this post was submitted on 10 May 2024
281 points (89.4% liked)
Technology
60052 readers
2912 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each another!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
No it literally wouldn't. It's absolutely possible to produce smaller lightweight vehicles with the exact same standards. But unfortunately we've all been pushed towards larger vehicles. Simply because they make more money on them.
The push towards large vehicles was due to the fact that they used a truck chassis, and were exempt from safety and emissions requirements of a “car”
Not if it's electric (for emissions)
While true, the general cultural preference for larger vehicles will inherently carryover to when people are deciding what EV to buy.
I'd love a 2015 sized Ford ranger that's fully electric.
I want a 1995 ranger that's electric, those things were great
That would be great but there are 4 of us so the 3 person bench wouldn't work unfortunately.
If we're going old school, go old school. Oldest kid rides in the bed.
Plenty of room in the back
Unfortunately producing a smaller affordable car for the average person would fall under "lower standards" 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
It doesn't matter what size car Americans build, they simply can't compete. Larger vehicles are a cultural preference and fits the American environment.
If this was true, the Chinese EVs could be allowed in and no one would buy them. I personally want a smaller car that can comfortably seat 5 and has additional safety and comfort features (backup cameras, lane assist, heat pump climate control, etc.). This could easily be done with a sedan, hatchback, or station wagon. The only cars that have these features that I know of are SUVs.
Not exactly true when they're selling them for $10k-$15k. The Bolt is comparable to a Chinese EV and they only sell around 2k per month while something like the Model 3 sells 50k per month.
If you lowered the price of the Bolt to the price of a 10 year old used Camry, I'm sure it would sell a lot better but this is an artificial price that completely distorts the market and puts a lot of people out of work for what amounts to a temporary savings. This is the whole point of tariffs. They level the playing field for everyone.
They discontinued the Bolt. They needed the factory for trucks.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/03/next-gen-chevy-bolt-ev-to-arrive-for-2026-model-year/
Yeah I know. By popular demand. They didn't plan to bring it back until people complained about one of the only affordable EVs being removed from the market. But it's coming back on their ultium platform that's been plagued with problems.
Where I live, the base model of the Chevy Bolt is $41k, and doesn't have heat pump climate control (or isn't talking about it). It also doesn't look like it would seat 5 comfortably. Now, even without the spectre of financially supporting Elon's antics, I don't see a lot of reason to pay another $10k for a reasonably similar car. People are weird. 🤷♂️
Often what people say they want and what they actually spend their money on are not even in the same ballpark. This reminds me of all the guys from /r/Cars who'd say they dream of some stripped down vehicle with crank windows and no features but when manufacturers make them, nobody actually buys them.
Nah
I think they're a preference of the motor industry who want you to buy more expensive cars.