Question Of The Day: The Market Segment You Can Live… Without
There are certain types of vehicles that we will likely never drive between now and forever.
As an American stuck in the bureaucratic mess that is federal safety regulations, I will likely never have a kei car or an Ariel Atom in my garage. Europeans, in turn, may never enjoy the wonders of the last generation Ford Taurus X, or the non-pedestrian friendly Lincoln Town Car with its bulbous instead of flattish bumper.
Then we have those motorized chariots that many believe should be wiped off the face of the Earth. Environmentalists are stereotypically considered to be hateful of SUV’s. Young folks can often times hate the full-sized boats of the modern day. Elderly folks are considered to have an aversion towards hard riding sports cars. And though plenty of convertibles are available in today’s market, precious few folks ever put one anywhere close to their shopping list.
Sometimes it’s hate. Other times it’s a practical concern. Then there are those market segments that have been crossed off our list due to innumerable years of torturous experiences.
So let me ask you, what market segment could you live without?
Note: For those who have asked other writers and editors at TTAC, I can be reached directly at steve.lang@thetruthaboutcars.com .
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Any pretentious vehicle that is purchased because the owner doesn't want to be seen in a minivan or wagon while falling well short of a minivan/wagon for their needs. Premium luxury cars. -Offer no more real luxury than a Buick Lacrosse -Difficult and expensive to repair -More unreliable than the Buick Supercars -Less reliable than a 24 Hours of Lemons car -Will never be used for their intended purpose -Will seldom be used, period
On the topic of CUVs.. How much of a CUV's 'superior ground clearance' comes not from lifted suspension, but from deleting the aerodynamics kits the OEMs like to put on the car-version to help meet CAFE? How much of the desire for a CUV's 'superior ground clearance' comes from an unreasonable fear on the part of the car-buyer that they'll scrap-off a chin-spoiler or side-skirt on an 'aerodynamically superior' new Passenger-Car? How much of the above-mentioned unreasonable fear is a result of new 'aerodynamically superior' passenger-cars not having as much visible open-space under the car as cars of the 70s (which are becoming fashionable again) had? As for my own vote for a market segment that needs to go away... FWD Luxury Cars! Really, the only legitimate reason to make a car FWD is because.. A) You're making something small... or B) You're making something Cheep... Neither Small nor Cheep should be in any way used as adjectives when describing a Luxury car.
The short list: Dodge Nitro and all equivalent gym-junkie chariots. Tiny all-wheel-drive nasties like the X3, X1 and Suzuki SX4 Anything that resembles a Citroen C3. Boxes - Toyota Rukus, Nissan Cube, Kia Soul, etc. Absolutely any sedan that costs more than $140K. All of these are unnecessary and some are just idiotic.
I actually see a need for UNDER-powered cars. When I had teenagers at home I had a a Buick Skylark around for their use. Iron Duke 90hp 4 connected to a slushbox transaxle. The thing could barely spin tires on ice! Ran out of breath at 65 Hyundai Accents and Kia Rios have 110= horsepower, nowadays. Where are the modern "training wheels" cars?