Ask Lemmy

This, so much this. As a car enjoyer, seeing cars slowly mutate into giant bloated expensive iPads on wheels is painful. I don't want to buy any car made past 2010 and I know that won't be a viable option soon.

And we can't get small trucks due to a loophole in EPA regulations. I just want something like an old-school Ranger, light, easy on gas, two jump seats in the back for the kids.

I think that some of that is fuel efficiency requirements forcing convergence.

The sedan thing weirded me out too -- I mean, when I think of a "car", I think of a sedan -- but as I understand from reading, that related to people wanting larger maximum cargo space in the car, like if they had to shove a piece of furniture or something in it. I'm in the sedan camp -- in the very rare case that I need to move something really large, I'm just gonna U-Haul it. But I can at least understand the concern people have.

The truck and generally-large vehicle thing, I think, related to a combination of:

• The chicken tax. American auto manufacturers have a 25% protective tariff covering the "light truck" class, making it much more profitable for domestic sales.

• Fuel efficiency exemptions granted that class (which I suspect may have something to do with regulations resulting from lobbying from said manufacturers and them having incentives surrounding the above chicken tax).

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

  CAFE standards signaled the end of the traditional long station wagon, but Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca developed the idea of marketing the minivan as a station wagon alternative, while certifying it in the separate truck category to allow compliance with less-strict CAFE standards. Eventually, this same idea led to the promotion of the SUV.[106][107]

  The definitions for cars and trucks are not the same for fuel economy and emission standards. For example, a Chrysler PT Cruiser was defined as a car for emissions purposes and a truck for fuel economy purposes.[2] Under then light truck fuel economy rules, the PT Cruiser had have a lower fuel economy target (28.05 mpg beginning in 2011) than it would if it were classified as a passenger car.

• High American towing requirements. That is, American vehicles have far more restrictive towing requirements than in most other countries -- you need a larger vehicle to legally tow a given load than in many other countries. I suspect that the regulations may also have something to do with American automakers lobbying for protective regulation; it pushes American consumers to buy from that protected class of vehicles.

Long story short -- I think that you can probably chalk a lot of that up to rent-seeking out of Detroit.

I'd take it even further: Cars used to be cool - in the 50s to late 60s. Modern cars look so bloody bland in comparison. I'm sure there were duds as well, but the models that show up in period pieces look way cooler than anything we have today.

The engine compartment of a really old car, say pre-1970s, is almost comically empty. Anything newer has so many ducts and hoses you can't see the ground.

I'm tired of fuckin hatchbacks, I just want a regular car, not an SUV, not a truck, just, a fucking car car.

People don’t buy station wagons so they don’t make them.

Hatchbacks are just renamed station wagons. Change my mind.

It’s because people want a big boot. In Europe hatchbacks/cross overs are favored over sedans for that reason. And people just don’t like the look of a station wagon/estate car. Only the luxury brands still make sedans.