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If people would quit buying these hideous crossover turds, America would be a better place. Here's looking at you RAV4/Juke/CRV/etc owners.
My son had a BMW 328d wagon. Pretty practical car for him, his wife and two dogs. When he had his first kid, it suddenly got too small. He looked at a LOT of cars on the market and decided on a new CRV. Was easier to load the kid in and out of than the wagon, plus carried way more stuff. And when he went anywhere (like to the grandparents houses) carrying him, his wife, the kid, their two dogs, luggage for the overnight stay, and all the kid stuff, it's just right. Or if us grandparents came over, it was easier to take him, his wife, the two of us and the kid and the kid's stuff in the CRV than in our sedan or his old wagon.
Crossovers are more practical than wagons and sedans, without taking up the space of a minivan. And many of them drive as good as the sedans they are based on, unlike minivans or larger SUVs. So get off your high horse about them.
Ford just announced that they will discontinue production of the Fiesta and the Taurus. They say everyone wants a pickup or SUV.
I myself will always opt for the sedan. Better ride, safer, much better gas mileage. It would be my luck that when I buy my first pickup, gas will go up to $4 a gallon within the month.
As always, everything is cyclical. In 2 years, Ford will be killing themselves because they will have to retool and bring back the sedan and try to sell off billions in low MPG vehicles.
The fact is, the small SUVs/CUVs/Crossovers get the same fuel mileage as sedans they are based on. It's not as bad when they get, like my son's CRV, 30+mpg. These aren't the days of 14mpg SUVs. And the cars Ford says people want instead of sedans are the Escapes and the like, not F350s (though they'll sell you those, too, at a huge markup). With hybrid crossovers and small to midsize SUVs getting good fuel mileage, they won't wont to, nor have to, retool to bring back sedans that get the same mileage...
I don't live in a rural area. Our children are out of the house, for the most part, and have their own cars, they are millennials. One has a sporty sedan and the other an American economy car.
I am tired of the mileage and gas prices involved with SUVs. We keep one.
We're not driving kids around, taking them on road trips, visiting colleges, or driving their friends around.
My husband and I each have our own personal sedan. I am enjoying a car "just for me".
I can understand why Americans are shifting. A sedan is a single purpose vehicle, where a 4door truck can be multi purpose.
My F150 is just as nice if not nicer than my S Class Mercedes. The only thing the S has over the F150 is massaging seats, but I cant take the S class to the dump or move furniture.
I can understand why Americans are shifting. A sedan is a single purpose vehicle, where a 4door truck can be multi purpose.
My F150 is just as nice if not nicer than my S Class Mercedes. The only thing the S has over the F150 is massaging seats, but I cant take the S class to the dump or move furniture.
Somewhere along the line Mercedes must have take a massive nose dive that I'm not aware of. I recently test drove several variations of the 2018 F150 (XLT up through Platinum) and none were as nice as my 2014 Taurus SHO. It's hard to believe a Taurus is better than any recent S-Class Mercedes, but I think you're confusing feature content with luxury (for the record, my Taurus has massaging seats). Even base model cars have tons of features these days that weren't even available on expensive luxury cars a decade ago. Features are no longer the defining characteristic of luxury cars. I don't know how old your S-class is, but I recently drove a relative's circa 2005 Mercedes E550 and it was far nicer than any of the 2018 pickups I tested. Never mind the Merc's vastly better chassis dynamics and interior quality. The only thing any F150 has over an S class is hauling capacity and reliability. Also, with the proper powertrain configuration, a new F150 probably accelerates faster than a 30 year old S-class diesel.
Ford just announced that they will discontinue production of the Fiesta and the Taurus. They say everyone wants a pickup or SUV.
I myself will always opt for the sedan. Better ride, safer, much better gas mileage. It would be my luck that when I buy my first pickup, gas will go up to $4 a gallon within the month.
As always, everything is cyclical. In 2 years, Ford will be killing themselves because they will have to retool and bring back the sedan and try to sell off billions in low MPG vehicles.
Both cars were poorly designed. The Fiesta is a European car that is not well suited to American tastes. The Taurus was just wrong from the beginning, a large car with a compact interior. In addition, both cars have not kept up with the best in their class. Ford (and US cars in general) has a problem with this. They redesign cars to be at or near class leading, but don't continue to invest in making small improvements like foreign manufacturers. The Fusion is a good example. The Accord and Camry have 190-200 hp standard engines and CVTs or 8 speed automatics. The Fusion is behind. Same with the Escape.
Ford just came out with the Ecosport. I'm waiting for that to fall flat on its face...it has a 1.0 turbocharged 3 cylinder engine and can't even get 30 mpg. That's inexcusable.
...The Fiesta is a European car that is not well suited to American tastes....
Sorry to quote out of context, but the above statement succinctly encapsulates the whole theme of the thread. It's not that Americans are taller than Europeans, or that American highways are fundamentally different. Rather, American taste is different. One part of the world values vehicles that are of compact exterior dimensions, and are economical to operate. Another part of the world values... other things. Unfortunately for me personally, no part of the world seems to value compact and economical cars with powerful engines and rear wheel drive.
One aspect of the problem, is that the sort of consumer in modern America who might prefer a European-style compact car, has become vehemently opposed to driving altogether. By this I mean the city-dwelling young-people. What made coupes and sporty/muscle cars (compact, or not compact at all) cars popular 50 years ago (has it been that long???), were the demographics of that era: lots of young people, who were "in to" cars.
I chose to buy a Mazda2 over a Fiesta back in 2010. The two, similar-at-the-time cars (built from the same platform) seem to be following the same path--successful overseas, brought to America with some fanfare and....discontinued in the US soon after due to the small profit margins of sub-compacts. The Mazda2 and the Fiesta are of course still available overseas, for reasons mentioned above.
I've always driven small cars, and I'm not sure I could transition to a larger car very easily, but my options are quickly dwindling!
I had 7 sedans. I always wanted a wagon or hatchback, but those were never in my used car for cash budget. I don't have space or money for a bunch of specialty vehicles, so I prefer pickups. SUVs are extra weight and luxury features I don't need. The size and mpg I prefer is the VW Caddy, but I won't find that in my budget.
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