tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post3748144054042233965..comments2024-02-23T11:23:45.971-05:00Comments on Lost Motorcyclist: Why Does Toyota Make Big Honkin SUV's and Pickup Trucks?Lost Motorcyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-85758815200971188892010-03-27T22:19:23.913-04:002010-03-27T22:19:23.913-04:00Our 1992 Honda Civic "VX" model was spec...Our 1992 Honda Civic "VX" model was specifically designed by Honda to beat the gas mileage of the Geo Metro, and was rated at 72 MPG highway (Canadian gallons). It cost more than the regular Civic, had skinny tires, a 1.5 l variable valve timing gasoline engine, no automatic or A/C available. So it won the MPG war but lost sales and was discontinued. We never achieved 72 mpg, but once hit over 60, and frequently got about 55 mpg. Our Toyota Matrix is usually around 37 mpg.Lost Motorcyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-6726626170582523002010-03-27T17:11:15.663-04:002010-03-27T17:11:15.663-04:00Gosh! Putting a Bambi Slayer on the front of that...Gosh! Putting a <i>Bambi Slayer</i> on the front of that Verso is like putting an underwire bra on an 8-year-old ... LOL!!<br /><br />But, seriously, it's a shame that none of the really fuel efficient models are being marketed in North America ... because the manufacturers believe that anything small, with low horsepower numbers, will not sell here.<br /><br />Perhaps their belief is based on the limited success of introductions such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo_Metro#Geo_Metro" rel="nofollow">Geo Metro</a> (AKA Pontiac Firefly, Chevy Sprint, &c.) with its 1 litre, 3-cylinder, 55 HP engine, discontinued in 2001.<br /><br />It's noteworthy that, of the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/02/report-all-of-europes-15-most-fuel-efficient-cars-get-better-t/" rel="nofollow">'15 most fuel efficient'</a> cars sold in Europe, all of which achieve <b>4.2</b> litre/100 Km <b>or better</b>, only <b>one</b> (Toyota's <i>flagship</i> Prius) is available in North America.<br /><br />And where models are shared across markets, the North American engines are invariably thirstier. <br /><br />You referenced the Yaris ... Europeans can select a 1.4 litre diesel sipping <b>3.6</b> litres/100 highway Kms. The North American model is fitted with a 1.5 litre gas engine guzzling <b>5.5</b> litres/100 Km (over 50% less efficient).<br /><br />For the North American market, manufacturers seem to believe that anything under 100 HP will simply not sell. The European Yaris diesel produces only 90 HP (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower#DIN_horsepower" rel="nofollow">DIN</a>) whereas the North American version exceeds the 100 HP threshold ... pumping out a massive 105 HP ... LOL!<br /><br />Of course, the Euro version does produce 150 ft-lb of torque (a more important measure in my humble opinion) compared to the miserly 103 ft-lb of the North American model.Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-62323588113996905392010-03-27T09:17:38.315-04:002010-03-27T09:17:38.315-04:00Mary Ann's cousin in Holland has a vehicle I n...Mary Ann's cousin in Holland has a vehicle I never heard of, the Yaris Verso. It's like a minivan version of the Toyota Yaris. I even found a picture of one on the internet, dressed up like an SUV with the side step and the Texas bumper.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.axionnet.com/excentric/img/accesorios/toyota-yaris-verso.jpg" rel="nofollow"> Yaris Verso </a>Lost Motorcyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-85835591190844479872010-03-27T08:00:57.093-04:002010-03-27T08:00:57.093-04:00Toyota has, of course, simply catered to market de...Toyota has, of course, simply catered to market demand; the North American (especially U.S.) market has demanded big vehicles.<br /><br />In fact, a large part of Toyota's (and Honda's) success in North America was as a result of the first <i>Oil Shock</i> of 1973 (Yom Kippur War) when oil prices more than doubled, from <b>$20</b> to <b>$40</b> on an inflation-adjusted basis, making fuel efficient vehicles attractive.<br /><br />But consumers quickly became used to the new gasoline price levels, and large vehicle sales resumed. Until the second <i>Oil Shock</i>, the Iranian crisis of 1979, when prices jumped again, from <b>$40</b> to <b>$60</b> a barrel.<br /><br />The Reagan administration then made the questionable <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924613,00.html" rel="nofollow">policy decision</a> to suck domestic sources dry. Which had the result of keeping energy costs artificially low for an extended period. <br /><br />The low gasoline prices through the 1980s and 1990s which, combined with the <i>gaming</i> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Average_Fuel_Economy" rel="nofollow">CAFE</a> rules, triggered the 'SUV Boom' - essentially an 'arms race' where motorists moved to larger and larger vehicles (reaching its height of absurdity in the unlamented <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer" rel="nofollow">Hummer</a>) in an effort to be 'safer' than their neighbour.<br /><br />The import manufacturers were forced to respond to that market by offering larger vehicles. A response that resulted in curious aberrations such a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_Cayenne" rel="nofollow">Porsche SUV</a>! <br /><br />When the domestic supply imbalances triggered rapidly escalating oil prices (reaching a high of <a href="http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/images/charts/Oil/Inflation_Adj_Oil_Prices_Chart.htm" rel="nofollow">$125 per barrel</a> in 2008) sales of large vehicles dropped precipitously.<br /><br />Although energy prices have recently calmed somewhat as a result of the recession (currently in the <a href="http://www.oil-price.net/" rel="nofollow">$80 a barrel</a> range) the nature of the oil markets is that relatively small demand increases (or supply disruptions) can have a disproportionate impact on price.<br /><br />We can expect a return to <b>$100+</b> oil prices in the near term, and many analysts estimate that the 'true cost' (i.e. including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality" rel="nofollow">externalities</a>) of oil is actually in excess of <b>$300</b> per barrel.<br /><br />Although North American manufacturers have seen the writing on the wall since 1973, they chose to ignore it, reaping the <i>low hanging fruit</i> of the SUV Boom during the 1990s; a series of decisions which lead to their economic collapse in the recent recession.<br /><br />The domestic automobile companies now have, as a result, very little product which to offer the consumer who wants a fuel-efficient vehicle (and, <b>NO!</b>, hybrid SUVs are <b>not</b> the answer) and foreign manufacturers, especially Toyota, are much better equipped to respond to the changing market demand, with existing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Aygo" rel="nofollow">product</a> more suitable for the emerging oil price realities.Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.com