interesting newsbit
 

Just saw this on yahoo.com Should be interesting if Nissan were to bring over one of their smaller super economy cars to the U.S.

https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070418...n_070418204150


Now I will be pondering what car they are talking about. Or perhaps, they are planning on making a totally new model for the U.S. Either way, things could start to get interesting!

I'm all for fuel efficient cars BUT....... I'm 6'1", 200 pounds, with a blood disorder that means I need legroom. I also love hunting and camping. I cart 3 grandchildren around town.

I could never use a car that small, except for commuting. I need a 6 passenger 4x4 diesel - hybrid truck or van.

I'm hoping the coming green clean high MPG Nissan will be indicative of a new trend in the states, for small high MPG cars that put out less emissions.

In the states, it is shameful to see so many huge SUV's, that one mostly see with only one person inside, and then there are the full size truck owners that mostly NEVER haul anything in the back...and the salt on the wound is the fact that most of these owners use their huge vehicles for getting to work, and don't seem to mind paying $300+ per month for fuel...it brings into question the priorities Americans have, in regard to their finances, and this use of cars as "fashion". You ask these folks why, and they give a really lame stupid reason: "hey, it's nice to have a truck around just in case we need to haul something"....sure, for the 2 or 4 times a year I suppose those big vehicles are handy...I prefer to rent a truck for the weekend if I need to haul something...many times cheaper, to be sure.

Just the other day, a guy down the street from my home, bought his 16 year old son a full size Chevy pick-up "because that's what he wanted"...talk about the tail wagging the dog! What is it with parents these days? I thought they were supposed to lead! To bring up their children in a better way, to ignore the use of cars as "fashion", for identity, and the like.

Then you need only go to most any apartment complex, full of renters, two family incomes, and guess what you'll find in their car ports? $30,000+ cars, Mercedes, BMW, etc...don't these people have any sensitivity to their retirement futures? What happened to delayed gratification? What happened to living within one's means? Just because one can come up with the $400+ each month for the payment does not mean one can necessarily afford such excess...then you talk to these plebs, and they say "but I deserve it"....they deserve it!!! What kind of mentality is this?

Well, at the end of the day, I too can come up with $600 or more for a dream car each month, but does that make it "affordable"? Does mortgaging my future away just to keep up with my neighbors justify such financial ruin?

I'd rather leave the $50,000 luxury cars to the people that can truly afford them: Multi-millionaires! I don't know about others, but I don't want to be eating cat food at 70. ;-)

How about getting a little car to use when you can, then keep the bigger vehicle for use when you need it.

I've 6'2 and 240 lbs and my little Swift has good leg room. I also have a Toyota pickup that gets used once a month or so when I need to tow a trailer. It has less leg room than the Swift.

Q

morningaser.....thank you thank you thank you!

Now if you could only AFFORD a 30 second commercial to finally play it on air to get this through to at least some of the people!!!!!

I work at a lumber yard and see trucks all day long. Even 15- 20% of the contractors that come by need that dually. The rest only THINK they need it.

Good post!

My father worked much of his life as a frame carpenter / subcontractor. During that period he usually drove a small wagon or hatchback, for his tools. Materials for any serious work don't fit in a pickup anyway; lumberyards deliver.

People make lots of car/truck/suv choices, and for many reasons. I chose a 4x4 pickup because I hunt and fish. It's laughable to think of taking a Suzuki Swift or Toyota Prius up a logging road with a 16 foot canoe on the roof or during a November snowstorm. They wouldn't make it 1/2 mile on some of the roads I travel.

And I'm going to need a bigger truck soon, now that I have 3 grandchildren, with another in the oven.

I'm just as pissed as anyone at the car companies. It would be a technical "no brainer" to make a 4 cylinder crew cab diesel (or hybrid) compact pickup truck that would get 30/30 mpg, and I'd be first in line to buy one. I'd pay extra for it.

Don't dis people because they have few efficient choices from automakers.

There is allot of truth in your statement Sludgy. During the 80's it was easy to get a small pick-up, 4cyl and 4wd, in fact there were several, from Mitsubishi, Mazda, Toyota and Nissan. Even the V6 option was a fairly modest size. Most "small" trucks are nearly the size of a full size truck from the 80's and with more hp than the old full sizers. Full size trucks has paralleled that growth, leading the "bigger is better" drive in automobiles.

I take that back, the Ranger is essentially the same truck from the 80's. :D
Which is another US automaker pitfall, not developing their product, while the "foreign" makers turn out updated and improved product. Well I guess GM updated the "S-10" recently, hard to see it though with out lifting the hood.

I dont want to nag, I want our automakers to kick #$#, (I really do, most of my family in Michigan works for these clowns) they just dont seem to do it until the company is about to fold, which is about every 10 years or so.

morningasser you sound like my dad lol. He loves to save his money and he laughs at people who drive 50+grand cars.

BeeUU -

I remember these well. They were the cheap car to get because they were under $6,000 and very useful.

Back then they really were basic transportation. Today they seem bloated to me, suffering from the "slow growth" policy of all car models.

CarloSW2