You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

8665 messages,  Last post on Nov 30, 2009 at 2:20 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper

#7433 of 8665 Re: Oh, podred... [podred] by dake Mar 31, 2008 (3:22 pm)
Replying to: podred (Mar 31, 2008 2:17 pm) You make a great point. I personally would rather drive a small, nimble vehicle that might help me avoid an accident vs a big, lumbering one that will carry me merrily right into one. Throw in the fact that most people driving the largest vehicles treat them as if they were small cars in the way in which they tailgate and change lanes and you've got a recipe for disaster.   My frustration is I pay higher insurance premiums (and gas prices for that matter) to account for all the yahoos tearing around in their giant SUVs crushing everything they happen to come into contact with.   My opinion is unless you own a farm or a construction company, you should have to bear the extra expenses for enormous vehicles - don't penalize me for your ridiculous and unnecessary choices. Replies to this message: nippononly (Mar 31, 2008 7:54 pm) andre1969 (Apr 01, 2008 6:06 am)
#7434 of 8665 Re: Oh, podred... [dake] by nippononly Mar 31, 2008 (7:54 pm)
Replying to: dake (Mar 31, 2008 3:22 pm) I was reading something recently that was saying that in the last few years the insurance companies have come to realize what an enormous liability large trucks and SUVs are on the road, and are gradually adjusting their rate schedules to recognize this fact. So those drivers are beginning to pay a lot more for their liability insurance than drivers of small cars.   If that's any consolation...
#7435 of 8665 podred and nippononly... by iluvmysephia1 Mar 31, 2008 (11:25 pm)
hey, podred, great post BTW! I agree, I was trying to steer my post on topic at the very end and I wasn't making a commentary on the advantage of driving a larger rig to help save yourself in an accident. I actually like smaller rigs, my '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS is as big a rig as I would prefer to drive. But I don't avoid smaller cars, I have test drove a 2006 Scion xA and I liked it, but didn't like it enough to spring for one. It's size would not be a deterrent to me for owning one, though. Driving smart, defensive and alert is more important than driving big. As if driving a big vehicle keeps one safer!   nippononly...great idea to charge big SUV drivers more for an overall attempt to capture more of their loss or payout money back. I like the idea and it's a good move. Replies to this message: podred (Apr 01, 2008 2:37 pm) explorerx4 (Apr 01, 2008 4:13 pm)
#7436 of 8665 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [nwng] by lilengineerboy Apr 01, 2008 (3:15 am)
Replying to: nwng (Mar 31, 2008 9:03 am) Different vehicles have different tuning on the bluetooth hands free mics. Some cars seem to do a great job with their noise cancellation on the mic, and some, well, some don't do as well. It also might depend on how loud the cabin is already, or not. The bandwidth of bluetooth is fine, there is plenty to send a voice signal, the issue is the microphone being used to pick up the spoken word.
#7437 of 8665 Re: Oh, podred... [dake] by andre1969 Apr 01, 2008 (6:06 am)
Replying to: dake (Mar 31, 2008 3:22 pm) My frustration is I pay higher insurance premiums (and gas prices for that matter) to account for all the yahoos tearing around in their giant SUVs crushing everything they happen to come into contact with.   Not necessarily. You're also paying higher insurance premiums because a lot of yahoos go tearing around in little cars too, and end up smearing themselves on the highway. Now I'm not trying to totally excuse big trucks and SUVs, but as someone who drives a standard-sized truck fairly regularly, and has been the hittee several times, but never the hitter, I'm questioning why I should be penalized?   I think the best way to make someone pay their fair share, is to look at their driving history and see what kind of damage/trouble they've caused in the past. If they have a record of ridiculous speeding, or at-fault accidents, then yeah, definitely hit them with a surcharge if they buy some big monstrosity that has the potential to do more damage. And if you buy a vehicle that's going to be more expensive to repair when it gets wrecked, be it an SUV, car, or whatever, then definitely tack on a surcharge. But make sure the punishment fits the crime.   As for fuel prices? Blame that on increased global demand. Not to sound too ambivalent about it, but if we weren't burning it up in big trucks and SUVs, it would just get burned up somewhere else. Or the oil producers would just cut back on production. Now I'm not advocating wasting the stuff, but if this entire nation suddenly switched to Priuses overnight, I don't think fuel prices would drop very much. They might dip briefly, but then as the prices dropped, it would become more in-demand for other uses, and it wouldn't be long before prices are up there again.
#7438 of 8665 Re: podred and nippononly... [iluvmysephia1] by podred Apr 01, 2008 (2:37 pm)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Mar 31, 2008 11:25 pm) Thank you very much for the recognition!   I make every efffort to give back, by sharing my personal experiences, and reporting in the most fair and neutral way possible. I do realize that I am very fortunate to have so many cars to compare and the many years of racing background that was the direct result of growing up in a Motor Sports family. I am grateful to have accumulated the driving skills and well as mechanical expertise to offer accurate feedback and my take on the subjects covered here.   Thus if there is anything that I can possibly contribute to this forum, I'm happy to do so.   Cheers!
#7439 of 8665 Re: podred and nippononly... [iluvmysephia1] by explorerx4 Apr 01, 2008 (4:13 pm)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Mar 31, 2008 11:25 pm) my focus was the most expensive vehicle to insure for each of the 4 years i owned it, compared to any of the others we own. do you really think insurance companies provide a financial break to suv's because they were popular? plenty of people love to bash suv's, but i am not one of them. everyone in my immediate family agrees because they are still able to.
#7440 of 8665 1st quarter results by nippononly Apr 01, 2008 (8:17 pm)
are in, and it looks like Yaris has started the year with a 60% increase in sales over the first quarter last year!   http://www.pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/View?id=TYT2008040198482   At this rate, it will sell well over the 100K mark this year, vaulting it into the top 5 Toyota models for sales!   Fit is supposedly up some 6800 units for the quarter (that's just the increase), which is a solid 50% boost, maybe more. Only Aveo is down, and well, it's Aveo after all! It's only down 2900 units for the quarter, so percentage-wise it's maybe 10-15%, and the release of the new 5-door is coming in a few months, which ought to boost sales back up some (maybe - we will see).   Subcompacts are coming on strong, now if there were only more models to choose from on sale in the U.S.!
#7441 of 8665 Me, bash huge SUV's? by iluvmysephia1 Apr 01, 2008 (8:50 pm)
Naw, I'd never see any reason why someone can't drive a huge, heavy ugly block down the street, take up viewing space for everyone in the area, accelerating agonizingly slowly, rolling along with stupid looking bling-bling wheels and getting 10 mph. Why would anyone object to a rig like that?   No, I've got no problem with women with toothpick small arms gripping their huge SUV steering wheels for all its worth, readying for out-of-control road situations at every turn with determined Detroit looks on thier faces, gabbing on their cell phones and offering to share their self-important lives on the roads by plugging them up with these huge excuses for Fo-Mo-Co to stay alive. Naw, count me right in there. I love huge overpriced, self-indulgent, gas-guzzling metal, rubber and plastic blocks.   Do me a favor, car insurance companies. Take about 40% of my car insurance bill and blast it over to the group that feels that it is smart and stealthy to drive around in huge, gas-guzzling SUV's. SUV's that blow huge holes in several vehicles at once if they need to to plow their soccer-moms and who-fores forward to their next shopping destination. The domestic automakers have basically been driving while blind for the last 30 years, so, some people decide that to keep the American automotive industry in those good paying important jobs, they'll buy "American." Keep those jobs here, where they should be. Oh, you heroes! Has anyone ever told you how...ummm...brave you really are? How good of you. Considerate. Huge. Large. SUV-ish. Love ya!   Glad you fully understand where I'm coming from. Large SUV's are living reasons to eliminate automotive usages for transportation altogether. Glad I could be of some help. Replies to this message: andre1969 (Apr 02, 2008 5:27 am) ateixeira (Apr 02, 2008 7:58 am) nippononly (Apr 02, 2008 9:31 am) ateixeira (Apr 02, 2008 9:40 am) oregonboy (Apr 02, 2008 10:17 am) explorerx4 (Apr 05, 2008 3:10 pm) and 14 more...
#7442 of 8665 Re: Me, bash huge SUV's? [iluvmysephia1] by andre1969 Apr 02, 2008 (5:27 am)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Apr 01, 2008 8:50 pm) SUV's that blow huge holes in several vehicles at once if they need to to plow their soccer-moms and who-fores forward to their next shopping destination.   And now, let's twist this around and put the onus on the DRIVER, not the vehicle. That same SUV that could blow huge holes in several vehicles at once when it is the hitter, might also allow those same vehicles to bounce relatively harmlessly off of it when it is the hittee.   Take my '85 Silverado for example. Okay, so it's a truck and not an SUV, but it'll still hit like one. Back in 2006 I got rear-ended by a 2000 Infiniti I-something-or-other. Probably did a good $4-5K or more worth of damage to the Infiniti. Damage to my truck? About $350.   Now, had I been in a smaller, lighter, "softer" vehicle, I would have definitely taken more damage. That might have negated the damage somewhat on the Infiniti, but probably not reduced the repair bill. After all, a hood that's only buckled a few inches, versus a foot, still needs to be replaced. However, even in my big truck, that impact really sent me flying. I had to fight to keep from shooting into oncoming traffic, and it was just luck that the car in front of me happened to move forward as I got hit. No doubt if I had been in a lighter vehicle, I would have been thrown even further. So there's a greater chance I would've ended up on the wrong side of the road, or in the trunk of the car in front of me. So this is one of those situations where a bigger, heavier vehicle probably reduced the overall severity of the accident.   The way I look at it is, it's not what you drive, but how you use it. If you're a bad, aggressive, tailgating, speeding, weaving driver, then a bigger, heavier, sloppier handling vehicle will only exacerbate it. But it's still the driver. The only difference is that if you go zipping through traffic in a Yaris or Mini, cutting people off and encountering a bunch of near misses, you're just an annoyance. Do it in a big SUV or standard-sized pickup, and you're a bully. But it's still the DRIVER. The vehicle is just a tool.   Now, if you have a bad driver with a record, they should pay a surcharge regardless of vehicle. A smaller, lighter vehicle is more likely to get seriously damaged and easily totaled, while a bigger vehicle is more likely to inflict more damage. Either way, it's a liability for the insurance company. And the more powerful a vehicle is, regardless its size, the more potential there is for damage.

You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?