Jaybird

I ran across this interesting article in the Dec. 25, 2010 on-line edition of the Detroit News. I thought I'd share it with you for your consideration.

Here's the link...
http://www.detnews.com/article/20101...ten-status-quo

Here's a related article...
http://www.detnews.com/article/20101...d-of-owning-it

Jaybird

olds67

this is the future, my children will not have the pleasure of driving this car burning and I want to save as much as possible.
I drove the Smart power two months ago and I must say that the electric motor has excellent torque but the engine is so quiet that people on foot will not hear you coming and is dangerous.

Rickman48

As far as noise goes, there's those cd's wired to the 'go' pedal, that can make any vehicle sound like anything, incuding a top fuel dragster!
Think it'd scare the neighbors?
Kinda glad I should be gone before this 'Rent by the minute' thing catches on - can't imagine my drive without at least 3 cars!

Aceshigh

I don't buy that at all. In fact I call bullshit because there's missing information.

A guy in his 20's, and ESPECIALLY 30's has many things needed to attract a female and be successful.
1. Having a J O B,
2. an apartment or your own place in general,
3. AND........a car.

No chick is going to want to date some deadbeat who rents a car by the minute. Every teenager I know from my cousins generation is still eager to buy their own car. My cousin was 21 and bought a 1 year old Mustang convertible. Then traded it in on a 2006 GTO brand new. Granted, VERY stupid move financially for him with that $670 car payment for 6 or 7 years. But it was ALL ABOUT STATUS.

But make no mistake, people will always be buying cars. It might not be a BRAND NEW car because they are the absolute WORST investment you can make, and are so expensive in most cases , people can't afford one. The Auto Manufacturers just have to make cars reasonably affordable to sell them. Honda Civics are still $16,000-$21,000 give or take. That's the price market a new car buyer can afford. Yet another reason besides reliability they are HUGELY successful. Not a $50,000 fully loaded 2011 Ford Exlporer.

One of the reasons the Prius has been INCREDIBLY successful , is it's price is competitive with the Honda Civic range. A larger % of the population can afford that kind of NEW car payment. So they will sell. Making $55,000 - $65,000 pick up trucks is ridiculous. That's what a 2011 Ford F-250 6.7L diesel Lariat came in at......I know because I just priced it out.

Another thing to consider here is, you almost NEVER see a base line model on a dealers lot. They order them with all the bling bling accessory packages. I'm shocked people still buy all that crap. Most of the time, you have to special order a base model.

firefrost gold

Find it hard to beleive I would say we rent out cars nowdays more by the mile. I live 27 miles from work and 10 from town, I dont think it will work for all . But for some I can see it

bil

Any writer saying that the car doesn't have the status it used to hasn't been to California lately! In many places,what you drive shows who you are.I have a 68 F250 out there,and use it for everything.I was turned away from a nice restaurant by the valet,he didn't think I belonged there.The next night I showed up in a 70 442 droptop,and got the number 1 position. Some places it matters.
I was in Paris a while ago,they have a neay bicycle system there.Racks of bikes,you put money in to unlock them.Ride where you want,then put it back in a nearby rack,get some money back.But that is a congested city where it makes sense.Try that in LA! American cities,for the most part,are spread out too far.The idea of renting by the hour is intrigueing,but not practical in the country. All are more practical than my theory-by driving my Olds as much as possible,I am saving the environment from having to make another new car,and by using up the gas,I will force the scientists to come up with a solution faster! Thanks for the interesting links! ---bil

Higgins

Ain't that the truth.
The hotter the car you have the hotter the woman you get.

Oldsguy

I think it will happen, but it will take more than fifteen years. Change is ineviteble but slow.

rocketraider

That's the biggest fallacy of these ideas- the people who come up with them can't fathom that not everyone lives in a compact urban environment. In a city, it might work. In the wide open spaces, ha!

I have a 30 mile drive to work. There is no public transportation going that way, and if there were I can about guarantee it wouldn't run at the times I need it.

Plus, do you really want to consistently drive a car that someone with a cold/flu, smelly animal or food, etc has driven? I think it would be like sleeping in a different stranger's unmade bed every night. But for some it's all about reducing us to lowest common denominator- l'egalite' to put it in late 18th century French terms.

Aces- the dealers load cars up with option packages because that's where the profit is.

olds67

the volkswagen has already prepared the Touareg and the hybrid batteries are recharged by the car in motion even Renault ready electric cars has great prices and competitive prices, it is also true that we think of a price too much when it comes to electric cars, but not and so there are also cars that cost a little like the one sold in India is only $ 5000 has a range of 200/300 km (150/200 miles).

66ninetyeightls

Its also a piece of tin and has no safety systems to speak of. I am in the middle of designing a hybrid technical course for technicians and get a kick out of articles like this.

olds67

Safety not enlarge to respond, I tried one and the only thing that scared me was the silence, no noise, no sound, the rest is a normal car.
this is already on sale in Switzerland and are far ahead, have the stud in the car parks to charge ... and to think that a car is Italian and the Italians have not yet .incredibile

http://translate.google.it/translate...a-in-svezia%2F

bulldog

X2 on this, not likely in my lifetime for sure.

Oldsguy

Well, I was thinking in the next twenty years maybe. And then in a limited scope. I hope I will still be around then.

OLD SKL 69

How true. Most people are pigs and treat their cars the same way.

Maybe you could even get some bed bugs and fleas too!

olds67

guys
Today I saw an advertisement on television where a Peugeot car actually sells 100% electric and is on sale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO2HI...eature=related

This is the link, sorry in Italian but I could not translate

http://www.peugeot.it/La-nostra-gamm...Scopri-la-iOn/

442much

I agree with this to a point. If you look like Marty Feldman you'd better be driving a Bugatti Veyron. If you're a half decent looking guy, then an older American muscle car will work for you.

442much

Uttsa matta fo' you?

olds67

I prefer no no internal combustion engines, but it is strange to see them on the street, cars look like those for kids .......

Aceshigh

OBVIOUSLY.

I was checking out a 2010 Camaro SS. They had a Sun and Something package which was $1100
and gave you the 20" rims you see on almost every one online.

Then they had a $6000 black rim package.
So they were charging $1100 which was reasonable to upgrade the rims first.
Then ANOTHER $6,000 for the black rims WITHOUT a credit for the previous. (meaning they should have been way less)

So you're spending $7100for rims, and that's STILL not including the credit you should get for the BASE
rims and tires. So you're spending closer to probably $8000 for rims and tires......TOTAL RIPOFF!!!
If more people actually counted what they're being charged , they'd realize $2,000 per rim & tire is
not worth it for nothing special.

I almost choked when I saw the prices of the options and laughed.
I just priced out a new Corvette too. $13000 in options for a base coupe. Laughable......
$22,000 in options for the 2011 Ford Explorer was the best one though......I couldn't believe it.

If people weren't buying status symbols still, like this article is trying to say .......
Then they wouldn't be selling these ridiculous option packages still in large quantities.
I asked the dealer what a BASE SS in 2011 costed.......you should have seen his face.....
Why would you want to buy a BASE model for was his reaction.