The Automobile Industry Is Not Exempt From Following Fads
By definition fads and trends appear and vanish, and seem to affect all walks of life, including the automobile industry. Check out all the changes that have happened over the past decade in the car market. If you completed a test drive, back in 2002, of a plain-Jane Nissan Altima, you were probably surprised at the speed being greater than expected.
The 240 hp engine increased the speeds substantially from what there was during the 90s. It did not end there either, since today the Volkswagen Passat, a family car, comes with 280 horsepower under the bonnet. At $30,000 you can get yourself a little Mitsubishi designed to embarass a Camaro with its performance. Packing a mean 500 horsepower does not elevate a car such as the Dodge Viper to beyond ordinary today. You may not be a speed freak, but there are basically no cars anymore that are really underpowered. Vehicles are continuing to get bigger, as each redesign seems to be bigger than the one before. The current Honda Civics are bigger than the older Accords, and the new Toyota Rav4 is longer than its predecessor by all of 14 inches.
No one wants to pay more for their new car, but buy one that's the same size or smaller. If it's likely to cost more, then it needs to be not only better but also bigger. Bigger, unfortunately, comes packaged with heavier, however the car makers will not stop because of that, as long as consumers keep buying. Seems like driving slower automobiles is not an acceptable option, despite car owners in America wanting to spend less on gas. They are still more than willing to pay a premium price, and wait in line to get a hybrid from Toyota Prius. Even though Corollas stay without a buyer in sight in the same dealer's showroom. To compete, all automakers are bringing hybrids to the marketplace, even those like Nissan Altima, which is using a system developed by Toyota, a competitor.
Shoppers of today want style and flair, and gone is the plain styling so common in the 90s. Power steering, automatic windows, airbags and impressive sound systems as being standard options are now par for the course. These have a price, which probably is the reason for the $28,000 price tag of the average new car. However sales of SUV's are generally drying up, which could indicate a return to saner days, with smaller cars, and perhaps simpler. It had been a trend that has possibly run its course, as the bigger the SUV, the farther down the sales have dropped. Sales of the Ford Explorer and Expedition are minimal, despite the fact that sales of little cars are getting better all the time, even the Sentra and the Neon.
Automakers must go with the times and move away from the stereotype of big and fast. We're also at the beginning of the hybrid era now, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out. It's going to be fun to look back in ten years time, and see all the crazy fads that came and went.