"I'm shrinking, shrinking!"
Back in the early 1980's, having learned from the oil crisis of the '70's, many car manufacturers produced small, fuel efficient vehicles that sold well and did what they were meant to do: move people. But by the early '90's, the same thing happened to cars as happened to computer software: they bloated yet again. They got longer, larger, more powerful, roomier, and thirstier--like they used to be. And this trend (as with software) has been continuing--up to now.
As we've all seen in the past few months, fuel prices have kept climbing and while some manufacturers saw this coming (the Toyota Prius just celebrated it's 10th year of production) many others did not. Turning a blind eye to the realities around them, these car manufacturers kept producing large, fuel sucking cars and truck that no longer fit market realities in North America.
But now, thanks to sagging sales and a measurable consumer backlash, some of those car manufacturers might finally be "getting it" and are once again building smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles as quickly as they can.
We've been down this road before however. In the 60's and early 70's cars were, in general, huge. Fuel became expensive and harder to get, cars shrunk. Enter the era of cheap oil, and cars bloated again. Now we're back to higher fuel prices, and cars are shrinking once more. The more things change...
But as I've said before, now is the time for owners of fun, cheap cars to rejoice: we've seen it all along. And while we may lack a little passing power and have a little rust on the underside, the money we've saved on fuel costs in the last two years alone could probably buy a small condo in Malibu. Or maybe Seattle.
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7.04.2008
Comment: Are car manufacturers finally getting it?
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3 comments:
The question is not, and never has been, whether or not the car companies "get it". The automotive industry is in the business of selling what the customer is willing to buy. All through the 90's there were small fuel efficient vehicles available. Folks bought Ford Explorers and Toyota Tundras instead. So the car companies made Explorers and Tundras instead.
What is inexcusable is that the current energy crisis has caught at least the US companies absolutely flat footed. How did the Big 3 not see this coming? At least ya gotta have a contingency plan. Why wasn't there a folder in some filing cabinet somewhere in Dearborn marked "Plan B"?
The other part of this is that there are basically two car markets. The US and everywhere else. NHTSA crash standards, DOT headlight rules, side marker requirements, seat belt anchor hardware, and a myriad of odds and ends are different from one market to the other. So even though Ford has a world class small car in the Euro Focus that doesn't do Ford US a bit of good cause you can't sell it in the US. So Ford flails about desperately renaming cars and offering any incentive it can think of to move cars while they have an incredible car twiddling it's proverbial thumbs across the pond. And Chevy is in the same boat. Wouldn't you rather have a Opel Corsa Turbo then an Aveo?
Hey Scottanon: thanks for your insightful and knowledgeable posts, and for your comments about the site. Glad our site suits your tastes when it comes to cars!
I also find it hard to comprehend how the current so-called energy crisis caught any car company by surprise, but energy prices are already tumbling, so...now what?
They can't keep shifting production to the tastes of the day without some kind of mainstay product line/gravy train.
Innovation might be the only answer, and modelling after the European auto industry might be a step in the right direction. After all, Opel is the only thing keeping GM/Saturn afloat right now...
I do believe it actually is about whether or not the car companies get it. If consumers purchase fuel efficient vehicles when gas prices are high, why wouldnt they purchase the same fuel efficient vehicles when gas prices are low? Is the general public immediately blided by cheap gas prices? Do people not know the MARGINAL benefits of owning a fuel efficient car when gas prices are low? Imagine all the additional money they could be saving. But car companies are somewhat of the problem. They produce huge vehicles and make them AVAILABLE to the public and include incentives to make the consumer believe that they are actually saving.
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