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Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own?

1161 messages,  Last post on May 14, 2013 at 1:36 PM

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Messages Page 1 of 116

#1 of 1161 Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own? by hpmctorque

Jan 29, 2009 (1:43 pm)

I don't know about you, but I'm apprehensive about the cars that Washington will require automakers to produce in the future. I'm concerned that mileage and emissions regulations may result in cars that are expensive to buy and, despite having great fuel economy, are expensive to own. For the auto industry, this could mean producing cars without the "gotta have it" factor that's critical for strong demand.
 
Hopefully, my concerns are misplaced, and the showrooms will be filled with very appealing cars cars, with outstanding fuel economy, that people are eager to buy.
 
Do you share my concerns, or do you have a "don't worry, be happy, everything will be all right" view of the automotive future?

#2 of 1161 Re: Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own? [hpmctorque] by larsb

Jan 29, 2009 (2:02 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 29, 2009 1:43 pm)
Exciting to Drive - probably not so much.
 
Enjoyable to Own - If you enjoy low fuel costs and the feeling that you are reducing your own carbon footprint, then yes.
 
The era of moving away from a fleet of primarily fossil-fuel burning autos was inevitable. It has begun.
 
Sooner the better if'n ya axe me.

#3 of 1161 Re: Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own? [hpmctorque] by fintail

Jan 29, 2009 (2:06 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 29, 2009 1:43 pm)
In the upcoming brave new world of centralized power and diminishing expectations, cars won't be exciting. Not that they can't be - socalled "green" technology can be used for some performance. But the sheeple will be told to desire transportation pods and little else, and a lot of people are secretly itching to do whatever they are told.
 
I think I'm going to convert my fintail to coal power to even things out a little

#4 of 1161 Re: Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own? [fintail] by fezo

Jan 29, 2009 (2:56 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Jan 29, 2009 2:06 pm)
Transportation pods? You been talking to lemko?

#5 of 1161 I agree with Fintail by boaz47

Jan 29, 2009 (4:20 pm)

We have been, and are being, moved towards point A to point B transportation. Cars like the Prius are touted as the future and the government and media supports that contention. You simply can't get any more vanilla than a Prius, Civic Hybrid, Camry Hybrid. The very image looks vanilla if you just close your eyes. But that being said, it looks like that is where we are going and I don't think it is very high on societies worry list. People are more concerned with where they are or where they want to be than how they get there. It isn't going to get any better.

#6 of 1161 Re: Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own? [fezo] by fintail

Jan 29, 2009 (5:21 pm)

Replying to: fezo (Jan 29, 2009 2:56 pm)
We do think alike in some ways....
 
The future will likely bring us vehicles for the masses like Nanos, Wildfires, G-Wiz, etc, all with electric or other alternative power, all limited to an emasculated nanny-imposed speed, all tracked 24/7 by a massive group of public sector observers to make sure nobody is doing anything wrong. A Prius will seem like an S-class in comparison, and a Camry Hybrid will be like a Rolls. Globalization, oh yeah!

#7 of 1161 I agree with Fintail (boaz47) by hpmctorque

Jan 29, 2009 (6:22 pm)

"You simply can't get any more vanilla than a Prius, Civic Hybrid, Camry Hybrid. The very image looks vanilla if you just close your eyes. But that being said, it looks like that is where we are going and I don't think it is very high on societies worry list."
 
Maybe, but shouldn't the auto industry worry about this? People don't trade their refrigerators or furnaces for new ones until they break, but most people trade their cars more frequently than the life expectancy of the vehicles. This despite the fact that cars are less of a status symbol for most people than in the '50s and '60s. If people come to regard cars purely as transportation appliances, sales will slump even more than recently, and remain on a permanently lower plateau.
 
Auto enthusiasts also have reason to be concerned with cars becoming appliance-like.

#8 of 1161 Re: I agree with Fintail (boaz47) [hpmctorque] by boaz47

Jan 29, 2009 (7:46 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 29, 2009 6:22 pm)
The Japanese have designed a system that allows for bland people movers with restrictions that make the consumer replace their vehicle far more often than we do already. In fact sometimes the consumer drives their old car to the recycling lot and parks it for them. Does Toyota or Honda or Suzuki care? Nope. Does it effect Japanese car sales? Nope.
 
Off topic but look at the American view of the future depicted in movies. There is no science to this but we see a future where everything is automated and the same or every thing is broken but the same.
 
We in this forum are a percentage of a percentage point when it comes to caring about what we drive and why. In the 70s to early 80s one of the most popular vehicles on the road was the Mini-van. In the mid 80s to the late 90s the SUV ruled the road. There was a time when 50 percent of all new vehicles sold in the US were either SUVs or Pickup trucks. The ford F-series was the best selling vehicle in the world and it was just about exclusively sold in the US. They sold more F- series trucks than Toyota and Honda combined sold Camrys and Accords. None of them were drivers cars and yet that is what people bought. People movers sell because people are less concerned with how they get somewhere than they are about getting there. Otherwise how would anyone explain a ugly car like the Prius even selling in the US?
 
Knowing this is what the public thinks about how they get places why should the auto manufacturers worry? To some it is depressing but it is more than likely a view of the future. Think with your head and not your heart and you will see the answer to the question in this forum. will enthusiasts be dissapointed? Sure but the public will never notice and the manufacturers are already impacted by the economy far more than all the enthusiasts in world could ever effect them. For a several billion dollar bailout they will make just what the government wants them to. Our new vehicles will be designed by committee and we will not be asked for our opinion.

#9 of 1161 Re: Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own? [fintail] by gagrice

Jan 29, 2009 (11:04 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Jan 29, 2009 2:06 pm)
I think I'm going to convert my fintail to coal power to even things out a little
 
I'm thinking a coal fired steam car would be good to drive through the eco terrorist neighborhoods. Or maybe an old diesel Frito Lay box van painted with all kinds of epitaphs denouncing the brave new World CA is trying to force on the citizens.

#10 of 1161 Re: I agree with (fintail) [boaz47] by hpmctorque

Jan 30, 2009 (6:34 am)

Replying to: boaz47 (Jan 29, 2009 7:46 pm)
To the extent that your perception of the future is correct, car sales will remain at reduced levels, because many people who are traded their cars frequently - to impress neighbors and friends, to live large, or to feel good - will tend to keep them until they wear out. Sure, sales will improve when credit becomes more available, but the "gotta have it" factor is what really hypes demand.

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