EVs might be only hope for Sedans (minivan, SUVs, best)
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Trucky-cars for car-cars is a fad and a whim, and when taste swings back away from little pretendy truck-car-UVs, the makers dropping those lines are going to be in a world of hurt. And piteously looking for bailouts, yet again.
I had the same thought. The road that Ford is heading down is a treacherous one. Not everyone wants a truck or SUV, and when public opinion swings back the other way, Ford will have nothing to offer these customers.
I had the same thought. The road that Ford is heading down is a treacherous one. Not everyone wants a truck or SUV, and when public opinion swings back the other way, Ford will have nothing to offer these customers.
I said this a while back. People will be driving through a Ford lot like on a Sunday to look around, and see trucks, trucks, suv's crossover's, mustangs. And down the road they go.
I had the same thought. The road that Ford is heading down is a treacherous one. Not everyone wants a truck or SUV, and when public opinion swings back the other way, Ford will have nothing to offer these customers.
The problem is nobody really wanted sedans last time. When SUV’s and trucks were last all the craze and gas prices suddendly skyrocketed during a recession, sedans became the fallback choice because their size gave them an edge on gas mileage. As soon as the market recovered and gas prices dropped, people went back to what they actually wanted. There’s just not enough demand for every car manufacturer to have sedans make up half their lineup.
There was a time when every manufacturer offered a minivan, now only a few do. Not all segments “bounce back”.
You have to look into the reasons that trucks became so popular in the first place. Those reasons are mostly gone, and the market will slowly realize that.
I had the same thought. The road that Ford is heading down is a treacherous one. Not everyone wants a truck or SUV, and when public opinion swings back the other way, Ford will have nothing to offer these customers.
So do you feel Honda is on a treacherous road, too? I mean they only make cars and crossovers - no real trucks - which is is a bigger market (by far) than sedans. Honda makes nothing to compete with a F-150, F-Super Duty, Transit/Transit Connect, Expedition, etc. I don't hear people screaming about that and how Honda is doomed.
So what's really worse? Ford abandoning the low-profit/low-sales segments or Honda refusing to produce vehicles for the high-profit/high-demand segments? There is nothing that says every OEM has to make a vehicle for every single segment. (Look at Jeep, who doesn't make cars or big trucks/commercial vans, either....)
You have to look into the reasons that trucks became so popular in the first place. Those reasons are mostly gone, and the market will slowly realize that.
People like trucks because they are roomy, offer great utility/interior space, good seating position, poor weather performance, etc.
All of that is still a factor and now crossovers and SUV's get so much better fuel mileage than they used to.
I'm not a SUV/Truck person - I have 3 sedans in my garage - but I understand why most people want crossovers/SUV's and I don't see that changing anytime soon - even if gas spiked a bit.
So what things about trucks that made them so popular not factors anymore?
So do you feel Honda is on a treacherous road, too? I mean they only make cars and crossovers - no real trucks - which is is a bigger market (by far) than sedans. Honda makes nothing to compete with a F-150, F-Super Duty, Transit/Transit Connect, Expedition, etc. I don't hear people screaming about that and how Honda is doomed.
Because at the end of the day, light trucks are ONLY 50% of current sales, and Honda has a very, very comfortable chunk of the rest. And a "crossover" model in the Ridgeline.
I really don't understand why the pickup crowd has to take every argument off a cliff, then have their buddies winch them back up so they can do it again. Must be something to do with rubber truck balls.
Hatchbacks to me are the perfect combo - sedan like in handling, MPG and ride plus the ability to flip seats down and carry awkward sized items. Add a trailer hitch and you can tow a small 4x8 and carry oversized things like plywood, furniture, etc. more easily than a pickup.
They're everywhere in Europe towing small trailers. The problem in the US is the identical car says "do not tow" in the owner's manual and putting a receiver hitch on it risks voiding your warranty. Welcome to the world of United States product liability lawsuits.
I used to drive VW GTIs as my daily driver from 2001 to 2015. Towing with those voided the warranty. I know new Golfs and SportWagens are like that. Last I looked, the Prius was like that. I drive a 6 cylinder Outback these days. Any time I think a hatch or compact wagon with a receiver hitch would work for me, I do the internet search and the cars I looked at couldn't tow in the US even though you see them everywhere in Europe towing things.
Because at the end of the day, light trucks are ONLY 50% of current sales, and Honda has a very, very comfortable chunk of the rest. And a "crossover" model in the Ridgeline.
I really don't understand why the pickup crowd has to take every argument off a cliff, then have their buddies winch them back up so they can do it again. Must be something to do with rubber truck balls.
Light trucks, even at "only" 50% of sales is probably 65-75% of the profits. The F-150 sells more than the Accord and Civic combined with higher margins. If Honda didn't want any piece of that they wouldn't bother starting off with the Ridgeline.
I just don't see where all the Ford hate is coming from when they are abandoning non-profitable segments, and there are plenty of other automakers who do not offer a full lineup either.
As far as EVs are concerned, I think once battery technology improves and there are more entry-level crossover options, those will start gaining market share over sedans at that time. Will be interesting to see how much the Model Y cannibalizes the Model 3 when it comes out.
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