Small / economy car deathwatch: we've passed "peak econobox" again

[MetroMPG]

Agreed - the Echo's cluster position was odd, but I quickly got used to it in the one I had briefly. I actually kind of liked the lack of visual "buffer" between me & the road -- interesting feeling.

===



Speaking of that car...

Any bets on how long the Yaris (Echo's successor) lasts in the U.S.?

Look at this year's sales numbers for the hatchback:

• Jan: 174 (down from 1330 a year ago)
• Feb: 136 (1057)
• Mar: 144 (1377)
• Apr: 131 (1522)
• May: 139 (852)

These are horrid numbers for the U.S. market size. (EG. Mitsubishi sold over 3k Mirages last month.)



Are they letting it die off without officially saying so? Or is there a replacement hatch waiting in the wings we don't know about?

DEATHWATCH

[rmay635703]

Those numbers are worse than the Prius v which toyo did kill

Seems odd they keep the fit or c around

I’m hoping Toyo has the will to keep cars on the ballot until the next gas price surge.

I never did get why the Prime wasn’t just packaged into the Prius V considering they had to make a special elongated chassis that the battery still didn’t fit properly

Ah well, time will tell

[MetroMPG]

I wonder if Toyota is letting the Yaris hatch die off because they've now got the "iA" sedan (rebadged Mazda2, on a much newer platform) to sell in its place as their entry level car.


I assume they killed the Prius V because they wanted people to buy the Rav4, now the company's best-selling hybrid.



The Fit is still selling reasonably well... around 5k a month if memory serves.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Xist

When Chevrolet killed the Metro, were there any other shoebox-class cars on the market?

2001... not at that time. Well, the 1st gen Honda Insight was available. That count? But I think the Insight is bigger, despite being a 2-seater.

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I just sold our 2001 bug

Oh - thanks for the reminder! VW announced recently that the Bug is dead too. Added to post #1.

[NeilBlanchard]

I hate driving a large car. For economy reasons, sure - but also for agility and practicality and because it is so much easier.

[Xist]

I do not know this Jalopnik writer is, but he says that if you like sedans, your opinion is bad, and you should feel bad. He also dislikes crossovers, which is fine, but argues that everyone should drive a hatchback or wagon. I have only had one of either. Aren't hatchbacks shorter versions of sedans with, you know, hatches? Everybody talks about all of their cargo space, but that depends on how deep the cargo area is. I took a Spark grocery shopping and the hatch was about a foot deep.

I think my mother's 2006 Camry is her first sedan. She always had station wagons and I think that station wagons are underrated--unless it is a Ford Taurus. Mom's died the day after she bought it and the previous owner probably got rid of it because it was unreliable.

I think this guy has the pettiest arguments against wagons. I felt that someone made much better arguments for sedans and the author dismissed them.

What do you guys think: https://jalopnik.com/sedans-dont-mak...ore-1826673000

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I hate driving a large car. For economy reasons, sure - but also for agility and practicality and because it is so much easier.

Same!

[niky]

Originally Posted by Xist

I do not know this Jalopnik writer is, but he says that if you like sedans, your opinion is bad, and you should feel bad. He also dislikes crossovers, which is fine, but argues that everyone should drive a hatchback or wagon. I have only had one of either. Aren't hatchbacks shorter versions of sedans with, you know, hatches? Everybody talks about all of their cargo space, but that depends on how deep the cargo area is. I took a Spark grocery shopping and the hatch was about a foot deep.

I think my mother's 2006 Camry is her first sedan. She always had station wagons and I think that station wagons are underrated--unless it is a Ford Taurus. Mom's died the day after she bought it and the previous owner probably got rid of it because it was unreliable.

I think this guy has the pettiest arguments against wagons. I felt that someone made much better arguments for sedans and the author dismissed them.

What do you guys think: https://jalopnik.com/sedans-dont-mak...ore-1826673000

Sedans never made sense. Less useful space within the same footprint as a wagon or hatch.

We just buy them because they're prettier.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by niky

Sedans never made sense. Less useful space within the same footprint as a wagon or hatch.

We just buy them because they're prettier.

And (generally) more aerodynamic for that bonus 1 MPG.

[19bonestock88]

But, in theory, a wagon could be made more aerodynamic than a sedan of the same footprint, by sloping the roof and stuff...

I like wagons, personally... the previous generation CTS-V wagon was really cool! 556bhp, 6spd, RWD wagon goodness!
“The kids will never be late to soccer practice again, bwahaha!”