Battery supplies would also go so much further if they weren't wasting production by having to put oversized battery packs in humongous vehicles so they can hit the desired range targets.It's funny that 10 of the 12 best selling EVs are not large cars. The top 3 are the Y, 3, and the Bolt. I am pretty sure every one of those was production limited last year as well. Meanwhile the #10 vehicle, the F150, sat on lots forever. Maybe car companies need to learn the Vin diagram of people that currently want an EV and the people that want a huge vehicle has very small overlap. Meanwhile the over lap of people that want sedan sized sedans and hatchbacks is quite large.
Unfortunately the Big 3 baked "light trucks" into the business model, and seemingly have cornered themselves.* I'm not saying it's impossible to change course, or just to make some better decisions; but if China ever enters the U.S. market, the Big 3 are vulnerable.Battery supplies would also go so much further if they weren't wasting production by having to put oversized battery packs in humongous vehicles so they can hit the desired range targets.
I wonder if some of the American auto manufacturing advertising has looped back around on itself like an ouroboros: at first they went on a campaign to convince everyone they needed a larger vehicle, and now the companies believe their own marketing that a larger vehicle is what people truly want.
The Big 3 didn't; customer buying trends did.Unfortunately the Big 3 baked "light trucks" into the business model, and seemingly have cornered themselves.* I'm not saying it's impossible to change course, or just to make some better decisions; but if China ever enters the U.S. market, the Big 3 are vulnerable.
CAFE regulations also helped make"light trucks" viable as a business modelThe Big 3 didn't; customer buying trends did.
You mean the Big 3 marketing departments did.The Big 3 didn't; customer buying trends did.
Consumer buying trends influenced directly by decades of advertising. We can't act like "consumer preference" is something that exists within a vacuum. It's something that can be directly influenced by advertising. If advertising didn't work, companies wouldn't spend billions of dollars on it.The Big 3 didn't; customer buying trends did.
Yeah obviously it's both, but let's not blame the Big 3 for their role. More to the point, as the WashPo article I referenced discusses, the Big 3 have chosen North American profits over global competition. IIRC the only domestic passenger "car" remaining from the Big 3 is the Ford Mustang (i.e. not a CUV or light truck). These are strategic choices with long-term ramifications.Consumer buying trends influenced directly by decades of advertising. We can't act like "consumer preference" is something that exists within a vacuum. It's something that can be directly influenced by advertising. If advertising didn't work, companies wouldn't spend billions of dollars on it.
Yeah it is a combination of circumstances not just one magic bullet like marketing that @Zorba and @Brainonska511 think it is.CAFE regulations also helped make"light trucks" viable as a business model
They actively marketed against minivans and have for decades while pushing the shitty-mini-van (SUVs). If you walk onto a dodge lot and ask to look at a minivan, it's immediately "oh how many kids do you have? Only 1, wouldn't you rather have this giant SUV instead? Why would you want a minivan?"Yeah it is a combination of circumstances not just one magic bullet like marketing that @Zorba and @Brainonska511 think it is.
If marketing worked that way then Disney's John Carter wouldn't be one of the best Disney films you have never heard of. If marketing was this almighty brainwashing bullet then we would all be sipping on New Coke while typing on our keyboards but we aren't because marketing only goes so far.
Ford didn't stop manufacturing the Aerostar/Windstar because marketing told them to. Dodge didn't stop manufacturing the Caravan because marketing told them to. They stopped manufacturing them because they started to notice a shift in consumer trends toward a different style of vehicle.
Yeah I'm sure Dodge discontinued an automotive segment they created back in 1984 because of marketing. Or hear me out. They saw a shift in consumer buying trends and started marketing toward that.They actively marketed against minivans and have for decades while pushing the shitty-mini-van (SUVs). If you walk onto a dodge lot and ask to look at a minivan, it's immediately "oh how many kids do you have? Only 1, wouldn't you rather have this giant SUV instead? Why would you want a minivan?"
Which part? That Dodge invented the minivan segment, or that the big three decided that they could make a lot more money convincing people to buy huge SUVs? I suggest you look into the history of marketing of SUVs.Yeah I'm sure Dodge discontinued an automotive segment they created back in 1984 because of marketing. Or hear me out. They saw a shift in consumer buying trends and started marketing toward that.
Look bro I think you need to brush up on your automotive history.