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Comment on American automakers are losing the race to make more fuel-efficient vehicles

I would argue that it is both. You are certainly correct that manufacturers have many incentives.

But to deny that many, many Americans will openly tell you they want a larger car to feel safe, a big ole impractical truck to signal masculinity, stuff like that… I dont really see how thats a tenable position.

People car shame other people all the fucking time.

Oh you drive a hybrid, pff, good luck when you need to haul 3 tons up a mountain!

You know, if you wanted your kids to be really safe, youve got to get an (insert favorite car company’s latest SUV model), they the best safety record.

Now unless you want to argue that ultimately these consumer preferences were ultimately created by the marketing campaigns of manufacturers years ago and today, amd thus all of that counts as ‘the manufacturers interest’, then I mean well sure yes I agree in that sense, but it seems like that is not what you are saying.

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Rivalarrival@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Sure, many Americans do have a need for very large vehicles. But there is a similar need for very small vehicles: DoorDash drivers, for example. There are millions of courier drivers in the US. Doordash alone counted 2 million 3 years ago. Paying for their own fuel, these millions of couriere have a considerable financial incentive for the smallest vehicle they can find.

Manufacturers are meeting the demands of consumers needing very large vehicles, with a wide range of models and options. But they are not making any small cars anymore. None. Nothing on the new car market is as small or smaller than the subcompacts in the 90’s.

You are not getting a true sense of consumer preferences, because those consumers who do want small cars are being forced to select from larger options.

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- vexikron@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Completely agreed, and I know this personally:
  
  Used Priuses, in particular Prius C’s, are reliable, easy and cheap to maintain and have incredible MPG compared to many other cars.
  
  This explains why after I was mugged and my Prius C was stolen, I saw it being driven around by a Lyft Driver 2 months after a corrupt used car salesman recycled it into the economy.
  
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Buelldozer@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

publicly and privately mocking and berating any one who even considers purchasing one.

Those days are pretty much over. The performance of the pending generation of EVs is so high and they’ll be so common place the luddites will exposed as such.

The new Cadillac Lyric is an excellent example. 5 Passenger SUV and if you spend $3,000 extra it goes from RWD with 300 Horsepower to AWD with 500 Horsepower. Hell the new Silverado EV will have 750 Horsepower and nearly 800 ft/lbs of torque in it’s top trim. Those kinds of numbers simply cannot be denied, even by the tuned and modified diesel freaks.

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- vexikron@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Hah, I agree with you that /logically/ EVs and Hybrids are just basically great and often superior options at this point…
  
  …but i feel like you do not know many hillbillies and rednecks.
  
  Logic is not exactly their forte.
  
  People make their conspicuous consumption habits /into/ their personalities, and … well basically I can easily imagine that if a gun toting, coal rolling truck owner with the biiiiggest truck nuts you have ever seen… i can easily see that if he crashed or had to sell his truck and drive his battered wife’s honda civic to work, he could actually become seriously depressed.
  
  Maybe I have just known a lot of really shitty people in my life, I dunno.
  
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