Stop Making Small Cars Bigger!

[WeeYari]

Interesting. Here in Canada, Toyota is advertising it simply as the iM. No mention of the Corolla moniker at all.

[wooverstone8]

I spotted a new 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage at a local new car dealership lot. The refresh front looks pretty good IMHO.




It still has those little 165/65/R14 tires...

[BLKHILLSGUY]

Originally Posted by wooverstone8

I spotted a new 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage at a local new car dealership lot. The refresh front looks pretty good IMHO.




It still has those little 165/65/R14 tires...

Reminds me a lot of the 90s Festivas and Metros. Decent, reliable transportation. I wish they made more cars like that. In particular, Toyota. Now that gas is moving up maybe fuel economy will become a focus again.

[Kalispel]

It tells you a lot about the basic selfishness of the general population that the only time they are worried about 'fuel economy' is when gas prices are going higher. Very telling indeed.

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by NYC-SE

All that was true 30 years ago as well and our cars and trucks were significantly smaller then.

But still probably bigger than the rest of the worlds cars...

Originally Posted by Kalispel

It tells you a lot about the basic selfishness of the general population that the only time they are worried about 'fuel economy' is when gas prices are going higher. Very telling indeed.

Fuel economy is getting better though... Safety and Reliability are also at all time highs. What is the downside?

Look at Toyota Vans. a 1984 Toyota Van got 19/22mpg and a 2016 Sienna gets 18/25 mpg, you don't have to get your feet going like fred flintstone to get on to the highway and in a crash you're probably going to just open the door and get out and walk away.

[MugenRep]

People don't want small cars. If gas was $6/gallon that would change, but hte iQ failed not only for how small it was, but for no manual transmission, no power, 3+1 seating, etc. People want "SELF PRESERVATION SOCIETY" not little cars. :p

[Hershey]

Planning to try out the '17 Mirage hatch and the G4 when it arrives . The G4 ( Mirage sedan ) reminds me of the Yaris sedan . People are getting the leftover '15 Mirages for less than $9,500 ( manual ) . It costs $1,000+ for an extended warranty from Toyota Honda , etc.. So the powertrain of 10 yrs. /100,000 mis. is a bonus at the $9,500 or less . The powertrain is now transferable for the '17s . Maybe that'll help the depriciation that's a downfall of the Mirage .

[Hershey]

Yes , gas demand is up and OPEC ( Saudi Arabia ) is putting out less oil . Here we go again for the 3rd time . Large vehicles are selling like hot cakes . Never learn .

[BLKHILLSGUY]

Originally Posted by MugenRep

People don't want small cars. If gas was $6/gallon that would change, but hte iQ failed not only for how small it was, but for no manual transmission, no power, 3+1 seating, etc. People want "SELF PRESERVATION SOCIETY" not little cars. :p

Not to mention Scion did not make the car look anything like the funky concept, which would have been super easy to make. And the interior was boring and drab. A cool interior is in the new 500s and the Smarts. Even the Toyota Aygo had a better interior than the IQ. Toyota made some critical errors with that car. I was seriously contemplating purchasing one. But for the above reasons anf no manual, I wasn't nearly as interested.

[BLKHILLSGUY]

Originally Posted by Kalispel

It tells you a lot about the basic selfishness of the general population that the only time they are worried about 'fuel economy' is when gas prices are going higher. Very telling indeed.

Extremely selfish. Whether it is the gluttony for meat which cause a lot of environmental damage and takes a lot of the earth's resources for very little product, Americans are very selfish. And bigger vehicles with no concern for gas mileage.

[wooverstone8]

Originally Posted by BLKHILLSGUY

Not to mention Scion did not make the car look anything like the funky concept, which would have been super easy to make. And the interior was boring and drab. A cool interior is in the new 500s and the Smarts. Even the Toyota Aygo had a better interior than the IQ. Toyota made some critical errors with that car. I was seriously contemplating purchasing one. But for the above reasons anf no manual, I wasn't nearly as interested.

Completely agree.

I wish the iQ had better color options too. Like kiwi green, yellow, red, purple metallic etc. The only funky color they had was orange metallic. The rest were pretty conservative.

[jcboy]

Originally Posted by BLKHILLSGUY

Extremely selfish. Whether it is the gluttony for meat which cause a lot of environmental damage and takes a lot of the earth's resources for very little product, Americans are very selfish. And bigger vehicles with no concern for gas mileage.

its not just Americans. if anything, the American market actually seems to be appreciating small cars more and more lately. couldnt say for the rest of the world, including Asia, where the land area isn't nearly as big, and i'm sure the roads aren't as wide either--cars are getting bigger and bigger.

So much that the 2013 onwards (latest Gen) of Yaris Sedan (Vios) paid the penalty just to be bigger, the fuel mileage of 13km/L for the 2008-12 Yaris went down to 6.7km/L. (bigger body, same "skeleton", wheelbase, engine and tranny, etc.)

[junorico24]

There's the VW up, Nissan Micra, Suzuki Alto, and of course Mitsubisi Mirage.

The alto is an interesting one.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by junorico24

There's the VW up, Nissan Micra, Suzuki Alto, and of course Mitsubisi Mirage.

The alto is an interesting one.

Except for the Mirage, none of them are in the US. And the Mirage barely sells.

I don't think it's been mentioned in this thread but there is the Fiat 500, although it's just 2 door and too small for most to be practical. And poor reliability...

[Kal-El]

It's all about making a business case to sell small cars in the US. Many try, many have failed. Like any business, money has to be made on these models and too often, not enough money is not made.

Just as with the sports car segment. Remember in the '90's all the Japanese sports cars that were out - Supra, 300GT, RX-7, 300ZX,....then they were all killed off by the end of the decade. Everyone said they wanted them but didn't buy them. Then, even the long running Camaro was killed off. It wasn't until the mid to late 2000's that automakers gave the segment another shot and other than the Mustang and Camaro, it's still a slow going segment. What sells is what is made.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

What sells is what is made.

True! But thanks Toyota for the ECHO and Yaris!

[junorico24]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

It's all about making a business case to sell small cars in the US. Many try, many have failed. Like any business, money has to be made on these models and too often, not enough money is not made.

Just as with the sports car segment. Remember in the '90's all the Japanese sports cars that were out - Supra, 300GT, RX-7, 300ZX,....then they were all killed off by the end of the decade. Everyone said they wanted them but didn't buy them. Then, even the long running Camaro was killed off. It wasn't until the mid to late 2000's that automakers gave the segment another shot and other than the Mustang and Camaro, it's still a slow going segment. What sells is what is made.

It really surprises me that you guys don't get these vehicles over there.

Anyway we have these vehicles and Chinese brands too like Chery and Great Wall motors. Malaysia's Proton and of course Koreans lesser known company Ssangyong motors.

But going by what i see these vehicles are popular with younger buyers mostly young teens getting their license. The Yaris, Mazda 2 and Suzuki Swift are selling like hot cakes to old, young, middle aged groups.

Vw up, Mirage, Micra and Alto not so much in my opinion. They just don't match up well with lil big bros like the Yaris, Mazda 2 or Suzuki Swift.

But then again i haven't driven one only seen them on the road ,the other day i saw an ALTO for a 3 cylinder it can hold it's own on motorway traffic. Same can be said for the Micra and Mirage imo.Vw up for all the hype when it first came out. Boy has it died down quickly.Most people won't buy these cars because they are not popular yet.

[Thirty-Nine]

Wow—surprised to see the '17s on the lots already.