Suggestion For Automakers

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Why isnt anyone in the industry building an economy dedicated car? People will buy it not because of the social status that comes with a car but solely for the fuel economy. (and lets throw in Toyota durability to sweeten the deal)

Like the Smart it could have a 1000 cc engine. Who cares if it takes 20 seconds to get to 60 mph? It wouldnt need silly features like ABS, traction control, keyless entry and power locks, windows, and mirrors.

We could throw the silly EPA mileage numbers out the window also. The car would come with its own manual showing how to drive it for max mpg. So if testing and technique achieved 50 mpg there would be diirections as to how to GET 50 mpg. They could advertise "this car gets 50 mpg" and put that on the sticker. There would be no disappointments.

Perhaps the manufacturer could get the government to waive silly safety and emission requirements. I mean, it would get all the safety features and emission requirements up to say 2001. Riding a motorcycle as I do (which doesnt even have seatbelts) safety starts and ends in your head, not in the features of the car. Exempting the car from these things would also make the car cheaper and save money.

It might even help the economy, providing people with cheap reliable transportation. The car might even prove so popular it would sell in the millions, providing out of work people with good jobs.

Am I wrong?

What say you?

It'll never happen.

People in the US think that the Civic is frighteningly small and underpowered car. In the rest of the world it's a decently powered family car. Americans wouldn't consider it a family car. The opinion of sub compacts gets worse the smaller they get. Social status is a HUGE thing with cars.

As for the 0-60 times, people are dumb. This is why modern cars have their gas pedals programmed be so damn jumpy. If you test drive a brand new car with a touchy electronic throttle and then a much more powerful car with a more linear throttle control most people would say the e-throttle car is more powerful.

People buy cars based on electronic gimmicks, nobody is going to buy a car without a pile of gadgets.Stripping out all the electronic gadgets isn't necessarily going to save much money anyway. Look at cruise control for an example, its already a function of the ECU on the Yaris but they charge hundreds of dollars for the switch to turn it on. Its not like in the 90's when you had a vacuum controlled cruise control system.

The safety features will never be removed. Ever. Especially in America. If they do then it'll open the manufactures up to far too many law suits. It'll cost a lot to insure a car that doesn't have modern safety features. Never going to happen!

Lastly, this car already exists and its called the Tata Nano

Also, IMO, We don't need more cars. Urban sprawl isn't good, insisting on building communities where everyone needs to drive isn't sustainable. Public transit is the way to go. As a car/driving enthusiast the last thing I want to see is more people on the road.

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

One reason, America. Americans tend to like bigger cars with some power. That's slowly changing, but that's the problem, SLOWLY.

Agreed. People also need to realize that power and speed don't get you out of trouble, only in to more trouble.

Originally Posted by edmscan

Now .. the speed we go in our Yaris'. I don't know about you .. but people here get PISSED OFF when they are behind me at a light. I go from the light .. and you can see them just about rear ending me. Why .. cause the Yaris can only go so fast off the light and I will be the first to tell you that it just isn't fast enough.

Re the silly features. Well I for one WANT THE SILLY FEATURES and am happy to pay for them. First of all .. air bags and the other safety features. I will take them all .. and you should too. Cause they are what protects us in an accident. When you drive a subcompact you need all the help you can get. Just like when you ride a bike ... cause you may not be the one at fault, but you are the one going to get the worst of it against a car. It is the same when we go up against a much bigger vehicle (which is most likely the case when you drive a Yaris) ... I don't think I have to say more.

Is that related to your driving style? I'm usually first off the line in my 1.8L Corolla here in Ontario and it takes everyone a bit to catch up. I'll usually accelerate up to 10 over the speed limit and lock in my cruise control and then a few seconds later everyone who was stopped next to me will pass. Albeit the Corolla does have a bit more power than the Yaris.

When I was in Saskatchewan every car that passed me was from Alberta. They would tailgate me until they could pass, and a few times I swore they were going to pass me by cutting through a wheat field. Thankfully they actually know how to pass, unlike Ontario residents who will pass you at light speed just to slow down in front of you, and of course will pass you again once you pass them. It's not about passing cars that are travelling slower than you, it's apparently a race and you need to come in first.