Comment by cyanydeez
5 days ago
It's techcrunch. The angle of software-everything has to be there.
Why honda is killing EVs is directly related to just how damn cheap Chinese EVs have become and how stupid Americans are when it comes to EV efficiency. Who the hell wants large vehicles for EV when the best solutions are small efficient vehicles with long drive times.
Americans distort the market and margins, and Honda was never in the large SUV game.
Americans in most of their country are besieged by massive SUVs and pickups.
Driving a tiny little Japanese/Chinese import in, say, Oklahoma is asking to get literally run over.
I get the trucks and SUV's where you need them. I live in a rural area and without ground clearance and 4x4, I literally wouldn't be able to visit my parents. But my daily driver is a Honda Civic. Because 75% of my driving is done on paved roads that are well maintained (except in the winter).
What kills me are the MASSIVE vehicles in the suburbs though. Why do you need a 3 ton suburban to drive around 2 kids on very clear, very well maintained streets? Why would you buy a 4x4 truck when the most off road you'll do is driving over wet leaves on your cul-de-sac in the fall?
CAFE regs made USian hugecars relatively profitable, and car makers got USians to demand them via savvy marketing. That's what I reckon anyway.
7 replies →
> Why do you need a 3 ton suburban to drive around 2 kids on very clear, very well maintained streets?
Safety.
I’m expecting and looking to get a full size SUV instead of the current crossover I drive.
It will be a pain to park in some areas/situations, but the safety it provides to the child is much more important to me.
Modern (suburb) SUV's spectacularly suck at most tasks, you have been falsely advertised to.
A 2010 Toyota Corolla is most likely a better offroader, a 1.8t VW Passat is a better tow truck.
If not for the tax benefit these SUV's enjoy they are useless.
Towing a boat or camper is quite common - not gonna get a second vehicle just for that.
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I've got a Mazda 3 and I don't worry about SUVs or trucks running over me. Drive sober and watch the road, don't use your phone. Do this and you reduce your risk of an accident by something absurd like 1000x.
The reason people love massive vehicles is because they're shitty drivers, they know they're shitty drivers, and they have no intention of changing. They want to text while driving and they want it to be the vehicle's responsibility to keep them alive when they go off the road or get run over by a train, or drift into the opposing lane. Keep your eyes peeled for these morons, keep your head on a swivel. If you're attentive you're already in the 90% percentile. Paying attention is better safety than even a seat belt.
I love minding my own business and not having to worry about driving through narrow roads, etc. People definitely drive SUVs so they can try not to care about other people.
I don't disagree with your first statement but there is a huge range of cars in the Japanese market. They make the Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol after all, smaller by American standards but the biggest cars most other countries will see.
> Honda was never in the large SUV game.
(The Honda Pilot and Honda Passport stare at you, with deep resentment)