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

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

You advertise the 50 cent cup to get people into your coffee dealership, where your employees upsell them to the 5 dollar cup!



Or you sell them the 40 cent cup, but with $200 floor mats, $600 rustproofing, and finance it all in house at 8%!

20 years ago that worked but knowledge and access to prices have killed all these scams. That definitely was a reason every dealer ordered at least one bait car.

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by 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.

I could get used to having the instruments not directly in front of me, for the right car.


(Image pilfered from user eurodub on TheSamba.)

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.)

Whew! I feared the worst when clicking on this thread. I'm still entertaining the idea of buying a used Mirage someday, and folks need to keep buying them new if I'm going to do that.

[redpoint5]

The Torque app has a HUD feature that reflects the image off the windshield. I haven't tried it, so I'm not sure how effective it is.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

and finance it all in house at 8%!

For ninety-six months.

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by ThermionicScott

I could get used to having the instruments not directly in front of me, for the right car.
.

I loved looking st this gauge cluster... it was less about the cluster than the car though... it drove friggin great, was easily the fastest thing I’ve owned so far

[niky]

Originally Posted by Xist

People purposely purchasing cars with automatic transmissions--unless they have a note from their doctor, that is just stupid.

When you live in Asia and 9/10ths of your commute is crawl forward for three seconds, stop for thirty, crawl three, stop thirty, crawl... then you get sick of clutching really quick.

I practice clutchless shifting due to the sheer grueling boredom of my commute.

[Xist]

I thought that was a cool trick until my transmission went out at 222,000 miles. I caught myself doing that on my next car, but managed to stop.

It was interesting, I learned how to shift without my clutch, my clutch went out, and my mechanic said he could not fix my car unless I got it to him. Then one day I wondered what happened if I started the car with my foot on the accelerator, but not the clutch. The car started and accelerated quickly!

Then my new clutch went out and I needed to get my car to the mechanic.

I grew tired of Autozone's lifetime warranty and paid for what was supposed to be an OEM one. That one lasted longer than the previous ones, but I hardly used it anymore.

[niky]

Originally Posted by Xist

I thought that was a cool trick until my transmission went out at 222,000 miles. I caught myself doing that on my next car, but managed to stop.

It was interesting, I learned how to shift without my clutch, my clutch went out, and my mechanic said he could not fix my car unless I got it to him. Then one day I wondered what happened if I started the car with my foot on the accelerator, but not the clutch. The car started and accelerated quickly!

Then my new clutch went out and I needed to get my car to the mechanic.

I grew tired of Autozone's lifetime warranty and paid for what was supposed to be an OEM one. That one lasted longer than the previous ones, but I hardly used it anymore.

Given Asian traffic, I expect the engine to go before I get that far.

When your clutch freezes due to flood intrusion, it's a useful skill.

Otherwise, yes, it is a very nasty habit.

[Xist]

If I correctly shifted without the clutch 99% of the time, the misses added up.

[MetroMPG]

RIP, Suzuki Celerio, a car in the Aussie "micro car" class (which includes others like the Mitsubishi Mirage and a few more).

Sales of the car had plummeted -- "Celerio sales are down 74.3 per cent nationally compared to last year" -- so getting the axe was inevitable.

This one was a Geo Metro lover's dream: bare bones, lightweight (lighter than a Mirage!), 1.0L 3-cyl, and the best non-hybrid fuel economy on the market.

Its departure leaves the Mirage to re-take the "cheapest to buy & drive" crown.

Australia has lost a bunch of other small cars in the last few years as people have moved to CUV's/crossovers/SUV's.


Sound familiar??

Other casualties in recent years include the Volkswagen Up, Fiat Panda and Nissan Micra.

https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/mot...-ng-b88578263z