Pivot Point of American Car Culture

[TimberWolf]

Motor companies believed that the American Culture of owning large gas guzzlers wasn't going to change until the price for gas reached $10. Signs of this idea is seen in the development of Truck's and SUV's. American Auto makers neglected and ridiculed the development of smaller, more fuel efficient cars as they saw a future where people wanted larger vehicles. Apparently this assumption was wrong and those companies are now rushing to develop those smaller and more fuel efficient cars that they had been picking out of their SUV's grills the past years. As further proof to the change, a survey done by GM found that "chicks" dig the smaller, fuel efficient cars, such as the Prius, over a Porsche.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/Ga ... 532&page=1

The article continues to say that people are starting to see SUV's and other gas suckers as taboo or un-desirable. This is interesting as American car culture had always been for larger vehicles no matter what. SUV's have been the bread maker for American Car companies and as their sales slump further and further down these recent months, those companies are loosing more and more of their income. They hardly make any money on compact cars and the American public is starting to buy them up like hot cakes. Even the Prius has recently seen a 67% increase in sales last month alone (showing Toyota made the right choice years ago when they first started working on the Prius).

Now the question is will American Car companies catch up or beat the other companies who had already started working on smaller, more fuel efficient cars or is the lead too great? I don't know about you, but those little two seater, three wheeled, cars produced in Europe are starting to look very appealing to me. I've even started looking more at the Mini line of cars (all 3 of them) as I know in the next 5 years or so I will be buying a new car. What are your takes and feeling towards this change in perception of cars? My room-mate still believes a car isn't a muscle car unless it has a loud, strong gas engine in it even if some electric cars can out accelerate, out maneuver, and reach higher speeds than it.

[ATF Ravok]

Well, I just got a Ford Focus - and the 35 MPG highway I get out of it is a definite boon. I look at the 15 - 20 MPG cars, and simply can't do it. It has nothing to do with what I want, and everything to do with what I need.

I don't think I will ever buy an SUV. They just don't give you your money's worth. I liked the Toyota 4-Runner back in the day, but the new SUV's aren't for me.

We'll see what happens in the next few years. The market should get pretty interesting.

[XMEN Gambit]

I commute 27 miles each way to work one way. I know there are other people around who commute farther, but I would really rather have a 5-minute commute that I could bike or walk if I needed to.

When I was car-shopping last fall I decided to get a Honda Civic for fuel economy and reliability. I just don't trust the hybrids yet and won't until they've been out there long enough for a majority of owners to have dealt with the battery replacement issue, as well as wear on the different drive and braking systems. I always get over 30 MPG on my commute and a road trip we took over spring break got us 37 MPG with our family of four. Good enough for now, I think. The SUV (6-cyl Blazer) stays in the garage most of the time.

(Note: A couple of things that really bug me in your article, TW. "Loose" vs "lose", they have very different meanings, and also some apostrophe abuse. Plurals don't need apostrophes. Contractions and possessives do.)

[Spinning Hat]

My wife and I have a baby on the way, and our family of 4 will soon be 5. My wife drives a Pontiac Vibe, and we get 34+ MPG with it, and it's a good commuter car for her and the kids, but not something I can spend a whole lot of time in simply because it's not comfortable to me. (I'm 6'5"). I have a Chev. Malibu, and while it isn't sporty, it get about 30 mpg everywhere I got, and it's a great car, but getting to the point where we're looking at replacing it for something newer, and more efficient. let me say this: There's not much out there, and I don't know if the EPA changed how they do mileage testing, but it seems all the 2008 cars have lost 1-3 mpg in their ratings except the Japanese cars. personally, I don't want to buy a foreign car. I want to be able to find an American product (OK, Primarily American) that is comfortable, fits the family and is efficient. I will look at Asian cars if I must, but that's something on the bottom of my desires list. I think the Fusion is something that appeals to me in styling and economy along with he G6. But I do have to say the Mazda 6 is starting to catch my eye for no better reason than the economy rating is better.

It's a shame that GM is just figuring this out, because it's a real fact of life for most Americans unless they can afford $100+ a fill up twice per week, and that's not a whole lot of people.

[XMEN Gambit]

A lot more could if they'd give up their lattes. (Should Starbucks be worried since everyone uses that as an example?)

The distinction between American and foreign cars is fading fast, too. Ford plants move to Mexico while Toyota builds plants in Alabama. Which one better suits the ideal of "Buy American?"

[Spinning Hat]

It's not just the assembly. My Malibu was Built in Lansing Michigan, with a 60/40 split of American and other countries of origin parts. That American parts content is just as important to me, IMO. While the heavy work is done in the US, I think the overall content is important. I do look at the Mazda and remember that Ford Motor Co. is a minority stakeholder in that company..

[TimberWolf]

My parents use to only buy American cars because they were better than the rest. Over the years that had changed. My Dad makes his choice first from Consumer Reports, then from online research, and then finally his personal experience test driving. The car has to have a good to excellent reliability to even be considered, then the types of problems people have with the vehicle are taken into consideration, such as road noise and handling. Then after searching online about these problems, and usually finding more, and how the car maker has been addressing it from prior models, he will then take into account looks and cost before going out and physically sitting in the car.

After all said and done, which could take over half a year if the market really doesn't show anything he likes or if there is a problem with a car that he's waiting to be taken care of and hearing about others impression of the fix, he then either gets a car or decided to wait another year or so and try again.

Some reasons as to why he does it this way is because every car he got from Ford during the 80's all required a major system to be replaced in the first year, in one case within the first 6 months. He was a Ford fan back then but the reliability was just dropping like a rock. The Escort Wagon was the last car he got from Ford, 1992. The was the only car that didn't need to be towed back to a shop in the first year or so. Since then my family has gotten a Mazda Protege, which I now own, a Honda Odyssey, and now a Dodge Caravan. They would like to get a small SUV for my Mom because of the snow and transporting their aged parents, but they can't afford a new vehicle (the Caravan was a gift to the family).

Once I get a good job I would like to give back the Protege to my Mom, who was the original owner and who also still loves the car (she drives it when she can as its sitting at their house while I'm off at school). So I'm casually looking for a new car in hopes that a new job would pay me enough to do so. So far I have had no luck in the job market and I only have one more quarter left to graduate in December.

[XMEN Ashaman DTM]

My 75-80 mile daily commute makes me glad I got an Accord. If I drive it smooth and easy (shifting), then I can push it above 40 mpg. If I drive it hard, it drops down to 34 mpg.

I found out that my accord was manufactured here in the states, and most of the parts came from us, japan, and canadian sources. I don't know the percentages, but the japanese at Honda are not stupid.


I see the whole sourcing thing with my industry as well: many parts made for some aircraft aren't made in those countries any more. And most electronics come from Taiwan/other asian countries... makes the folks I work with somewhat nervous with security. There are ways of checking, but if you really need something purchased for a project, you need to get it here ASAP.

I'm pretty sure we still have some in-house manufacturing, but it is damn expensive. And we still have some of the rad testing stuff (have a friend that works at one of those). But in terms of scale, you have to go with the cheapest available source. *shrug*

[BlackRider]

I guess I'm an oddball... while I do drive a Miata and can get 32 mpg out of it I average 28 mpg due to the way I like to drive. But I will not change what I drive or how I drive it because of gas prices. I'm actually driving 4x the miles per week than I was when gas was $1.50/gal. Instead, I game on a computer that is older than Half-Life 2, I don't have cable TV, I don't even have internet at my apartment! I've even... gasp!... cut down spending on photography!!

As far as commutes go:
24.2 miles each way to school
110.4 miles each way to my weekend job

Oh, TW... as far as SUVs... while I do hate SUVs overall (I am the guy in the little car you know), I have come to accept my mom's Escape. It's great in the snow, can carry just enough, and the only problems we've had with it were impact related. It's now become the biggest thing I'm willing to drive.

[XMENPorsche]

Hat - I know you have an aversion to foreign cars, but you might want to check out the 2008/2009 Scion xB. I, too, am 6'5" and am amazed at the amount of room inside one of these things. It's truly a 5-passenger vehicle with tons of cargo space.

I'll be shopping for a new vehicle in the fall. Right now it's between the Scion xB or the Mazda3 5-door s GT (I'm actually leaning every so slightly towards the Mazda).

Sorry to say it, but I won't buy an American made vehicle - at least not until Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com show that their long-term reliability is consistently as good as the Asian brands. JD Powers and others seem to be only interested in the quality of the vehicle when it's new. I want to know how good the vehicle has held up over 100,000+ miles. The last American made vehicle I had was brand new (ordered it from the factory) and I kept it for 18 months. I sold it when I realized that I had 22 repair tickets in the glove box.

[Spinning Hat]

Ahh.. the xB.. more affectionately known between the wife and I as the "toaster".. I do like the Mazda 6 however, so we'll see once things settle down here and we can seriously car shop.

[XMEN Iceman]

Hat...the Vibe you have is a Toyota Matrix. They are made in the same plant and have the same engine and trans.

We have a Mitsubishi Galant and my Toyota 4Runner. I drive 12 miles to work, but I burn a lot of gas doing side work. I average about 20mpg in the 4Runner. The wife goes about 20 miles to work and gets probably 28mpg. We both use about 1 tank a week...so about $120 per week in gas. Which is almost double what we used to pay. Sucks right now.

My 4Runner is paid off next year and then I am probably going to look at a Toyota X-Runner. I want a truck...and it is pretty fast little truck for my mid-life crisis. And I am not trading in the 4Runner...I have 2 teenagers that will be driving next year so I have to factor that one in.

Oh...and I am with Porsche...I have not had an American-badged car since my old Ford LTD. I have never looked back. My Toyota's have been bullet proof and I got great trade-in values when I sold them. I traded in one 4Runner with 212,000 miles and still got almost 3000 for it.

[XMEN Ashaman DTM]

There is a reason that Toyota surpassed the american car companies last year. I read that Toyota's management got nervous and wanted to go back to number two though. (You can only go down if you're number one.)


As for us, we'd like to go American, and I'd seriously consider an American truck. But we have to worry about gas and what we would use it for. I happen to like the Toyota trucks and some of Honda's newest offerings. It turns out that many companies are now clamoring for highly-skilled American workers to fill factories on US soil, that build and ship to US dealerships, because they know that the dollar is what you want to pay people in (relative to Euro or yen). I do love dodge and jeep though, even if I couldn't afford the gas for one of their vehicles (at my current location... triple-digit mileage one way happens for me).


I've heard good things about Ford's hybrid SUVs. I have no firsthand experience with them though.