Friday, May 27, 2011

Why Americans don't like small cars, according to Valvoline's blog

I just ran across a blog called "The Real Car Guys," which looks to be Valvoline's blog. The post that caught my eye was called "Why Americans Don't Like Small Cars."

A pretty interesting short take on the subject. The author doesn't slam the small car segment, but rather states that "it’s doubtful that small cars will ever capture the hearts of Americans." He believes it's because Americans assume they're going to be in crashes at some point, and that larger cars are perceived as being safer. It's a quick read, but is quite thought provoking whether you believe Americans will never like the small cars or not.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another reason, is Americans have too much baggage. I can't fit much more than a stroller for my infant in my SX4. Still love the little thing to death though.

Scott said...

I on the other hand get pissed off when I see a single person driving a lifted Escalade type vehicle with 40" wheels going down the freeway...

Anonymous said...

So, Americans don't like small cars because they are bad drivers? :P

nlpnt said...

That's what it boils down to.

Of course, WE'RE not the bad drivers, EVERYONE ELSE out there is.

I think there's considerable regional variation, too. The Northeast, the entire Pacific coast region and anywhere within a hundred miles of a 1,000,000-plus-population city is a very different market from the rural interior; this is probably where the culture-war aspect of "you're gonna die in that little box" comes from, since the media and government are based in NYC/LA and DC respectively. (The industry is based in Detroit, of course, but listens to their per-unit profits more than their milieu) (how's that for a highfalutin' big-city-small-car word).

lauraa said...

i think americans dont like small cars because they have small.... fill in the blank.

Andy Lilienthal said...

... Minds?