Thread: Tesla Model Y
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Old 03-28-2019, 01:02 PM   #98 (permalink)
Vman455
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH View Post
Please give some real tangible features that make the Model Y a SUV while the Focus is a car.
That doesn't matter one bit.

First off, the CFR definition of a light truck doesn't even matter for other government arms like the EPA or NHTSA, and the public certainly doesn't care what it says. They each use their own definitions, which is how you get a vehicle like the PT Cruiser classified as a truck by one and a car by the other.

Second, no "definition" matters to car buyers: their only concerns are image and perceived utility, and those are determined by marketing. If a car is styled and marketed as a CUV, it's a CUV. The Hyundai Kona is smaller in every dimension except height than the Focus ST, but the Kona is a crossover and the FoST is not. The Ecosport has less cargo capacity and less headroom than the Focus hatch, but it's a CUV and the Focus is not. The Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro are exactly the same vehicle underneath--same platform, same drivetrain, same footprint--yet one is a car and the other is a CUV, because it's entirely about the image. And by that metric, the Model Y is a CUV, not a car. It's been designed this way specifically to differentiate it from the Model 3.
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