I’m not trying to pick on Nissan, but here’s something interesting: In July, 2010, sales of the very large Nissan Armada SUV above were up 311.4%. Sales of the Xterra SUV were up 56.6%. On the flip side, sales of the subcompact Nissan Cube were down 54%. Sales of the equally subcompact Nissan Versa were down 9.4%. This isn’t meant to bash SUVs—I’m not an SUV hater—it’s meant to show that in July, 2010, sales of large vehicles were up, and sales of small cars were down, and not just at Nissan.
It’s been said Americans have short memories. This could certainly be said for car buying trends, at least with regards to vehicle size and fuel efficacy. Gas prices have held relatively steady over the last year—the average price is still under $3.00 a gallon, although on the rise—and Americans have decided to buy larger, thirstier cars again. At least that’s what July’s sales data suggest.
July was a good month for the majority of automakers offering vehicles in the States. However, it was the bigger vehicles leading the charge, even though there’s more small cars on the market than in recent history. Autoblog, for example, reported Honda’s Civic was down 25.5% while the Pilot was up 45.4% (the Fit was down 29.5%). Nissan’s car division was down 3.7%, but its trucks went up 51%. As I reported on Tuesday, all b-segment cars on the U.S. market (sans the Kia Rio and Kia Soul; +99.7% and +65.9%, respectively) experienced a drop in sales compared to this time in 2009.
It’s not like Americans don’t have small options these days, it’s quite the contrary. There are more small car choices these days than since the 1980s, and they’re almost undoubtedly the best small cars ever to grace American soil. Even with the not-so-stellar economy, gas prices that still aren’t “cheap,” and many great smaller options, the slow sales of small cars says something about U.S. consumers: They like big vehicles and fuel economy isn’t as important as many want to think.
How soon people forget. Remember when gas prices approached $5.00 a gallon in places? It wasn’t very long ago. Remember saving money by driving a car that got 25 MPG vs. 15? Of course a subcompact, compact, or even a “car” doesn’t fit everyone’s bill. But, they likely fit more lifestyles then many people would want to believe. It’s the “bigger is better” mentality.
Hey, I’m the last person on Earth that’s going to tell someone what they have to buy. Some people need pickups, SUVs, and minivans (most “minivans” aren’t very “mini” anymore if you haven’t noticed), and you do have the freedom to buy whatever the hell you want—that’s fine. But I’d bet gas prices will rise again and used car lots will once again be strewn with copious amounts of large, gas-guzzling vehicles. I just figure it’s a matter of if not when.
Clearly, Americans decided to buy big with their vehicle purchases—at least in July—despite the influx of great small vehicles. But is this spike in bigger vehicle sales simply a blip on the radar, or is this a return to buying bigger and less fuel-efficient again? Assuming gas prices stay around where they are, the next few months should be good indicators.
Courtesy of our content partner – Subcompact Culture
As I sit here thinking about last Sunday’s short trip to Bucks Lake and Feather Falls, CA about two hours from Sacramento, I think to myself about the open road ahead. One of the greatest experiences one could have with a car, is a road-trip with friends to remote locations. Even with my meager, uncomfortable Corolla, I ignore every nuisance and look forward to the upcoming adventure.
Each year, more cars and drivers hit the highways. With so many vehicles on the road, crashes will happen. Automobile insurance can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major hassle. But why do you need insurance and just how much should you buy?
Even after all that, 1997 wasn’t all that bad of a year. The thief owner had sold the 11-sec motor out of the Del Sol to a friend/customer Eddie Ramos, and Gary swapped it into a white EG and that was where I got my start. It was in Pomona, at a street legal event, they told me that I needed to really learn now. At 320WHP, these cars are way different than anything I’ve ever driven previously.
E36 BMW M3
Bugeye
C4 Chevrolet Corvette
B5 Audi S4
Z32 Nissan 300ZX Turbo
SN-95 Ford Mustang GT
EM1 Honda Civic Si
951 Porsche 944 Turbo
JZZ30 Lexus SC 300
C170 Ford SVT Focus
Despite hybrid vehicles being the standard of green vehicles today, the debate rages on. The big debate in the future of automobiles comes down to these two major technologies – electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.
If you happened to catch the latest Top Gear episode on BBC or BBC America, the UK boys bashed the Tesla Motors’ Roadster for being irrelevant and unreliable. We know now that the unreliability was staged, and the ‘being irrelevant’ is just the Top Gear boys’ opinion. I loved it especially, when they traced the power source of the household power plug all the way to a heavy polluting power plant. It is very, very suggestive and misleading. Mr. May and Mr. Clarkson also suggested that hydrogen fuel cells are the wave of the future and introduced the Honda’s new FCX Clarity. Maybe, Top Gear is drinking Honda flavored Kool-Aid.
In a ideal world, we would have two types of vehicles in our garages… or two types of mobility. One should be a electric personal mobile, commuter, or errand-runner. Much like the Segway, you plug it in to recharge at night then you take it to do errands or go to work in it. A fine example of this would be the Toyota iReal (see left). The other mode of transportation should only be used when you need space for more than one person and/or need long cruising distances. That could be either gas, electric, or hybrid drivetrain. But realistically, most people can or will have one vehicle. If that’s the case, make it electric. As the battery technology improve, so will the performance of the electric vehicles. With hydrogen fuel cells, you might have to replace the whole entire fuel cell or the vehicle, itself, for the same improvement of upgraded batteries on pure electric vehicles.
Hmmmm, there is a gap in the middle lane. The driver up ahead of me in the left lane is going 65 mph holding up traffic. The problem is, if I switch over one lane to the right, I have to be very sure of the pass I want to make, or the driver in the left lane may accelerate just to get on my nerves. Pass the left lane straggler, and get into a comfortable cruise speed. Up ahead, traffic slows again in the left lane but there is a nice long stretch of space in the middle and right lanes. Suddenly, some moron on a nondescript two-door decides to go at least 100mph in the middle lane, only to slam on the brakes. While I continue without so much as tapping the brakes at my comfortable speed (with occasional spurts of acceleration out of enjoyment of the scenery around me), the driver up ahead is cursing those in front for his own inability to understand driving with other cars around. About a moment later, after seeing a nice open space to the right of the road-raged driver, I end up passing him while still going at my same speed.