https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ld-2025-12-15/

If these companies would have focused on making affordable EV’s instead of behomeths that are pretty expensive for the working folk, they wouldn’t be in this mess.

 

I remember seeing the Mach-E GT in my dealership one day when I was in there, I kind of liked the look of it for the inside and exterior, as soon as I seen the price tag I never thought about it again.

 

The Big Three (not so big as they once were) have been famous for investing heavily into new platforms, only to mothball them a few years later. It is a constant theme with those three companies. Other companies like Toyota and Honda tend to stick with their platforms and make improvements incrementally over time that leads to high quality and reliability in certain models, you don't get that nearly as much with other companies. There is something to be said about that approach. VW used to be like Honda and Toyota to some degree, but the management approach at VW has changed drastically in recent years and they are being taken down the same road as the US three it seems.

 

Well playing devil's advocate, all of these companies had phased out their cheap models, and sedans because nobody was buying them. If it was going to be affordable, and not a hatchback or sedan, it was going to be a crossover. Then it was going to have to compete with the Model y, especially on price, and you can see how that worked out for the Mach E. I don't agree with the thinking but I suppose they thought they needed a niche that was not being covered by Tesla, and that the domestic base were a bunch of yahoos that want big.

In fairness to them, there was an administration that was threatening them with the forced extinction of gas engines and they were worried they would be out in the cold if they did not do it, because they polling and sales figures were clearly showing adoption would be slow and interest was weak. We were going the planned economy and incentive route instead of just letting the consumer choose. I still think EV's will win the day but not until solid state or some kind of battery is super cheap, 400+ mile range, and compact/light weight. We still need more charging stations and electrical power, but the jillionaires have their eyes on taking the power first for skynet.

 

^Honestly people stopped buying smaller more affordable cars because low interest rates, and long loan periods, made (nicer) used vehicles more attractive. People never stopped buying less expensive vehicles, but they just shifted to purchasing preowned vehicles instead of "cheap" new cars. And then interest rates went up and bombed that entire system. I'm not sure who is to blame for that situation - automakers to a degree maybe as they all are heavily involved in the financing business.

 

While I think a lot of that is true, I think automakers have made the decision that small profit margin vehicles were not worth their time. Ford got a ton of deposits and interest in strippo Mavericks and 4 banger stick shift Broncos, only to delay, limited supply, and cancel the cheapest models to force buyers to buy loaded, higher profit ones. Tesla has played that game until now when their sales have slowed they introduce some lower content models. I think the Slate pickup will be interesting to watch and see if it kicks off some competition to market affordable cars.

I know Toyota and Honda have always had Civics and Corollas, but I have no idea if they limited the base model production in favor of higher trims. I only know when it comes time and my wife wants a new car we go to the Honda dealer and they tell us they are all sold before they hit the shore and nothing to test drive so she buys a Mazda 3. The Honda and Toyota dealer make it pretty clear up front they control the price negotiation, meaning there won't be any.

 

”Nissan Versa sales saw a significant surge in 2024, with U.S. annual sales reaching approximately 42,590 units, a massive increase (over 70%) from 2023, driven by high demand for affordable small cars and strong performance in Q4. Sales grew throughout the year, with a particularly strong Q4 (over 13,000 units) and Year-to-Date (YTD) figures showing strong growth compared to the previous year, despite overall trends away from sedans.”

That’s just a quote from AI when I googled what the sales for the Versa for last year was. I also looked up sales on the Honda Fit, before it was axed. You have to remember that manus want to make more expensive models because the profit margins are larger. You cannot put it all down to “people weren’t buying them.” Manus love to dictate which models are available, etc. Marketing, and profit margins. Most people are sheep anyway. They’ll buy consumer products based purely on advertising and what the herd is doing. And yes, the manus try to force you into higher trims with a bunch of shit you don’t want, and make it impossible to get a base model. Bring on the Slate.

Ford took it upon themselves to make $80k, $100k EV trucks and such. Now they are taking it up the ass in billion dollar losses. Manus need to wake up on EV’s. You need to make affordable versions. Making expensive EV’s, heavy also, overcomplicated with modcons, is why they are losing billions. The “administration” did not have a gun to their head either. Nobody was forcing them to do anything. That’s another cop out. I know because Toyota hasn’t made a 100% EV until now. Toyota was smart, focused on hybrids and took a conservative approach despite which administration was in power. See how Toyota isn’t taking it up the poop chute like Ford is, financially.

 

They all jumped on the EV bandwagon because of the promise of high margin. There is a reason why there have been so many upstarts within the EV space vs the ICE space- it's a ton harder to build from scratch an ICE. It's very similar to building a mechanical watch vs. a quartz one.

Enthusiasts and really anyone that could see through the greeny propaganda around EVs, which we can say now that they've all turned against their Lord Elon, knew that this was not a viable option without a major shift in our society like what happened in places like Denmark. But Denmark doesn't have the practical challenges as many other major urban centers throughout the world.

So this comes to the surprise of no one.

Also, the lack of sales of affordable cars isn't because people don't want them, it's that people don't want what Ford and Chevy were offering. Civics and the archaic Corolla still sell very well, the domestic brands just refuse to do anything about it. In a lot of ways, you can almost feel Ford shifting/focusing on pickups, because they used to dominate the SUV sector, which I'm sure they're still doing well in based on sales data, but for most people when they think SUV, the Explorer doesn't have the same draw that it used to.

The lack of foresight in alot of these companies is pretty laughable considering that the people running these companies are supposed to be the brightest and best of us all, and not nepo babies who frat bros got in the right room. I say this because they thought the spending frenzy that happened post pandemic would continue, especially in market segments not dominated by the ultra rich. So if you're selling VW Tiguans as opposed to Porsche GT3RSs, yeah those higher prices will not be tolerated.

It has to be said that people want to buy new like they always had, and if given a good option they will buy it.

 

That's a great point. Easy to forget that the domestics have historically sucked at building quality (and desirable) small cars. Ironically only Chrysler has had any recent (historically speaking) success with the Neon and then the PT Cruiser. Ford's Fusion was a very competitive sedan in the segment, but Ford being Ford got lazy and never updated it (the final generation) and then canceled it due to (predictably) sales decline.

 

And even then, the Neon only sold because it was vastly cheaper than a Civic, and sitting in one really reminded you. Frankly, it was for folks that like the idea of a Civic but could not see themselves buying an import, which at the time was becoming less of a thing. And what did Chrysler do to all those PT Cruiser fans? Axe it and prematurely ended production on parts ahead of the mandated 10 year schedule. It's really laughable how poorly these companies are ran.

Ford axes all cars only keeping trucks and SUVs, meanwhile there's a resurgence in sedan demand as the younger generation prefers them as they look less like Ubers, especially if you get them in sportier trims. And I'm seriously talking about cars like the Camry. Imagine if this generation had the plethora of options we had growing up.

I always found this interesting, companies grow being avante garde, offering options, etc, and then when they get grown, they then stop doing that. Reason being is because they're all just investors, not managers/innovators/leaders. Investors take risks as they grow their wealth, and once they get there they want to preserve the wealth. Running a company is different, because you can't redistribute investments, your eggs are in that one basket, and that basket needs to thrive.

It's why private equity firms almost always kill the companies they acquire, their business approach is so rudimentary, reinforced by success that was bequeathed and not earned. Raise prices lower costs. Marketing? March to the trends with a celebrity.

But to be fair, what did kill alot of small cars like the Honda Fit for instance is that for not much more you could get something like an HRV. But tastes seem to be shifting, there's a desirability now in getting a vehicle with proportions that are significantly different from every jelly bean CUV on the road.