This is the best summary I could come up with:
Heavier vehicles also wear out roads faster, though the difference between a small sedan and a large electric SUV amounts to very little when compared to the effect of a garbage truck rolling by each morning.
Just this week, Automotive News reported that the Mitsubishi Mirage is on the way out, joining the choir invisible alongside cars like the Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris, all of which were once sold in the US.
The Bolt’s biggest problem, from a bean counter’s point of view at least, was a battery that cost a lot more per kWh than one made with General Motors’ new Ultium cells.
News of the Bolt’s cancellation was met with much dismay, and GM recently decided to bring the nameplate back at some unspecified time on a new Ultium-based platform.
But GM CEO Mary Barra has also warned that even with the lower cost of Ultium cells, the company won’t make any profit on sub-$40,000 EVs until late in the decade.
In addition to the ever-escalating safety arms race that entices American car buyers, a misplaced obsession with having as much range as possible also factors in here.
The original article contains 493 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
americans will embrace small cars like they embrace gun control
We embraced the shit out of them during the oil crisis in the '70’s. Then when gasoline got cheap again we snapped right back.
“But my SUV makes me feel so ‘safe’ and gives me a commanding view of the road!!!”
I am of the opinion that everyone ought to just get a motorcycle.
I am of the opinion that everyone ought to just get a motorcycle.
But only if it’s a dual sport, right? ;)
Have you ever seen Americans drive? Or the ones that ride motorcycles?
Give everyone a motorcycle and half the country would be dead in a week
Honestly, fuck motorcycle drivers. I know there’s plenty of them out there who operate your machines properly, but there SO MANY absolute asshats on motorcycles, always making the highway way more dangerous for everyone around them.
If I could remove one vehicle from the earth it would be motorcycles. Idgaf how fun they are for you, people can’t be trusted with them in general.
I think there should be a separate license to drive SUVs and Trucks over a certain size. And that maintaining that license should be a bit of a hassle - like a required in-person written and practical test every 2 years. If people want that commanding view of the road and “safe” feeling that comes from endangering everyone else on the road, then they should have to put in some extra effort - not enough extra effort that it’s unattainable for those who actually have a need for a vehicle of that size, but enough effort that it would discourage the widespread use we have currently.
The US EPA currently penalizes smaller cars thanks to a poorly thought out rule for fuel economy that scales by wheelbase size, making larger cars easier to meet requirements for. The EPA has made many embarrassingly backwards decisions, but this might be the worst.
No
A small car means several trips to do normal things instead of just one. How is that beneficial exactly?
Either your definition of small car is extra tiny or your definition of normal things is exaggerated.
Jobs need trucks. Daily driving doesn’t.
I remember a guy called into Car Talk asking about what he should buy. After describing his needs they recommended a smaller or midsize car. The guy said “But what about when I need to haul stuff?” They asked him how often he actually did that and he said about 2-3 times a year. They said to save himself thousands of dollars and get the smaller vehicle and rent a truck for a fraction of the cost for the few times he needed to haul stuff.
Dude, I drive a Miata, and a 1st gen rx7. I can think of maybe 2 times I’ve needed to drive my husbands car (which is a veloster, so not terribly large either) in the 8 or so years of Miata ownership. At least one of those times was because I didn’t want to drive the RX7 from San Diego to Los Angeles with no air conditioning, no power steering, and a relatively heavy clutch, in the middle of summer, in rush hour traffic. Not because what I was picking up wouldn’t fit in the rx7.
What exactly do you need to do multiple trips for?
My dream car is a Nash Metropolitan converted to an EV.
You’d chop up a nash, and put an ev motor in it? I do not have kind words for you.
Lovely car! Btw: how do you put a picture in a comment? What sorcery is this?
I’m on desktop, so how I do it is right-click, copy image, then just paste into the post. Not sure how to do it on mobile.
Definitely would love a Honda E, got a Chevy Bolt EV as it seemed like the next best option here.
I’m usually not a hatch fan but that little car looked awesome. I got my last new gas powered manual transmission car before EVs are the main thing. Since I work from home and don’t drive a bunch my plan is to keep it as long as I can and get an EV in 4-5 years when hopefully infrastructure catches up a bit and more manufacturers have an option and work out small kinks.
