Survey: Customers Regret Buying Small Cars

The Pittsburg Post-Gazette (link) has an interesting article about sagging demand for small cars in the face of cheaper gas. AutoPacific did a study that asked buyers of small cars what they thought of their purchase, and unsurprisingly (to me), many indicated they'd rather go large next time.

"This is buyer's remorse," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, "What they said in the study is they want a bigger car. They bought a fuel efficient car, but now they're saying, 'It does what I want, but it doesn't have what I want. It doesn't have the features, the power, the room, and next time I'll opt for a bigger car.' "

In the AutoPacific study, based on more than 32,000 new car and light truck buyers in the United States, 30 percent said they wanted more power than they have in their current small car, 25 percent wanted more cargo room, 18 percent want more room in general, and 25 percent want more technology. In addition, 22 percent wanted a softer ride, and 18 percent wanted more safety.

In general, I think the auto companies expect that gas will be more expensive in the longer term, and with the 35.5mpg CAFE standards coming for 2016, will be pushing small cars more aggressively than ever.

What this research tells us is that in order to have satisfied small customers, carmakers need to offer cars that are comfortable, have good cargo space, good acceleration, and lots of gadgets. In other words, well equipped smaller cars. Which is exactly what the carmakers are working on.

Over the next few years, we will be seeing mainstream European style small cars in this country, such as the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt, Ford Fiesta and Focus, Fiat 500. These will be fun to drive, solidly built, and well equipped.

And, in a departure from what most consumers are used to, the new crop of small cars will not be cheap. We can expect to be seeing $20,000 price stickers for our "econoboxes" in the future.

Honda Crosstour?

I haven't digested all of its stats and photos yet, but from what I see so far, the Honda Crosstour looks like an answer to a question no one asked: "Can you make a cheaper copy of the BMW X6?". To me, the Crosstour looks like a big compromise. I also hope it looks better in person than in the photos, because the photos show me a whole lot of ugly.

Image courtesy of Edmunds

Edmunds has some photos and commentary here.

GM Sort Of Leaving RenCen?

According to a story in the Detroit News (here), GM is considering moving many employees out of downtown Detroit's only modern high-rise, the Renaissance Center, to fill in the empty offices in Warren, where many of the designers and engineers sit.  GM tried to sell the RenCen and then rent it back recently, but couldn't find a buyer.  And Warren's mayor recently campaigned to have GM move its headquarters entirely back to Warren. 

It's bad for Detroit, which is already teetering on insolvency, but GM has to look out for GM.  If Warren is better for cash flow, then Warren should win.

How A V6 Beats A V8

Q: How does a V6 out-run a V8 with more displacement?

A: On a high altitude hill climb where the V6 has twin-turbos compressing the intake air, while the V8's run at effectively 60% of their displacement.

Still, it is sort of neat to see a V6 from Ford spank a Maserati at something.  Link: http://www.6versus8.com/showdown/intro/index.html

Seat Ibiza most unreliable supermini (UK)

The Honda Jazz is the most reliable supermini on sale, while an incredible 48% of Seat Ibizas suffer faults, according to Warranty Direct. Warranty Direct based its findings on the results of its 50,000 UK policies that cover cars between the ages of 4-7 years old. The firm discovered that just 10% of Jazzes suffered a problem.

In second place was the Toyota's Yaris (13% incident of fault) followed by the Ford Fiesta, with 17% of all cars covered by the warranty provider suffering a failure.

Worst for reliability was the Seat Ibiza with 48% suffering a fault, 40% of which was suspension related. The Spanish car maker has yet to issue a statement but has already responded by carrying out an investigation into the warranty firm's claims. An insider has said that close attention will be paid to the sample size of the study.

As well as listing the average failure rate, Warranty Direct also listed the average cost of repair for a failure as being £208.99 in the supermini class. The third place Fiesta did well, costing less than half the average to fix at just £91.

Volvo C30 & C70 facelift pricing announced (UK)

Volvo has announced the new C30 range will kick off from £14,495 for the 1.6S - £1,000 cheaper than the '09 MY C30 entry-level 1.6 S, while the convertible C70 starts from £25,995 - with a £700 increase excluding the flagship model. The 1.6 SE and 1.6 R-Design have gone up by £750 to £16,245, the mid-ranking 2.0D SE has increased by £515 to 18,095 and the range-topping T5 R-Design now costs £20,235 - a £250 increase.

The C30 will be available in either S, SE, SE Lux and R-Design trims with the choice of six engines, including the efficient 108bhp 1.6 litre diesel that, thanks to the firm's DRIVe technology and the addition of stop/start, emits 99g/km CO2. Entry-level S trim includes electronic climate control, leather steering wheel & gearknob and alloy wheels.

The bigger C70 is available in just the S, SE and SE Lux trims with the choice of two diesels and two petrols. The base S comes with climate control, 16" wheels, cruise control and a premium sound system.

The £700 increase takes the cost of the entry-level 2.0D S to £25,995 and the best-selling D5 SE to £29,995. The price of the range-topping diesel D5 SE Lux Premium has increased by only £50, while the T5 SE Lux Premium is now £33,595 - £280 cheaper than the '09 MY C70.

Both revised Volvos go on sale in January 2010.

2010 Vauxhall/Opel Meriva shows suicide doors

Spy photographers where in two different places in Germany to get you the best spy pictures yet of the new Vauxhall/Opel Meriva. The photos show the newcomers innovative rear-hinged rear doors and overall design. Previous cars had false rear door handles, extensive disguising around the 3/4 window, front & rear lights and bodywork and 5-spoke alloy wheels.

The new compact MPV is an all-new design, and these pictures, taken in Germany, show the car takes styling cues from both the Insignia and new Astra, whilst staying to true to concept, introduced in 2008 at the Geneva motorshow.

These pictures clearly show the wide-opening rear-hinged doors, without the flunky door handles previewed on earlier mules & prototypes. The car's flexibility is also reported to have been improved by a redesigned monorail system for the rear seats that allows them to be folded away entirely or slide back and forth independently for better leg room or luggage room.

Russelsheim designers have also worked hard to eliminate the Meriva’s often-criticised blind spot at the base of the windscreen pillar and have included stepped rear-side windows to allow children a better view. The new Meriva has a longer wheelbase and wider track than its predecessor, as well as a longer front overhang for better crash protection. The newcomer should measure around 4.1 metres long.

Engines will be taken from the new Astra. Two 1.4s & 1.6s will be available including the new 138bhp turbo petrol with 147lb ft of torque for the former. The latter will get a new turbocharged engine. Three diesel engines will be available – a 1.3, a 1.7 and a 2.0 litre, all featuring common-rail fuel injection. EcoFlex models will join the line-up after launch. Due to slow sales, there will be no sporty VXR/OPC variant.

Before the Vauxhall/Opel Meriva is expected to be launched at the Geneva motorshow in March 2010, engineers will take pre-production prototypes to Scandinavia for final cold-weather testing, Austria for engine testing and the UK for some chassis tuning, before going on sale in during Summer 2010.

Meriva Concept: