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Sedans Low End Sedans (under $16k)
3820 messages, Last post on Nov 24, 2008 at 9:45 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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but I guess you are right.I wonder why no other European car has been successful here.In Europe,Renault,Fiat,Peugeot etc are plentiful in this segment of the market. The VW really isn't inexpensive,like the Accents,Lanos,Rios,EsteemsFocus and GM j-body cars.It seems the European manufacturers have abandoned us -in this market here. At the low end it would seem the Koreans have the most to offer.They certainly have a lock under $10,000. |
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| I meant to include that the cars should be under $20K. For the sake of argument however I wanted to include VW's offerings here. Perhaps a better title would have been "who makes the best compact cars" or something like that. I want to take price out of the equasion because people should debate the cars not the price. This is a completly open forum so any compact car sold here as of today (5.23.01) may be included. I hope this clears up any confusion | |
| If I had to guess, I'd say it's the low profit margins on these cars that keeps most Euro. competition out. You figure they have to build them (using the high labor rates in Europe), and then ship them here. Most people buying cars in this segment are very price conscious. That extra $1-2000 could be a deal-breaker on a car that the mfg. doesn't make much on to begin with. | |
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I think its hard to remove price as a factor.A lot of people select from this market because of price. In my case $20,000 was the limit,I was going to spend.I had started with the idea of a Gllant with the 6 cyl engine.A good friend had a 95 Diamante and I really liked that car.I also looked at Honda LX and EX models 4s and 6s.The Toyota Altima and Camry were also considerations. All the cars were pretty good.The HONDA LX 4cyl was the least interesting to me.I was hoping to get leather and the Accord with this option was too expensive.iI found the styling ok,but not too exciting. The Camry 4cyl seemed more responsive;everything else about equal to the Accord.I was just not comfortable in the car,don't know why.The Gallant was a disappointment.I guess,I expected a small Diamante.Overall quality seemed lower the the Accord or Camry.The Gallant 4cyl was the smoothest of the 4s,though. The cost of these cars with 6 cyl motors and the features I wanted was over $20,000.I did't consider VW because of cost and reports from people who owned then.Nothing real bad just more then I wanted to be bothered with. I was on my way to the KIA dealer.I had read a review on the Optima-loaded with a 6 for around $20,000.I had never ever considered a Korean car before.A friend had owned 2 in the late 80's and early 90's.Seemed like he was getting new engines every month(Hyundai).But ,the 100,000 mile warranty helped me overcome my reservations. On the way we passed a DAEWOO dealer.I confused it with DAHATSUI-a friend had had a Charade and really liked it -so I stopped.The KIA dealer was about a half mile up the road. To make a long story longer ,I bought a DAEWOO.The car had every option I wanted and more.The car has a 4cyl motor,but is quick in the city and great on the highway.In fact, the only thingI would change is the tires.It has KUMHO tires,a Korean brand-h rated.I've always liked Goodyear Tiger Paws-smooth ride.For under $15,000 it is unbeatable. Given the state of DAEWOOS finances its somewhat of a gamble.BUT,the engine is a Holden motor(GM) and the transmission is a Toyota design,so maintenance should be no big deal. |
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Yeah they (Europeans) have given up on the lower end of the market here. Even VW has luxury car plans/aspirations now, of which I don't really think will work, nor do I fully understand with Audi being their luxury brand. M |
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What is this world coming to when less than $20,000 is considered the low end. $20,000 is a pretty expensive low end car. In my mind, a low end car would sell for $13,000 or under. America, Europe, and Japan (except for Toyota's Echo and some Suzuki offerings) have virtually conceded this market segment to the Koreans.
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The Japanese just don't make the money in the "lower" category anymore, or at least not as much as they would like to make. If the Toyota Echo doesn't do it this time Toyota will most likely give it up too and stick with the larger more profitable Corolla as their "entry-level" car. Nissan and Honda have left this segment and the Koreans are eating it up at moment. It's hard to build a car for 13K nowadays. M
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| also. Since they're enjoying success at this level and in the US the cars are selling I wouldn't expect a large MSRP jump. Can they turn a profit selling a car for $8,000-$12,000? With the won's value compared to their worker's wages and the fact that Kia is part of Hyundai I would say they can. To build factories in the U.S. with this level of sales I would think is a bit of a leap. I don't know though, Hyundai is not afraid to borrow money. At all. | |
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| The Japanese can't build good cars for cheap anymore. That's why they charge so much for cheap cars. Most of their profits went into real estate, not their factories. With GM buying Daewoo, you will only watch the Japanese cars disappear into the sunset, or be partially bought out by GM (the small part worth buying). For now GM has it's focus on Daewoo because of it's state of the art factories, all new. Daewoo currently owns the most productive plants in the world. They are setting next to the largest steel producer, have all the electronic expertise, top notch engineers and inexpensive highly skilled labor. | |
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Well they aren't able to do it as cost-effectively as they could before. The new Honda Civic is a good example, it's a nice car, but for the first time in the last 3-4 redesigns it now screams cheap. Yes the Koreans will gladly take this segment over and then over time they too will move upmarket as a whole. The XG300 is only the first baby step. M |
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