5 ms·
Evidence suggests people want these cars. They already cost more than smaller and cheaper alternatives. But people buy them anyway.
by cs_throwaway 1y ago
Evidence suggests people want these cars. They already cost more than smaller and cheaper alternatives. But people buy them anyway.
- Afforess 1y agoFalse. The US Auto market is subsidized and regulated in opaque and convoluted ways that distort prices and demand significantly.
- bdangubic 1y agoso is everything else in America, not just cars. americans though love to think that only China et al does this shit - it is too funny sometimes
- murukesh_s 1y agoBut Americans can hope for a regime (policy) change every few years though. You could argue both the political ideologies are broadly doing the same shit, but you can hope or lobby for change. On the other hand, imagine your unfavourite politician/ideology remaining in power for the eternity!
- bdangubic 1y agomost america subsidizing is not “party-based” - obama bailed out detroit 1000x over what DJT is doing now. oil/gas… same shit. farming, same shit. it is not like every four/eight years we get to decide what is being subsidized - america is just as socialist as china when it comes to this shit :)
- murukesh_s 1y agoUnfortunately yes, but there is a chance for a maverick like DJT to come and make sweeping changes (in a positive way).
- bdangubic 1y agoquite the opposite is and will be happening. same in his first term and same in 2nd/3rd/4th… america “first” all that (this term is including nationalizing businesses like intel which you know, works in beacons of capitalism like venezuela…)
- ajmurmann 1y agoThe key here is that US regulation distort the market in favor of heavier cars which encourages cars that will be discouraged in other markets.
- mensetmanusman 1y ago? The difference is about one order, that makes it a difference of kind when mercantilism is the current successful strategy. Good thing Covid revealed how weak countries have gotten relying to heavily in critical industries.
- majormajor 1y ago"Smaller and cheaper" isn't the best comparison point, "same size but cleaner" would be a more interesting one. And AFAICT larger electric cars cost considerably more than most of the gas options in the US. An internal combustion F-150 costs less than an electric one, I believe the same is true for the Maverick though to a lesser degree. The hybrid Maverick does gangbusters with similar prices; if the electric F-150 cost the same as the gas one and there was a hybrid one at the same price I'd wager that you'd see a lot more uptake than you do of the current Lightning.
- istjohn 1y agoContrast this with the global market, where EVs are cheaper than ICE vehicles.
- dekrg 1y agoCheaper where and in what way? Electricity cost is on par or exceeds cost of ICE fuel (gas or diesel) in most of the western world and beyond. Also EVs have much lower resale value.
- bluGill 1y agoWhere I live in the us I save $200 per month with ev vs gas. This is replacing a minivan with essentially the same but 10 years newer. Of course my power all tmes fron wind which is cheap
- hedora 1y agoWe’re saving way more than that. Probably the equivalent of $70-90 per “gas tank”. Old car was a late model truck of the same form factor. The resale values on used EVs are poor because things are improving so fast. The new ones are better and cheaper, which isn’t really the case for ICE models. The only exceptions are the first few years of Leaf’s, since they ate batteries, and teslas because of the non-removable MAGA bumper stickers.
- ajmurmann 1y agoHow much of this is because because emission standards in the US reward heavier vehicles, and vehicles over 3.5t get tax benefits and skew the market in the opposite direction than in most (all?) other countries?
- bluGill 1y agoNot much when the big trucks outsell the small luxury cars. The most I could get a bmw m3 configured for was $86000, it wasn't hard to get a f150 over $100k. If money mattered you can look at the toyota corolla for much less than the cheapest f150.
- pixl97 1y agoThe issue is you cant buy a small truck in the US. Even 'small' trucks these days are huge.
- seabird 1y agoEnthusiasts want small trucks. Americans don't want small trucks. They don't want a single-cab S10. They wouldn't even want a double cab S10. What they actually want is a minivan but they're too far into not-cool territory to be a consideration so they look to the mid/full-size SUV and/or truck segment. It is true that you can't really make a small truck in the US any more, and that automakers do like it that way, but it wouldn't change anything even if you changed the CAFE requirements.
- cs_throwaway 1y agoAs I said, they already cost more than smaller and cheaper alternatives. But people buy them anyway. Heavily vehicles may be cheaper for whatever reason you cite. But they are still much more expensive than smaller sedans. People still buy the heavier vehicles.
- seabird 1y agoIt's not 3.5 tons, it's the footprint (track width * wheelbase). The emissions standards reward larger vehicles that generally start around $35k-$40k. Americans just love going immediately underwater on a $100k Grand Wagoneer.
- istjohn 1y agoTesla's success shows that people want high-quality EVs. And if competition in the local EV market drives quality up and prices down, they will become more and more compelling to consumers. But tariffs isolate domestic manufacturers from foreign competition where the latest advancements are currently being made. American manufacturers are already not competitive in the global market. But perhaps most importantly, we must transition from fossil fuels to avoid the most dire possible outcomes of climate change. It doesn't matter if you enjoy a pipe after dinner, you can't smoke in a family restaraunt because it would harm the well-being of the other diners.