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Each car design is a blend of goals and compromises. The lead time in designing, developing, testing, certifying, and marketing a car can be several years. Consumer demand can fluctuate from month to month. Amortizing tooling and recouping R&D costs can take years. A 20% margin on a $40,000 car is more profit than 15% on two $20,000 cars. A great deal of money goes into advertising to create product image. SUVs are touted as being safer and more rugged than a more economical sedan even though crash tests and safety data prove the sedan is safer. An SUV may well be cheaper to produce because it uses older tooling and regulations are not as demanding. The Corolla and the Camry are best sellers because the value, reliability, and quality have remained excellent for decades. Sadly the attitude in Detroit has been if we advertise enough, people will buy what we produce; good, bad, or indifferent. The public perception currently is that high mileage (50+ mpg) vehicles are too light to be safe and too small to ride comfortably. The educated consumers, the opinion leaders, are the ones that will first purchase the models that not only are efficient but provide the best value for the money.
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