WSJ: Growing Interest in Shrinking Cars

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Growing Interest in Shrinking Cars
By JONATHAN WELSH
May 12, 2006; Page W1

(snip)

Auto makers increasingly are introducing cars of decreasing size. With gas going for over $3 a gallon and predicted to rise 10% more this summer, makers are rolling out models that start as low as $9,350 and promise fuel economy of as much as 40 miles per gallon. At a time when SUV sales are falling, the industry is putting more emphasis on the kind of tiny cars popular in the Carter administration. Soon there will be at least 10 subcompacts, up from the six of a few months ago.

(snip)

Industry executives credit the retro-styled Mini Cooper for helping pave the way for this revived market, because it demonstrated that some Americans would drive a subcompact if it's stylish and sporty. Toyota and Honda introduced new small cars in recent weeks, another is coming from Nissan in July and Suzuki will join the trend this fall. Hyundai, Kia and Chevrolet, meanwhile, have redesigned their tiniest models in an effort to make them more competitive. The industry calls them "B cars," one step bigger than the miniscule "A cars" sold in Europe and Asia, such as the Smart from Mercedes-Benz.

(snip)

Several factors are driving this small-car moment. The price of gas is the most obvious one -- sales of traditional, truck-based SUVs are down nearly 5% this year as consumers balk at $70 fill-ups. Vehicle makers also hope to create a bond with buyers from the "echo-boomer" generation, a swell of 75 million that includes today's teens and people in their 20s. This group has grown up around their parents' SUVs and crossovers but many can't even afford to gas one up -- let alone buy one. Auto companies also hope to attract a wider, wealthier audience with their new diminutive models: urban drivers wanting easy parking, parents looking to buy cars for college-bound kids, and baby boomers seeking a cheap car to leave at the commuter-train station or second home.

(snip)

Still, subcompacts represent under 2% of the U.S. market. And Americans have been fickle when it comes to such small models, dumping them for bigger vehicles when they can afford to. These inexpensive cars represent some compromises: The cheapest versions generally come with a stick shift, a touch some drivers like but many Americans can't operate. And they don't typically go farther on a gallon than subcompacts of a generation ago, because manufacturers have emphasized size and horsepower over pure thriftiness.

The growing concern about safety also works against tiny models: No matter how well-constructed and filled with airbags, many don't fare well in collisions with SUVs and pickups that can weigh two or three times as much. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, accident deaths involving drivers of subcompacts totaled 117 per million registered passenger vehicles in 2004, compared with 67 driver deaths in large cars and 56 in large SUVs.

(snip)


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114738714471850674.html (subscription)

[robbibaba]

1. It astonishes me that they still make compact cars

that get shitty mileage! Like the mini cooper. My first new car was a Toyota Echo back in 2000. It got 40mpg and was really fun to drive. It also had a fantastic sound system! I think it cost about $12,000.
We replaced it with a Jetta wagon, a diesel tdi so we could run it on biodiesel. This is a big, heavy, spacious and safe feeling station wagon and I'm still getting about 40mpg. I've gotten as high as 48 on the highway.
I just don't understand why people are still buying these gas guzzling cars.

[Sgent]

2. WOW

I knew that SUV's were safer (regardless of some high profile mishaps), but I had no idea by how much. This puts it at nearly twice as safe as a compact vehicle. Cutting the chances of me or my kids being killed in a car wreck by half is worth thinking about.

[flyingfysh]

3. SUVs will get even safer

when you can't afford to drive them at all.

[question everything]

4. My 1986 Camry was a compact

thus in 1998 I was thinking of getting a Corolla. Then I read about a crash between an SUV and a small car - I don't remember what - and only one driver survived, the SUV's. So I got another Camry that by now was considered a standard.

So glad to hear that GM decided to stop making the monstrous hummers, at least, one of them.