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I agree partial. Today's big car dominated market is driven by consumer. People want to have bigger vehicle for safety and comfort. For me, I always drive Civic, now xB. I never consider Metro because Civic has better handling, better acceleration and more safety feeling. I drove Ford Festiva (1.3L, 3speed trans) before. That is a scary experience. The windows was shaken on freeway speed even closed tightly. The engine roared so loud on 65mph. With 5 people, I couldn't stop my car on downhill. My civic was much quieter, both engine, vibration and wind noise. The car was much more stable on freeway. The brake stops the car much shorter and secured. What I believe is when a consumer buy a car, they consider much more than fuel consumption. Reliability, Price, Fuel consumption, handling, safety, resell price, usability, even style and color. Insight didn't sell good because I can buy a Prius, which sits 5 people instead of 2, with not much $$ more. And, many families have more than 2 people! Within the choice of 2 similar car, more Americans will choose a car with cheaper operation cost. That is why 4 cylinder Camry outsell V6.
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