Why did the small car die back in the early '90s?

[Black Yaris]

True that churp

[Typer73]

Also, a whole generation out there that never had gas rationing or having to sit in line for 5 hours to get 5 gallons of high-test because they ran out of regular.

[vodkalush]

lets start a 98-01 blazer club!!!!!

but really, you can thank the soccer mom for the death of the small car...
which in-turn mean you can blame any church (as they don't support abortion, birth control.. which contributes to the growth in the average American family.....don't quote me, but it sounds good )

[churp]

I understand the truck thing....have an 87 ford 4x4 cause I need it sometimes. The 10mpg just about killed me when my pre Yaris (Probe) died! My previous comment on trucks was aimed at one of the guys at work that has 3 full size trucks and no cars, and I have yet to see him haul anything.

[BailOut]

MudBug,

You're not the only one whose second car is a truck. My '96 Tacoma Extended Cab 4x4 hauls a boat over Mt. Rose to Lake Tahoe or over the rolling hills to Pyramid, and has done so chock full of party/picnic/camping gear and with 4 passengers. It also carries dirt, rock, tile, recyclable metals, etc. like a champ.

However, it is used for just those things and those things don't happen very often and/or are seasonal. We can go so long between uses on it that I'll hook up a solar battery charger and check its tires. Despite being almost 12 years old it's not even close to 100k miles yet.

99.9% of our driving has always been done on our smaller car, which as of February is a Yaris.

Back to the issue at hand...

What I think you fail to realize is that better than 95% of all trucks and SUVs on the road today don't have 4WD, don't have trailer hitches or anything to tow with one, have never had dirt or sand under their wheels, have never been loaded with anything heavier than a morbidly obese human or been used as a truck in any other way, shape or form.

The world's largest fleet of over-sized vehicles rolls out of garages, driveways, car ports and lots every morning to perform their lowly roles of single-occupant commuters, errand runners, grocery getters and extracurricular conveyance platforms, getting 15 MPG on a good day and spewing large amounts of noxious emissions the whole time.

I've seen a pair of 10 year olds climb out of the back seat of an Excursion and dangle like circus performers because their feet can't reach the ground. I guess their parents just didn't think the car payment for a station wagon or minivan was big enough.

I've seen a Hummer 2 at the Post Office whose sole occupant was there to pick up 1 bin of mail that was about the size of two loaves of bread side by side. I guess his short stature and graying hair had more to do with his vehicle purchase than his transport requirements.

One of my coworkers commutes alone from Carson City to Lake Tahoe in a Chevy Z71 4x4 Extended Cab 5 days per week. The bed doesn't have a single scratch in it. When asked why he feels he needs such a truck he just shrugs.

I think you see my point.

[Nutzoids]

Owning a Work Truck or an SUV that you actually USE to go off-road is not where the problem lies… The problem lies in the Driveways of your Average American House Wife that own a Big Fucking SUV to haul her 2 kids to school/Soccer Practice…

And of course… The people who own Off-Roading Vehicles who are too afraid to even get them Dirty!

I can’t tell you the amount of pride I feel when I pull up next to a Jeep Covered in MUD!

Or a pickup truck full of Rocks or Manure… I take my hats off to those people…

And the amount of Shame I feel When I pull up next to a Hummer with 22” Dubs and all Chromed out! I can’t even describe in words! What the fuck man?

To the House Wives and the Grocery Getters… I hope that one day you flip that Gargantuan Piece of Shit you call a car!

[MudBug]

Originally Posted by BailOut

I think you see my point.

I do understand what you are saying, and agree to a point, but I think you might just be seeing the stupid and missing the necessary.

If you can only own one car, it needs to do everything for you. You saw the little kids dangling from the truck, but maybe you missed the cargo area filled with real estate signs, or the weds night when it's filled with cheerleaders going for pizza with coach after practice, or the saturdays when it's filled with camping gear for a boyscout day camp.

Like I said, if I wasn't lucky enough to be able to afford a second vehicle right now my only vehicle would be a full sized truck which would spend 70% of it's time as a commuter back and forth to school and work, but when I need a truck I need one and I aint renting or bugging one of my friends to help me.

This Yaris is the first car I've owned in 23 years, my last car was a little FIAT sedan.

[BailOut]

I hear you, but...

Originally Posted by MudBug

maybe you missed the cargo area filled with real estate signs

Real estate signs fit neatly in the back of anything other than a trunk. Almost any hatchback or liftback will do.

Originally Posted by MudBug

or the weds night when it's filled with cheerleaders going for pizza with coach after practice

You can fit more people in a minivan than an Excursion.

Originally Posted by MudBug

or the saturdays when it's filled with camping gear for a boyscout day camp

Again a minivan, or even a crossover, would do just fine for this.


It is almost impossible to justify a large vehicle for 99% of the drivers on the road today. Very few of us can actually use a truck or SUV, many more can get by with mid-sized vehicles like minivans, station wagons, crossovers and light trucks, and the majority could get by with just a small, efficient car.

[MudBug]

Originally Posted by BailOut

It is almost impossible to justify a large vehicle for 99% of the drivers on the road today. Very few of us can actually use a truck or SUV, many more can get by with mid-sized vehicles like minivans, station wagons, crossovers and light trucks, and the majority could get by with just a small, efficient car.

Have you been paying attention, SUVs are getting smaller, and the midsized wagon things are taking over.

Aint Capitalism grand?

People used to drive cars, but they wanted something that could carry more stuff, they started buying the early SUV type vehicles buy wanted more luxury, so the SUV craze was born. Then they wanted better handling and found that they didn't need the 4x4 stuff so the SUVs got car suspensions and closer to the ground. Now they want better gas mileage and the sport wagon things are all the craze, Technology has caught up and it's not unreasonable to ask for a performance motor that gets good gas mileage, or a small car with lots of room and utility. I would have never considered a car like the Yaris until now, but it all caught up. A small car that gets good gas mileage, has lots of room for both people and stuff, and it doesn't overheat when I run the AC in AZ heat like the Yugo my GF owned in the 90's. Aint capitalism grand?!


Honestly, your blaming people for not buying stuff that they didn't know they needed and wasn't available even if they did know.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by BailOut

It is almost impossible to justify a large vehicle for 99% of the drivers on the road today. Very few of us can actually use a truck or SUV, many more can get by with mid-sized vehicles like minivans, station wagons, crossovers and light trucks, and the majority could get by with just a small, efficient car.

This is very true.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by BailOut

have never been loaded with anything heavier than a morbidly obese human or been used as a truck in any other way, shape or form.

LMAO

[eTiMaGo]

Back to the original topic, small cars had to get bigger because people wanted more space, more gadgets, more safety features, less noise... this means cars got bloated, bigger engines were needed, fuel consumption went down the drain... But if you think about it, there is some method to this madness, get two 80s lightweight hatchbacks in a head-on collision at 100mph, there won't be much left, modern hatchbacks will give you a better chance of surviving.

It's funny to see the evolution of those light cars, for example the Volkswagen Golf... The original one was a boxy, thin sheet metal affair, very lightweight, and in GTI form could get better acceleration that a latest model GTI with an engine that's maybe twice as powerful (not sure on the power figures, but look up the Top Gear video which is probably on Youtube).
Then what happens? The car company creates a newer, smaller car to take the place of the original.. Volkswagen Lugo, Peugeot 107 (and now the even smaller 1007), Toyota Aygo, etc etc

[Astroman]

I agree. Anyone who has ridden in a geo metro/suzuki swift knows on the highway those things feel like your going to die.

[static808]

to be fair to the little car, almost all classes of cars have gotten significantly better in terms of safety and efficiency since the 80s. but i agree that riding in cars like the metro and yugo were indeed very thrilling, since it did sometimes feel like near-death experiences! my favorite little car back then was my sister's daihatsu charade. 150,000 miles. was a weekend commuter car for going back and forth to Socal and AZ (she went to grad school there). what was the greatest part of that car?? she gave it only TWO oil changes for the life of the car! she would only top off the oil every few months. why did the car die?? it was burned in a garage fire! if not for the fire, she said the car still drove great and would have lasted MUCH longer. she was getting 50 mpg. THAT was a great car...

--B

[Yaris Revenge]

I agree that 80's small cars were scary. I think that advances in tech have now allowed us to vastly improve upon that.

That said, nothing chaps my ass more than an Escalade. That thing was designed by Satan himself. I don't mind it so much by the rapper crowd (it's understood, they have NO brains, and will buy anything that costs absurd $$$ just because it DOES), but the businessmen trying to look all macho...grrr.

~YR