N.A. Consumer Vehicle Choices

[Blueskies123]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
Answer: Taxes

The tax scheme with regards to purchasing & operating vehicle in Europe is vastly different from the US.

For example imagine if vehicles in the US paid a tax which was calculated off engine displacement?


Of course there are infrastructure and climate differences which determine demand as well.



Exactly, $8 to $10 for a gallon of gas goes along to pay for socialized medicine.

 

[Oily_Thing]

I'm 6'-3" and just don't fit in many small cars. Why can't vehicles be made with larger interiors? The dodge Durango with the V-6 engine is about the smallest SUV that works for me.

 

[StevieC]

I'm in the same boat Oily_Thing. It's brutal trying to find a vehicle I fit in because I'm Torso-Tall. I'm restricted to vehicles the same size as you mentioned or Vans.

 

[CT8]

The F150 is a well built and a long lasting vehicle. There is a great market for used pickup trucks as a second or extra vehicle.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I love these

That MIGHT be real data, and those variables might happen to show a correlation by chance.

BUT I don't think thats a correlation analysis. Its got two lines rather than one, and they are curved, rather than straight, so were almost certainly interpolated by eye.

IOW its mostly fake.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Let me answer with a question: Why spend so much time and effort worrying what other people choose to do with their own money?


Maybe because [censored] is other people?

(OK, "Hades", "The Infernal Regions", "Gehenna", etc, etc then....)

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Ducked
If you aren't busy, you might try a correlation analysis with some of the obesity/BMI data here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass_index

Don't want to pre-judge the sums, but the Japanese, for example, aren't very overweight, and they have a lot of very small Kei cars...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car


I thought we were worse than that, but I must have been watching too much TV.


Watching too much TV will make you worse than that.

Originally Posted By: MNgopher

Second, if you want real feedback, don't ask 20 questions in one post. Ask a question or two and you will get more focused response and conversation


Unless its a hard question. Then it'll probably be ignored.

 

[PimTac]

One thing I noticed while overseas is that delivery trucks were much more prevalent since families didn’t own pickups or large vehicles.

 

[Trav]

Thank CAFE and its exemptions for the massive increase in pickup use and even the development of more car like SUV type vehicles used in the USA. Their Mickey Mouse plan backfired and left them all with scorched hair.
The manufacturers were quick to jump on this new found loophole and started making cowboy Cadillac's en masse. So now what has always been a work/farm vehicle, second vehicle for hauling stuff and lumber yard runs is the norm for a daily driver and grocery getter.

I can understand it, its the traditional American car, full frame, V8, RWD with a different body. The only problem I can see is if the love affair with these vehicles comes to an end in the next generations American car makers will be really behind the eight ball having all but relinquished standard car production to the Japanese, Koreans and Europeans.

 

[benjy]

interesting for sure!!! thanks. one look around in the USA you will see soooo many overweight people even children, usually with overweight parents!!!! we ALL pay for the VERY POOR health + issues that come with obesity!!! myself i eat to live NOT live to eat + fortunately enjoy better health + ability to do active things during my retired years, while many younger OBESE struggle to get around!!!! its NOT usually just family genetics BUT the POOR eating habits + lack of MOVEMENT to burn what you eat + DRINK that causes almost all obesity!!!!

 

[NO2]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Ducked
If you aren't busy, you might try a correlation analysis with some of the obesity/BMI data here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass_index

Don't want to pre-judge the sums, but the Japanese, for example, aren't very overweight, and they have a lot of very small Kei cars...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car



Weird, something we're not number 1 in. I thought we were worse than that, but I must have been watching too much TV.

I wonder if North Americans run tall and obese? I mean, when I was obese by the BMI chart I was driving my Jetta which ranked as a sub-compact and was quite fine with it. But at below median height for a male that doesn't make me very wide.


Actually, many Asians (such as Indians) are considered overweight at BMI=23 because of their propensity to develop abdominal fat. What really surprised me is the high BMI (average >25) of many European countries. The real reason for small cars in Europe is the lack of space to park (imagine parking an F-150 in Amsterdam (!)) and the ridiculous fuel prices, usually 2-3x more than in the USA.

 

[Cujet]

Cool spreadsheet.

I like 2 seat convertible cars, but I despise being cramped or cocooned. Mama likes her 4x4 pickup.

American’s always tend towards larger vehicles. Long distance vacations in a small car are awful.

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD
That Nissan Rouge must be a softer, more crimson edition of the Rogue

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Cool spreadsheet.

I like 2 seat convertible cars, but I despise being cramped or cocooned. Mama likes her 4x4 pickup.

American’s always tend towards larger vehicles. Long distance vacations in a small car are awful.


Agree.

It's a matter of scale, in part. In the US, you can drive 8 hours and still be in the same state. If you drive 8 hours East from London, you're in Germany. US drivers drive further, and in some cases MUST drive further in general then their European counterparts.

 

[Cujet]

Just did a 7 hour trip early this morning in a Chevy Cruze. 3 men and bags, West palm beach, FL to Savannah, GA. Never again. Way, way too small.

Unable to fit all bags in the trunk and had to put them on the back seat. Next time it’s a Ford Explorer or similar.

The bottom line is that today’s biggest cars are already too small to be truly useful. They can’t tow anything substantial, and they can’t carry a family on a trip. Trucks, on the other hand, work well for such tasks.

 

[Kawiguy454]

As has been said ...Taxes.

I would say a basic answer is that we in the states have the freedom to choose what we like and that can cover multiple roles in our lives. And that what you see on the global list are the sheeples being herded into choices that just cover singular transport requirement.

I worked IT support in Miami and had a counterpart in Ireland that came to work on a project. Long story short. He was able to own an older BMW but not able to drive it to work daily as the gasoline taxes were so high that a gallon cost ~$11.

But over dinner and a pint the guy went on to say how much he loved the "System" as so many things there were free. He truly did not correlate his lack of basic choices to the economic weight of his societal norms.

...After dinner we went to the local 1/8 MI drag strip and he was astounded by all the regular people able to race their multi-role vehicles and have some fun.

 

[Y_K]

Thank you for sharing.

Looks like Toyota is ripe for incentives on Tundra.

 

[camryrolla]

Driven by high gas price at around $6 per gallon, no wonder why Europe is driven by fuel economy at a detriment of safety. You cannot even find one regular-sized SUV, labeled in blue, in the Europe list as most on the list are sub-compacts. How much safety are they compromising by going the fuel-efficient sub-compact route?

 

[hpb]

I think it's just conditioning, and it appears most Americans are conditioned to want "big" vehicles. And hey, if I was paying the low fuel prices you guys do, I'd be driving something like that too!

As an aside - the typical car parking space in the US MUST be longer and wider than in other parts of the world? There is no way an F150 or similar is fitting in the spaces at my local supermarket!

 

[ndfergy]

Some answers so far:

Too much time on your hands.

Didn’t take as long as you think. Maybe 5-6 hours total. I enjoy doing it. Fortunately I don’t work 24 hours a day.

Let people drive what they want. Why do you care? Don’t worry about other people’s money. Freedom of Choice.

Supply and demand economics. Demand goes up, price goes up so it affects me too. Higher default rates on loans affects interest rates. Lower ride height vehicles are becoming more and more at a serious disadvantage as far as safety and on road visibility are concerned.

I like fast cars with big V8’s

No problem with me on that one. Go for it.

Nissan Rouge

After pink it’s my favourite colour. Must be the reason for the typo.

High taxes.

Definitely the main reason for FE vehicles in Europe. I don’t think they’re morally superior to us. If they were, they’d use petrol from the get go and not have the air quality concerns in their cities like now with diesel. However that seems to be changing.

I’m too big

What about a Camry or CRV?

Trav made some good points.

I’m not alone.

More delivery trucks for larger items

That's a good thing if the frequency is low

Detriment to safety.

No doubt a larger vehicle will usually win in a head on collision with a smaller car, but it’s not that simple. Relative weight and rollover propensity are some other factors. Pedestrians and cyclist are more likely to be killed by a larger vehicle. Here’s some figures from Wikipedia.

Vehicle Fatalities per 1 Billion Miles Travelled

UK 3.6; Germany 4.9; France 5.8; Canada 6.2; USA 7.1; Spain 7.8

 

[clinebarger]

I don't quite understand the aluminum wheel comment??