pro united states reviews vs reviews from other countries

[Canoehead]

I agree that the main reason Americans prefer more power is cultural. There is a tendency for people to compare themselves with those around them - I live in a neighbourhood surrounded by hippies and urbanites, so for me, the Mirage is a regular small car, the iMev or electric smart car would be the small choice and the Honda Fit would be the "large" car. In a rural area, the regular car would be the F-150, with maybe a Jeep Patriot being the small car and a proper diesel one ton pickup being the big one. My point being it is all relative to what your friends and neighbours drive.

The other part of the equation is infrastructure. Around here speed limits are 100km/h on the highway (about 62mph) and people usually drive between 90-110 for the most part. At this speed, a 250cc motorcycle or a 660cc Kei Truck can keep up fine, and there is enough room to get on and off the highway, so drag-race-merging isn't required. Compare this to some busy US interstates where the flow of traffic is going 140km/h and there is a short on-ramp and I understand why one might want the Blues Brother's car ("Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration don't fail me now!").

As for the complaints about hard plastics, the car making noise, and other more cosmetic things - my favourite car was a 1985 Dodge Omni - that one had character. I prefer character to refinement in cars, and also in actors in Westerns.

[MetroMPG]

Another thought: bad reviews probably don't matter too much.

I will admit that a dumb review gets me riled up a little bit. (I still check in periodically to see what new comments have been posted on that stupid, unprofessional Canadian YouTube Mirage review.)

But in the grand scheme of things, "non-car-enthusiast" people don't pay attention to car reviews. If they did, the Nissan Versa wouldn't be the best selling subcompact in the U.S.

[pureflipking]

some people have the mentality where if theyre going to spend money, they'll spend it on something they feel worth w/o regret, where others just spend the money because that's what they can afford.

It's a competitive market out there especially with automakers.
If you have a product you want to release to the consumers, you want your product to be the best one out there based on the market.

[m4v3r1ck]

It's how your surroundings are, culture shapes demand, economy reasons. In Europe particularly in the Netherlands the most common transportation means is bicycle, there is average of 1,5 bicycle for everyone, including babies. Second means is the public transportation. So the need for average household to own and maintain a car is not as much as the US.
It's not a sedan cultured country here so there's hatchback and stationwagon everywhere. And I think with the gas price of exceeding 1.70 euro per liter, it's an attractive country for fuel efficient cars, hybrid and EV. Fuel inefficient large powered cars are not attractive, besides, WHY? If you can kill an ant with your finger WHY do u need to kill it with a sledgehammer?
People that buys the large SUV such as Yukon or Yukon+ will probably will just fully load it (thus utilize it for what it's built for) just once or twice a year!! The rest of the time it's a waste!

I really think that european are becoming more aware of the environmental, by using more fuel you releases more harmful CO2 into the air plus you are consuming more fossil fuel which depletes at much faster rate than its replenishes.

LOL that is the worse rant in this forum i think .... but that's a piece of my mind.

[Canoehead]

People that buys the large SUV such as Yukon or Yukon+ will probably will just fully load it (thus utilize it for what it's built for) just once or twice a year!! The rest of the time it's a waste!

I have spent some time backpacking and sea kayaking, though I mostly canoe. With prudent packing (I think of the game Tetris), a great deal of stuff can fit in a hatchback. My worldly possessions once crammed in/on the Dodge Omni. To my mind, the Suburban is not about needing the space, but wanting the convenience of easier packing - just tossing stuff in and having lots of spare room as opposed to meticulously arranging things in the available space.

Another boast - 4 people, 2 canoes (one 20' long), all gear and food for a week-long canoe trip with no portages on the Green River, UT (coolers/ice, fresh food, water jugs, "groover") fit in/on an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera which was a midsized car, with 113 cubic feet total space (luggage+passenger) compared to the Mirage's 103 cubic feet. Put another way, the cargo volume of the Suburban is larger than the total volume of the midsized Oldsmobile, so really only required when going on a big trip with five or more people, and going off-road or towing (as two Mirages would be less expensive to buy and fuel than one Suburban).

I understand some folks want Suburbans and similarly large vehicles, but those who need them are very rare indeed.

[m4v3r1ck]

I understand some folks want Suburbans and similarly large vehicles, but those who need them are very rare indeed.

Exactly, I forgot to put "most owners"

[Mitsuman]

Same kind of thought is when a guy who already has a car buys a truck so he can haul some plywood home for a project. How often does he need that truckbed for hauling? Twice a year? Three times a year? Probably true in a lot of cases. Unnecessary yet the Ford F-150 along with the Toyota Camry lead in U.S. vehicle sales, for years, too.

Whassup with that? The guys want ta sit up high for better visibilty while driving? Power play? What are your thoughts on this?

[Canoehead]

Whassup with that? The guys want ta sit up high for better visibilty while driving? Power play? What are your thoughts on this?

I just don't really know. That said, at some level I "feel" it too. I like trucks. I like the look of trucks, and driving them through mud . . . they just make no sense economically for most people. In a similar way I would like to own a tank, and a front-end loader, and one of those agricultural sprayers on 3 monster truck tires, and a hovercraft, and an air-boat - these things are appealing, but impractical for my actual life, and not worth the time I'd have to work to buy them.

Here are a couple ideas:

- The US (and Canada) have a short frontier history. We imagine ourselves farmers and miners and foresters and ranchers, even though for a couple of generations very few people do that and we are highly urban. Driving a truck to your office job in the city might make you feel like you still are one of those tough/rugged individuals, despite the fact that you have an iPhone holstered to your hip and not a Colt .44. To my mind, a hat and moustache might do the same thing for less expense!

- Marketers often say that if you can get the customer to imagine themselves using the product you are on your way to a sale. Most of us have an image or fantasy of what our lives will be like, and how they might be improved with the addition of some good. I am fond of movie truck #8, #6, and #1, even though the scenarios of giant ground snakes, Soviet invasion, and time travel seem somewhat improbable: http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/sto...-trucks-1.html

[grsupercity]

Make a mirage truck. two seater with a bed. 45 mpg on a mini truck

[Canoehead]

Make a mirage truck. two seater with a bed. 45 mpg on a mini truck

Like a Rabbit?

http://www.mpgomatic.com/45_MPG_Pickup_Truck.html