucks. The pace has only been picking up since then as the Detroit Big Three began leaving the car segment altogether. All of this begs the question: will this incremental gain continue, or is it just a one time thing?
(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...
I’ve never seen the usefulness of an suv. They’re inefficient, they tip over easy, I don’t get it. My daughter was going to get an SUV for her, her husband and their baby with another on the way, and I said hey why don’t you look at a minivan. She ended up with a Pacifica hybrid and she absolutely loves that thing.
I suppose if I lived in a ranch in the New Mexico desert, I’d probably have a four-wheel drive suv. But I don’t, and my daughter lives in the Seattle burbs.
I drive a 20+ year old Ford Explorer, wouldn’t drive anything else, love the visibility.
Recent Pick-Ups can have more than 6 cameras to help with low speed maneuvering.
SUVs? Hell, it seems every single freakin vehicle parked in any parking lot is a ginormous pickup that takes up one and a half parking spaces
The glass in an SUV allows the homeless addicts to see your stuff and easily smash a window to steal it. Prying a trunk open requires effort.
That’s beautiful!
Cars are about as useless as an air conditioner at the North Pole. The only reason I can see them making a comeback is that SUVs and trucks are just too expensive, and a sedan is all that a lot of people can afford.
A small SUV is an enormously practical vehicle for most people, they’ve replaced the family station wagon for practicality. Given my druthers, however, I’d never drive anything other than my Tundra pickup. I just can’t stomach the fuel mileage. Make a full sized pickup that gets 35 mpg and it’d be the perfect vehicle.
I drive a Suburban....Nuff said.....
The roofs of passenger cars and other vehicles of 6,000 pounds or less are federally required to be able to withstand one and a half times their weight. There’s no such requirement for heavier light trucks, commercial big rigs, 18-wheelers, and tractor-trailers.
SUV Rollover Risk and What You Can Do to Avoid It [2023] - Avrek Law Firm www.avrek.com/blog/how-does-a-rollover-happen-and-what-you-
I don't get owning a car. Other than hauling some people and some groceries they're pretty useless. I have a Subaru Forester Wilderness and it's roomy, and it holds my Lab. I keep the back seats folded down. It's not going to tip over except in extreme cases that would also tip over a car. And it's easy to get in and out of, as opposed to a car. The visibility is also superb. Much better than a car. But in reality, with today's technology, visibility isn't the factor it used to be. I have adaptive cruise control, lane centering, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, rear parking sensors, front camera, rear automatic braking and a lot more safety features. Its all wheel drive gets me through winter driving conditions with ease. And I can take it to plenty of places that would leave a sedan stuck.
I’m kind of with you there. I have four cars. The one I like to drive the most is my 2006 Scion xb. Good mileage, easy to get in out of, etc. My wife drives a Scion ia. We’ve driven that thing from our home in Kentucky to Seattle twice, to fort Lauderdale a couple of times, to the south end of texas, etc. One of the reasons we bought that one is cuz it’s small and very efficient but it also feels a little bit like a big car. Very comfortable on the road and gets fantastic mileage.
Meanwhile, all I use my Silverado Z71 4 is driving from my house to the hardware store or perhaps pulling logs and stumps on my property because it gets terrible mileage but it does have its usefulness.
It seems that with the initial success of the Ford Taurus, every car started to look like it. I remember when the 2nd generation Taurus came out with some significant styling changes, I remember someone (maybe Click and Clack) joked that the new Ford Taurus was the only car on the road that didn't look like a Ford Taurus.
I have a 2019 Silverado LTZ that I use for towing my travel trailer. Great truck, but the Forester is much easier to maneuver in parking lots. And it gets much better mileage. I have the 6.2L engine, which is a beast, but it uses premium fuel.
Reflective of the 50’s...America’s golden era.🇺🇸
You don't go to the places and do the things I do apparently. That's okay. Different strokes I guess.
I understand that they are useful for some people. My point is that most of the people that have them just use them as their regular car. They don’t do any off-roading, etc.
Jalapnik is owned by G/O Media, which was founded four years ago.
Interesting timing.
I always hit my head getting in or out of modern vehicles. I am only 5’4”; but I must be a giant compared to the car designers.
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