The Automotive Industry Is Not Protected From Pursuing Fads
By classification fads and trends appear and vanish, and seem to affect all walks of life, including the automobile industry. Should you analyze car culture since the beginning of the new millenium, you will find a number of interesting changes have taken place. The Nissan Altima, a very simple car if ever, would probably have surprised you back in 2002 with its speediness if you test-drove one.
The car industry is as much controlled by the vagaries of fads and trends as any other. Within the last several years of the new millenium, we have seen some interesting turns in the culture of cars. Back in 2002, you would more than likely have been surprised at how fast the new designs could go, even ordinary, budget cars like the Nissan Altima.
It included a 240 horsepower engine, which caused it to be capable of doing speeds way faster than what we knew in the nineties. These days, you will find a family car with 280 horsepower in the Volkswagen Passat. Camaros are increasingly being left for dead by smaller Mitsubishis that set you back $30,000. So, who could have thought that an ordinary car nowadays could be something so powerfully engined as the 500 horsepower Dodge Viper. You’ll be hard-pressed nowadays to find a car that was under-powered. Every single new vehicle model is definitely bigger than its predecessor. The moment the new Toyota Rav4 premiered, it had grown by 14 inches, and if you look at Hondas, the current Civics are larger than the older model Accords.
No one would like to shell out more for their new car, but buy one that’s the same size or smaller. If it is gonna cost more, then it must be not only better but also bigger. There is a issue with bigger,of course, and that’s heavier, but car makers will keep on going bigger if that’s what the public are looking for. The American people want to spend less money on gasoline, but it seems they won’t tolerate going slower in the process. Having to pay more to keep the privilege of speed is preferable, which explains why there is such a long line of people waiting for their hybrid, the Toyota Prius. While Corollas stand without a buyer in sight in the same dealer’s showroom. In the rush by all automobile makers to keep up, even pride seems to have taken a back seat, as in the case of Nissan with their Altima, which uses the same system as Toyota, their competitor.
The bland styling of the 90s has disappeared, as consumers want cars with personality. Nearly all vehicles are now designed with power locks and windows as a standard feature, as well as six airbags and powerful stereos. All these have a price, which probably is the reason for the $28,000 price tag of the average new car. The SUV at this point appears to be bought by foolish people, so perhaps we are going back to the days when a car was a car. Perhaps it was a fad that had its day, given that the worst-hit in terms of sales are the bigger SUVs. Consumers seem to have changed to smaller cars, with the Ford Explorer and Expedition out in the cold while the little cars are getting more and more of the action, even the Neon and Sentra.
Vehicle companies can’t stand still, but someday they need to quit needing to be so fast, and also so big. It remains to be seen what the long-term experiences of the hybrids will likely be. Ten years from now we can take a glance back at all the crazy stuff that took place between now and then.