Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperTrooper
In another thread I predicted that 10-15 years from now Americans will be driving 400 HP electric Hummers, because there is something in the American psyche that makes us want that kind of thing.  |
Just who are you calling "us"? I figure that (since some of my ancestors were shooting arrows at the others when they drove their Conestogas across the plains) I'm about as American as anyone, and I don't like big cars. I don't think I'm alone in that, either. Just look at the massive marketing campaign the Detroit 3 had to use to sell the idea of the SUV to more than a small fraction of the public - in spite of which, a large fraction went right on buying smaller cars. As I've pointed out over and over, just look at which car companies are turning a profit, and which drowning in red ink.
Indeed, it seems to me that it's mainly the American car companies that want to sell big cars. Look at the '50s and early '60s as a parallel case. Early '50s Fords & Chevys were moderate sized (for the day), basic transportation cars. Ford & Chevy even tried producing real sports cars, the Thunderbird & Corvette. Then with the '57 Chevy, they started growing tailfins, in '58 they started bloating, and kept on the trend through the early '60s. So what happened? The VW bug opened the door for the small, economical, fun cars that a lot of Americans preferred to "Detroit iron".