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And most people share this view. I lived mostly in high-scale neighborhoods, and you'd rarely see US-made car in them; and if you see, you know that family is on the lower income part in this location. In the place I live right now the only US-made cars are Teslas (which I personally think are just useless junk like Apple phones; people usually buy them to make a statement). All others are high-end European and Japanese ones.
There are a good number of American-made heavy pick-up trucks and SUVs in affluent areas in my neck of the swamp. Marina space is limited and lots of folks need a vehicle that doesn't complain when they need to tow their boat to a launch point
Too many forced bells and whistles options on vehicles. I don't really need to have a sunroof that is as large as the front door of my modest house. ( i don't even use my sunroof!) I don’t need a video player that entertains passengers in the second and third seats...( i never have passengers...and if one cannot behave themselves in a vehicle...well.....)
Yes, this. I don't want a computer screen in the middle of my dash that's going to cost me $2000 when the heater stops working, I don't want push button start (I honestly don't even get the point of it, since you need the keys to be near it anyway). And I want a car I can take to Joe the mechanic and not the dealership. So I buy used. My current car is 2009 and it's the newest car I've ever had. My last car, an awesome Acura coupe I wish I still had, died after I had it for about 10 years on top of it being 5 years old when I bought it. It had 315,000 miles on it when it died. I'll drive this car till it dies, too.
I make decent money, but to me it's crazy when co-workers tell me their car payment is close to $500 a month. I don't care that much about what I drive beyond that it needs to be decently quick off the line. The only things I really look at beyond price are reliability, 1/4 mile time, and some comfort features (I like my butt warmer seats, lol).
All F-150 that I saw around me were used for work. May be in your place i's different, but I see what I see. The only F-150 worth driving was some special trim built for speed (don't remember the trim name, but something like "Lighting" or alike).
*shrug* May be there are reasons, but I like the way it look much more that F-150 or Silverado. As I said, I never needed it, so did not research on how it actually drives, what are perks, reliability etc.
The only good thing I can say about Ford I once owned - seats were the best compared to any other car I tried before/after. Never was tired in them in long rides, super comfortable. But that's about only good thing that I can say about Ford
Nah, I was thinking about Porsche, but it doesn't have trunk space , so not good.
And you still refer to convertible as to "sport car". I explained you that it's not, and shouldn't be. If I want "sport car", I'll be looking to Porsche, not Lexus or Mercedes. Rich people will be looking to Lamborghini. Nobody will be looking to Corvette, sorry
Well, since you are not Toyota CEO, you cannot say this was the reason. For example, at first I wanted Murano convertible - I just love Murano, I admit that. But then I learned they stopped making them in 2015. Those convertibles were going like hot cakes, then why? And then I came across service guy in Nissan dealership, and he said that rooftop on that model was breaking all the time, like non-stop; cost of fixing it was aroung 15K, so Nissan was losing way more than gaining on that model.
You need to travel a little more I guess as non-commercial F-150's (and Silverados/Rams) are EVERYWHERE. They are the top 3 selling vehicles in the country. On the F-150, the "XL" trim series is the work truck for commercial businesses. That accounts for 18% of total F-150 sales. That means regular buyers are buying 82% of them. Even if you argue that some XLT trim buyers (~30% of F-150 sales) use them for work then that may bring the "work truck" total to 33% if half the XLT buyers use them for work. The rest of the trims (FX4, Lariat, Platinum, King Ranch, etc) account for more than half of F-150 sales and 90% of those are crew cab models that are well over $50K.
As far as sports cars and/or 2-door coupes, both of those segments are tiny. It's very hard to make a profit in those segments and that's why so many vehicles come and go. The sales numbers for those segments continues to drop.
The Murano CrossCabriolet sold terribly, and that's the big reason why they were discontinued. I'm sure the mechanical problems helped, too, but even if that wasn't the problem I'm pretty sure it would have been killed, anyway. SUV/Crossover convertibles are just not in high demand.
Think about this for a minute. New product programs take 4-5 years to develop so the day the first Murano CrossCabriolet was sold (2010 calendar year) work was probably already underway for the Next Gen Murano program that eventually launched in 2014. By 2011, that Nex Gen Murano program was probably locked-in so someone in that company realized quickly the CrossCabriolet was a bad idea and they didn't try to make one for the Nex Gen model coming...
New cars are for people in the Rust Belt, and/or people who can't do their own maintenance and repair.
I buy new and keep them for as long as possible. 13 years on a 4Runner I sold because I was moving overseas and my employer gave me a big chunk of cash to sell it. 2004 Volvo my wife drove for 15 years until it was totaled in an accident. 2010 4Runner I am driving now. The Toyotas have/had minimal maintenance requirements, the Volvo wasn't bad. I won' tbuy a used car if I can avoid it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wharton
You "stretch out" oil changes as much as you like to. If you commit to that silliness, talk to few independent mechanics about how well that works out in the real world. Bottom line is that all oil collects dirt as result of the combustion process, internal wear, condensation, and other factors. All oil has a very sophisticated mixture of additives designed to do all types of "jobs" inside the engine, from preventing wear to lubricating and conditioning rubber and plastic seals and components. It doesn't matter if you CAN run your car at 10 or 15K intervals, IF all the additives are depleted and the oil is full of fine suspended particles. I change mine at 5K intervals, synthetic and an OEM filter. I guarantee that maintaining a car at this level will result in a drivetrain that will last a great deal longer than one that has "extended" maintenance intervals, and as a result, not need to be rebuilt or prematurely replaced, which is a lot more environmentally friendly.
I'm now seeing reports of owners of the same vehicle I have, that are screaming about $2500 repair bills to engine internals, including timing chains that are failing before 90K miles. These folks often report getting in heated battles with their dealers, because the dealer recommended 5K oil change intervals, and the customer followed the manufacturer's instructions, as the maintenance minder feature of the car told them that 8-12K intervals were just fine..........................The problem here is that the mechanics and service writers know darn well that you can't get 200-300k reliable miles from a car if you do what the manufacturer says, and change the oil at 2-3 x what it should really be changed at. I've got a buddy that deals with this every day. He has customers who will tell him that he is just ripping them off by recommending 5K changes. He then explains that all of HIS PERSONAL CARS get new oil and filters every 5K, and he doesn't make any big money changing oil, so they are welcome to do it themselves, or find a cheaper place to get it done, but they STILL should ignore the manufacturer, and the maintenance minder function on the dash, and change the oil a heck of a lot more! A manufacturer could care less if your car is a worthless pile of crap at 90K miles. A competent independent mechanic will tell you that the most important thing you can do to protect your investment is to change the oil. Change it on a regular basis, and use quality products.
The whole, "i'm saving the earth by changing my oil less often" is not only meaningless crap in the big picture, but it's hurting YOU, and doing more damage to the environment, since that vehicle will end up being replaced a LOT sooner than it you actually took care of it.
Do you have any actual research, with statistics, done by a reputable scientist? You see the exceptions in your shop, not the average. The oil companies are pushing the longer intervals as hard as the car makers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2011KTM530
I would buy a new car if it was cheaper and I could repair it myself with parts I could buy at my little local parts store. Can’t do that so, no new car for me.
My 2010 4Runner hasn't needed an unscheduled repair yet. I am replacing the shocks myself, because I enjoy it, but that's it.
Younger generation isn't into cars. From what I see with the 18-28 year olds is that they can do without a car as long as they have a smart phone and internet. They would rather spend the money they have on other things rather than a car payment/insurance and gas. They can order everything they need from the internet and order an Uber/Lyft if they need to get somewhere quick. Some cities also have rentable scooters and Ebikes to get around quickly without even paying for parking.
People *ARE* buying new cars - and a lot of them. Is there a slowdown coming in 2019? Maybe, but even with that from 2015 to 2018 there was 4 straight years of car sales at 17 million or more.
From 1970 through 2015 there were only two times (2000 & 2001) where sales went over 17 million.
The market could drop 15% this year and end up at 15 million, which is still right at the historical average.
The doom and gloom about the sales numbers is only because the numbers are dropping from all-time highs. That kind of pace is hard to maintain and dropping to 15/16 million per year is not unexpected or the disaster everyone makes it out to be.
I find it ironic that this is an automotive forum, which I would have expected to attract auto enthusiasts like myself, yet so many of you are old school, anti-modern car people. If you hate cars so much why are you on this forum.
Yes, this. I don't want a computer screen in the middle of my dash that's going to cost me $2000 when the heater stops working, I don't want push button start (I honestly don't even get the point of it, since you need the keys to be near it anyway). And I want a car I can take to Joe the mechanic and not the dealership. So I buy used. My current car is 2009 and it's the newest car I've ever had. My last car, an awesome Acura coupe I wish I still had, died after I had it for about 10 years on top of it being 5 years old when I bought it. It had 315,000 miles on it when it died. I'll drive this car till it dies, too.
I make decent money, but to me it's crazy when co-workers tell me their car payment is close to $500 a month. I don't care that much about what I drive beyond that it needs to be decently quick off the line. The only things I really look at beyond price are reliability, 1/4 mile time, and some comfort features (I like my butt warmer seats, lol).
Ditto. My car is a 2005 and had to have the computer replaced at a cost of a couple thousand dollars. I don't recall having to do that in my '83 truck that lasted for 17 years and probably would have lasted longer with regular maintenance.
I like the AC, but I don't need all the bells and whistles, either. I know how to read a map and I can crank my own windows.
If car sales are down, there's a good reason for it. It's like buying a house. Why would I waste a half million dollars on a 5000 sq ft 4-bedroom 4-bath house when a 1-bedroom 1-bath for $80,000 fits my needs better?
I want a more basic vehicle at a lower cost, period. Don't tell me I have no choice because that's all you'll build or sell to me. That doesn't make me want to buy something I don't need. It means I just buy older, cheaper, or not at all.
There's only so far businesses can push the consumer until they push back - hard.
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