A central thread of U.S. auto policy appears to be to get Americans to buy cars more like Europeans, e.g., smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient.
The result would be a convergence of our historically very different markets.
Is convergence happening? Are U.S. cars and consumer tastes becoming more like Europeans? Will we buy cars like the little FIATs, Fiestas, and VWs. For most Europeans a Jetta is a large car. (The wealthy are different everywhere.) Automakers are buying into the plan with increasing emphasis on world car platforms that can be sold anywhere, but especially in the two big markets North America and the EU. (There are exceptions to the rule like the NA Jetta.)
Is convergence inevitable or is it a pipe dream? Are American tastes evolving to match the regulatory pressure?
I don't think so, at least not yet. When times were tough in the early '80's there were lots of people downsizing into small cars, but the minute things got better they ditched them and sent the sport ute market into the stratosphere.
Unless the U.S. is willing to tax gas to point where it costs around $6/gallon, I don't see it happening.
I believe the trend to buyers choosing small cars is purely a knee jerk reaction, either to high gas prices or to a bad economy and it will end just as quickly as it began.
If the studies are to be believed, the younger American car consumer is moving in this direction. Therefore the convergence may indeed happen.
However, our roads still lend themselves to larger vehicles, so possibly the large car with the efficiency similar to our smaller vehicles may be more to where the market is heading.
A Taurus/Impala/300 that can achieve 40 mpg's on the highway, but still have deliver some power (regardless of cylinder count) could be the market too.
^^ There's a far greater concern for the industry that younger buyers aren't going to get a car at all. Given youth unemployment plus the increasing cost of owning/operating a car, I totally understand why.
The gen Y's have flooded into condos in downtown Toronto, and they don't need a car since they're on public transit and can rent if they need one, so they're saving a huge chunk of the cost of owning a car, which is getting up into the $10,000 - $15,000 range per year in this very expensive city.
I don't blame them for making that decision.
G8mike;218150 Wrote:^^ There's a far greater concern for the industry that younger buyers aren't going to get a car at all. Given youth unemployment plus the increasing cost of owning/operating a car, I totally understand why.
The gen Y's have flooded into condos in downtown Toronto, and they don't need a car since they're on public transit and can rent if they need one, so they're saving a huge chunk of the cost of owning a car, which is getting up into the $10,000 - $15,000 range per year in this very expensive city.
I don't blame them for making that decision.
I've watched this trend too. Are young people falling out of love with cars? Or are cars just getting too expensive? You have to save somewhere to buy the smartphone and data plan. It looks like for urban young, the car is an easy place to skimp.
^^ Particularly in cities like Toronto, there is absolutely no joy in driving. We're rapidly heading toward total gridlock. It reminds me of a Robot Chicken skit where the guy is at the dealership and he's looking at 'sports car' or 'economy car.' He picks the sports car (good choice my man!), next frame he's moving along at 5 MPH in bumper to bumper traffic in his 'sports car'.
If I have to go downtown (and I avoid it when I can) I take the train if at all possible.
Toronto trades back and forth with LA for the worst traffic in North America. Ppppppth.
I love driving and owning cars, but financially it isn't making much sense. I calculated that if I just went to work and back, a tank of gas would last me 3 1/2 weeks. I could just as easild buy a bike and pedal to work. Would be a lot healthier for me as well. Pocket the cost of ownership and maintenance.
If I lived and worked downtown it would be even more beneficial to ditch a car all together.
BasiliskSt;218141 Wrote:A central thread of U.S. auto policy appears to be to get Americans to buy cars more like Europeans, e.g., smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient.
The result would be a convergence of our historically very different markets.
Is convergence happening? Are U.S. cars and consumer tastes becoming more like Europeans? Will we buy cars like the little FIATs, Fiestas, and VWs. For most Europeans a Jetta is a large car. (The wealthy are different everywhere.) Automakers are buying into the plan with increasing emphasis on world car platforms that can be sold anywhere, but especially in the two big markets North America and the EU. (There are exceptions to the rule like the NA Jetta.)
Is convergence inevitable or is it a pipe dream? Are American tastes evolving to match the regulatory pressure?
Actually Bas, this exact scenario has happened before, in Australia. Look at Oz cars from the 70's and even into the mid-late 80's... they were essentially all American-style vehicles. Watch "Mad Max" and look at the V8 sedans and coupes they drove. Then somewhere in the late 80's-early 90's, the large Aussie cars morphed into Euro-style sedans while their smaller cars transformed into either Asian or German compacts.
This makes sense from an economy-of-scale perspective. Put all the market research bullshit aside and embrace the fact that people still need to buy cars, and they will buy what is offered if they have no other choice. This is one of the reasons why the Asians became so profitable - they sell the same car in every market with only regional differences.