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 vehicles right now - a 1937 Chevy pickup and a 1969 Mustang Fastback. I’m also looking at a 1970 Ford F100 for dirty jobs. I gave up on “new” cars a long time ago!
My point was the 1990s version of those cars were even smaller, so that can’t be the reason. The reason for the shift has been 1)lower gas prices and 2) Crossovers and more option today have brought better variety and pricing for trucks and SUVs.
My 2015 Hyundai Sonata is the only sedan I own and it’s the oldest vehicle in my fleet. It’s probably the last sedan I’ll ever own.
“New” cars? What is that :)
I still love my 2010 Tundra that I bought new....still only 30k miles on it. My wife rattles around in her 1997 Jeep Wrangler...she still loves it at over 130k miles.
Last year I kept a promise I made to my bride about 46 years ago, I bought her a Corvette...a 2017 Z06, Supercharged 650 hp will take it from 0 mph to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. It’s a beast....I have never loved a car like this one. It’s tame, quiet for what it is and it just purrs down the road, until you hit the throttle...that wakes up the beast inside this car.
About 18 months from now, I hope to buy a large luxury SUV. As one can tell, I don’t give a damn about any of the Global Warming nonsense.
So many long years ago I had a 1936 Ford pickup. I loved that truck and hate myself for ever letting it go.
Around here, in California, those Tacomas are not cheap by any means whatsoever I think my brother bought a used 2006 Tacoma for about $16,000 and 8 years later he sold it for about $13,000. Those trucks are not cheap even used they hold their value like a Mercedes-Benz perhaps even better.
The Ford Ranger was actually built by Mazda, and are still being sold (as Mazdas). I have owned two Rangers, and both were excellent.
Ford is supposed to be bringing back the Ranger as a 2019. Pics look good.
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/ranger/2019/2019-ford-ranger-first-look-review/
if that doesn't float your boat, I would recommend the Honda Ridgeline - don't let anyone who does not own one let alone has not even driven one tell you that they are not real trucks - they are and they don't drive like trucks - the best of both worlds.
I hate it when people still say The Big 3, Chrysler is not an American brand - they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat. Fiat owns Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Ram and SRT.
I have driven nothing but Honda the last 30 years or so and every last one of them (cars/trucks/motorcycles) has not only been made in the US, but designed in the US.
We’ve got an’11 GMC 1500, an ‘01 Dodge 2500 for plowing, and an ‘07 Accord for the wife and finally, for a daily driver for me, a ‘13 Focus hatchback. I actually like the Focus. It’s hard to get into, but it is fun to drive.
“We love our SUV’s. Much easier to enter and exit than low slung autos. Cars are so ...yesterday.”
I hate the low slung cars today. I have problems getting in and out.
My son totaled my GM HHR recently and I looked for a good used car. Every car was too low for my taste.
Fortunately I found a nice low mileage Ford Escape LTD that fit my budget and I’m completely happy with.
Loaded with options too.
You missed the “cheap” part.
Plus the new Ranger is only a couple of inches shorter than the F150, just like the Tacoma is now only a couple of inches shorter than the Tundra.
CAFE standards eliminated the small, cheap truck because people were buying them instead of cars for about the same price.
I bought a Tundra back in ‘01. I needed something dependable for a 30-mile round trip to work everyday. It’s just the wife and me so I opted for a regular cab with an 8-ft. box and V-6. 150K later it still runs great and the only thing I’ve had to fix was a small seep around the water pump which I had changed @ the 120K service. It pulls my 19 ft. 5th wheel camper trailer just fine; I may have myself buried in it some day, there’s a good chance it will out live me.
love the ranger! had 5 of them. I hit some black ice and flipped my last one in a creek. Not very waterproof
But the price has gone up.
Lol the one thing is and this is something I never complained about, it is very hard to see what’s behind you on your right or left
Does no one worry about parking anymore? For city driving, I much prefer a smaller car over an SUV.
Simple and cheap, but no so tough. My brother-in-law owns a 2001 Ford Ranger, and loves it. I have a 2001 Nissan Frontier. Mine has twice the mileage on it, and has never been in a shop for any problems. Meanwhile, his has had several major engine breakdowns, transmission went out, he had to replace most suspension components, and he is fearful of driving anywhere far away. His air conditioning failed long ago. Handcrank windows, bad radio setup, uncomfortable interior. Yep, simple and cheap.
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