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Video Article: Why {Small} Cars are Disappearing

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#1
It's actually titled "cheap" and not "small". Obviously the "cheap" nomenclature can be inaccurate depending on the feature package.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...8446D80E301DDA494E238446D80E301D&&FORM=VRDGAR

Article is 6 to 12 minutes long, depending on whether you adjust the playback speed from 2.0 to 1.0.
Skip to 7:48 for mention of the base Fiesta and its fat sister vehicle, EcoSport.
 


jeff

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Great article/vid. So true. I think half of it is the "SUV craze" - people just want what everyone else has, what is popular. The other half is SUVs are safer and can fit more and offer more visibility than cars that are small and lower to the ground. After 17 years with a minivan we "graduated" to an SUV about a year ago. 2 of our 4 kids were gone so it was time to downsize. I gave it an honest try making a sedan work - we shopped Stingers and Accords - but in the end, even with only 2 kids still at home, the practicality of the SUV beats the sedan every time.

The 2 cars I still drive are small and cheap though - the Fiesta and the G1 Insight.
 


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I just watched this on YouTube yesterday. I didn’t realize all these ”sub compact crossovers“ are just sub compacts with a higher price tag and a 1/2” lift. Also the Accord and Camry base price going above $20k really throws off the statistics.
 


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Most people know I rent vehicles when I do road trips, and every time I have an SUV I'm reminded I will never buy one. For example an AWD Dodge charger would have been perfect for my road trip but that's not an option, so I had a AWD GMC terrain that made a whopping 170 horsepower in a vehicle that weighs 3600 lb empty. The price tag on that thing is insane of course only an idiot would pay sticker price for a GMC. You should always be able to get at least 20% off a GMC / Chevrolet product.

When you compare a car to a crossover or SUV you get so much more car than you do SUV for your money. Especially when it comes to the power department. The Volkswagen Tiguan which has 3rd row seating even though it's unusable makes a whopping 180 horsepower that's pathetic. For a Kia Rio that would be great and fun, but for a vehicle that may have six fat American rear ends sitting in it that's unacceptable.

My brother and I grew up with a 94 Nissan Altima my parents only vehicle and we made it work just fine. A Honda Accord today with how large they are would have been a dream. Full size sedans today have tons of legroom and offer very large trunks, and what's nice about a sedan you can actually seal all your cargo away from the passengers that's kind of nice.

Sorry if I come off negative I just hate that people are being ripped off buying these underpowered overweight turds. A Durango, Tahoe, suburban, 4Runner, expedition those are proper SUVs, and if you actually need to tow something I can see the point of those. But if you are not going to tow anything like a camper or whatever I don't really see the point of those either.


Also the post above makes a good point with the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry going above that price point in the base model. It really does throw off the statistics. Those are the two most popular cars sold properly.

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Thread Starter #5
Although the power/weight ratio sucks, the mini-turbo wave has vastly improved the torque/weight ratio. Torque is what's needed to get these lugs off the line. The low HP shouldn't seem quite as bad with the higher torque output of the turbo engines. The autoshit transmissions also have a lot more gears now, keeping the engines in their optimal range longer.
 


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#6
Off the line is not really the issue.

The issue is when you can't get up to speed on a ramp, or when you can't pass someone. Also you can't maneuver yourself on the interstate to get away from someone that is being unsafe because you don't have the power to move. Not just my opinion either my Wife didn't care for the gutless pathetic trashy glorified lawn mower engine.

Having a car that will do 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds all day long completely stock makes you realize how having power to maneuver yourself in a situation really adds to feeling more secure and safe.

In today's world of cars getting faster I would consider any vehicle that takes longer than about 8 seconds to reach 60 MPH unacceptable. But for some reason we're still building vehicles that take like 10 seconds to get to 60 and that's empty. Maybe they are doing this so people will go to electric, because those things are not going to be slow like that.

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That sounds a bit low for stock? 🙂

The point of them being bigger is, they don't have to get out the way. The idea is to be big enough not to loose in a bumper fight. Everyone else on the highway has to slow down to let them in. 🤣 Okay I'm joking a bit there.

I used to drive a 1.9L SOHC 88HP car and though it was a stick shift, basically what I found was, the overwhelming majority of the time, it just comes down to the driver. When I initially moved to Indianapolis I really was having trouble keepng up with traffic until I just got used to shifting higher and pressing the pedal more. Other than that I was good, even for highway entrance ramps. I rented a brand new Nissan sedan, roughly a year/two ago, automatic shift, non-turbo engine and about raped that engine/trans in order to get desirable performance out of it, but even with the low HP and torque, it sufficed. My only point is, the drivers are more the issue than the vehicles. I routinely witness folks with enough oomph under the hood to beat us in a race, mosey on up entrance ramps or literally take 30-60 seconds to approach 40MPH on the streets. Some folks I just figure are "gassing" stretching that tank of fuel (in the left lane 😑), have back problems, have a sleeping baby in the back, low-vision, delicate unsecured cargo or perhaps a coffee cup sitting squarely on the dash (😄). Even electrified with instantaneously available torque, we're still going to have to deal with this.
 


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#8
I'm not talking about slow drivers individuals will always be a problem obviously. 700 horsepower won't fix that.

I'm talking about my personal experience with these underpowered turds.
They make driving painful and annoying. They are definitely not worth the money and individuals are getting ripped off. The turbo doesn't make that big of a difference really they are the size of vacuum cleaner motors. The Nissan rogue also a terrible vehicle most Nissan's are today has a naturally aspirated engine, but the torque is not to far off it comes in a little higher but makes just as much horsepower. The Mazda 2.5 naturally aspirated makes about the same amount of torque and horsepower it's a long stroke engine, and has way better character than these micro turbo engines. The turbo 2.5 is also a good engine making 100 lb more torque then most of the micro turbo engines, and easily making 70 more horsepower. The whole reason these micro turbo engines even exist is because of China.
Honda was and is smart to put their v6 engine in the Honda Odyssey and Honda Pilot you actually have a vehicle that can get out of its way. Also the turbo 2.0 Honda engine is also very strong.

The 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds would be my g70 they can be in the upper threes with a few modifications. Obviously no Fiesta ST unless it was built as a drag car is going to do 0 to 60 in the 4 second range no traction.

The ramps I'm talking about would be upstate New York especially the Syracuse area where my wife is from they are brutal. In my area of North Carolina we have nice long ramps on and off, but Syracuse you better hope you can get out of the way.


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M-Sport fan

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#9
The ramps I'm talking about would be upstate New York especially the Syracuse area where my wife is from they are brutal. In my area of North Carolina we have nice long ramps on and off, but Syracuse you better hope you can get out of the way.
HA! The Merritt Parkway's entrance ramps (IF that's what you want to call them!) in Connecticut/N.Y. makes those Syracuse area ramps seem like a picnic in paradise!

A 650+ AWHP, 2.1 second 0-60, World Rallycross car would just about be enough to get on that road anytime but the dead of night/very early morning. [wink]
 


jeff

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Thought this was the appropriate place for this...four times now in the last year or so Chick-Fil-A thinks my car is a "BLACK SEDAN"...

 


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Thread Starter #11
No push button option for "hatch" eh? They're rare around here, but I do occasionally run into to Fiesta Sedans.
 


ronmcdon

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#12
Slow cars aren't that bad. My daily driver does something embarrassing like over 10 sec 0-60. have no real issue passing and getting onramp. Issue I think is more like people who are deathly afraid of going wot. for everyday street driving, only real difference between my 100-ish hp hybrid and fiesta is I don't floor the gas pedal on the fiesta all that often (sometimes out of dread of torque steer). driving something more powerful is also kinda annoying in that you can seldom go wot. I barely tap the gas pedal on my camaro to pass someone at 70 and I'm easily over 100 unintentionally. fun at first but gets old quick.
 


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Thread Starter #13
The people who love to say "call the cops" about everything from fireworks to masks are constantly on SM/NextDoor complaining about others who dare to drive faster than them. Of course that's not what they say. They say stuff like 50 in a 25 like it's an everyday regular thing. 🙄 Someone just asked for speed cameras a few days ago. (yeah a nearby town been there, did that - got taken down because they forgot to put in a way to keep them from ticketing indiscriminately... meaning the powerful, influential and/or wealthy...)
 


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Cancel that Nextdoor. I did one of the best decisions I've made.

On a sidenote I don't enjoy very slow cars. I've had a few in my life I can't go back to slow cars.
 


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Not so coincidentally with social media dumping Donald following his failed insurrection, many of his fans were in-turn attempting to trick others into dumping social media. I'll keep my NextDoor account.
 


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#16
Not trying to be politica at all zero.
Thanks for taking it there for absolutely no reason good job.


I was tired of people always complaining, calling the cops on each other, and just being mean to each other I didn't want to be part of that anymore.
 


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Thought this was the appropriate place for this...four times now in the last year or so Chick-Fil-A thinks my car is a "BLACK SEDAN"...

Well Jeff at least you got Texas Pete, but I don't see Polynesian sauce shame on you.

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OP
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Thread Starter #18
Not trying to be politica at all zero.
Thanks for taking it there for absolutely no reason good job.


I was tired of people always complaining, calling the cops on each other, and just being mean to each other I didn't want to be part of that anymore.
There's going to be conflict on any forum. Just the nature of the beast. Instead of leaving, join the moderation core and/or request for better moderation. Ours is fairly well moderated. Doesn't take long for a thread to get deleted when neighbors start getting personal. Far more other stuff going on than just the bickering.
 


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