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I did a casual survey once, along somewhat different lines, but perhaps appriate for this thread. I used to walk to a mall every Sunday morning, and my route took me through three church parking lots. I did a car count one Sunday, and found that (I can't recall the exact figures) about 10% of the cars in the church parking lots were Japanese, and more than 30% of the cars in the mall parking lot were Japanese. There were more than 100 cars in each sample, which I consider to be statistically significant with a fairly modest margin for error.
I concluded that practicing conscientious Christians are more likely to buy American cars, and people of a more secular persuasion more likely to buy imports. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with religion, but might simply reflect the people's conservative or liberal values.
Perhaps the same applies to regional variations. Red states buy American (and go to church), blue states buy imports.
I concluded that practicing conscientious Christians are more likely to buy American cars, and people of a more secular persuasion more likely to buy imports. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with religion, but might simply reflect the people's conservative or liberal values.
Perhaps the same applies to regional variations. Red states buy American (and go to church), blue states buy imports.
Could be a reason why the state of Washington is full of Japanese cars. But here in Dallas there is a fair mix of everything, although it's in a red state!
Could be a reason why the state of Washington is full of Japanese cars. But here in Dallas there is a fair mix of everything, although it's in a red state!
Since there are many more trucks and full size SUVs in Texas, I am not surprised you see more American brands.
Since there are many more trucks and full size SUVs in Texas, I am not surprised you see more American brands.
Well, the trucks are American, but not SUVs so much. As many, or even more Pathfinder/Highlander/RAV4/CRV/4Runners than Explorer/Blazer/Expedition/Durango/Navigator/Escapes here.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Lots of rationalization, often for practical reasoning (pickups in WY). Older cars can survive many decades in Non-Salt areas.
VW's were not too popular in MN / Northern states when they were Air Cooled and Really cool in the winter (little cabin heat), thus it took awhile for acceptance of even the WC versions there. Currently there is a HUGE support / user base of VW Diesels in Midwest, but generally the Midwest is pretty generic / mix of what is on the road in America)
PWN is VW & BMW & MB (Seattle is king).
Pruis capital of USA is Portland, OR (suits OR pious attitude PERFECT).
Midwest, and SE (NASCAR) probably has most muscle car per capita. CA could compete in areas but CA just has TOO MANY CARS period (.) Many imports in CA.(and a few old woodies)
CA and TX have LOTS of pickups and LARGE SUVs (And Hummers,,, not sure that will continue with Chinese Hummers.) BIG and highly decorated cars are "image" in those states. It is NOT a good idea to take your fancy, frilly CA truck to WY... (I have seen them get painted PINK while sitting outside of bars.)
AZ, NV, WY, CO, UT lots of US made pickups. Dealer / support national pride whether GM, Dodge or Ford. TOO bad they each have serious deficiencies. From Isuzu Diesels with Alum heads, to absolutely ROTTEN suspension design ... We might need to Resurrect International pickups (though they were crummy in similarity of quality / design).
USA is very independent, and cars are an expression of that. No sense thinking that will ever change (while we can afford fuel / new cars).
PLASTIC cars / body parts are gonna be a REAL problem in 30 yrs. Crunch up some of the 40% body area coverage bumpers / body panels, and WHOOPs, WHAT is that thing you're driving? 20xx Cars without their plastic, make the VW Thing look stylish.
I'm from Long Island. I drove to upstate NY a few weeks ago and I could count on one hand the number of import cars I saw once I was a couple of hours away from the city. It looked like most of the import cars we driven by college students who are probably not from the area.
On LI and NYC the majority of the cars are imports. I think it has to do with image. American cars are not seen as cool here...save for maybe the new Camaros and Escalades etc..
When I'm driving out west in Phoenix, Albuquerque or LA, it seems you need a car that gets good gas mileage but is also fast like the BMW, Honda, and Toyota. The commutes are always in the twenty mile range and its got to be more fun to merge on the freeway in a BMW.
In the Midwest larger vehicles are more popular because the commutes are not as long so gas mileage is not a daily concern. When people do commute for twenty-five miles its at 65-70 miles per hour the whole way. There no such thing as the fender bender, you are lucky if there is anything left. Same thing in the mountains people need larger vehicles .
I think geography plays and important role when it comes to purchasing a vehicle for daily driving.
In Utah, I would say large vehicles (SUVs, trucks, crossovers) outnumber small vehicles (sedans, wagons, hatchbacks, convertibles, etc.) 2:1. It's a pretty good mix of nationalities, though American brands make up a larger portion in the big car category than they do the small car category. It seems the larger the vehicle, the more likely it is to be an American brand.
A few years ago I went to Vermont on vacation and I must say it was quite the shock to see how many Subarus were on the roads. I mean, it was like every fourth or fifth car on the road was a Subaru. I found it charming after a while, a piece of "local color" of sorts since Subaru is not a company with a large nationwide representation on the roads. I understood the 4WD needs and all that, but other companies also make SUVs and 4WD vehicles...
A few years ago I went to Vermont on vacation and I must say it was quite the shock to see how many Subarus were on the roads. I mean, it was like every fourth or fifth car on the road was a Subaru. I found it charming after a while, a piece of "local color" of sorts since Subaru is not a company with a large nationwide representation on the roads. I understood the 4WD needs and all that, but other companies also make SUVs and 4WD vehicles...
Others do make 4WD and AWD, but Subaru had the broadest AWD product line the earliest. Lots of Subie customer loyalty. And they are 4 cyl engine cars that get good gas mileage for AWD.
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