With economy down, will people skip eco-friendly for cheap?

[jbernie]

With economy down, will people skip eco-friendly for cheap?

People will buy whatever they can afford to drive. A 10 year old SUV which costs next to nothing to own will potentially be cheaper long term than a quality new fuel efficent car.

Even is gas is $x, if i save $y thousand dollars on the purchase then I can get a lot of gas at $x before i lose money over all.

Well at least that it the way a lot of people will view it.... assuming they can even get approved for credit etc to buy any vehicle in the first place.

[Stéphane Dumas]

It might look cheap but I think then the Dacia/Renault Logan/Nissan Aprio if it was sold in Canada and the US could be a huge hit here.

[LAMRONH]

Originally Posted by osv_alero

I just don't see how going to electric vehicles will be an answer at this point. "Poor" people will continue to need low cost transportation. By the time any "electric" vehicle becomes cheap enough for the poor the batteries will be useless. This will keep the 3rd world countries and the "poor" in the industrialized nations using the same oil that we need to get away from. Drilling our own reserves won't cut it and neither will drilling for more in another country.

We need to put more effort and energy to Cellulosic & Algae Ethanol to make sure everyone all financial classes are covered.

What will/do people with little money buy in the US?
prius @ $25,000 - No
civic @ $18,000 - No
Volt @ $40,000 - No
Aveo / Kia @ $10,000 - Yes
$2000 junker car - Yes

At this point a $10,000 used hybrid or electric car is out of the question. In all this great thought about going green (and my wife and I do MORE than our part in this area), we have forgotten that the majority of the world can't "afford" it.

God made mules for folks who can finally afford a 15-year-old electric car.
Better yet, get a buckboard. They're a lot lighter, and have fewer electrical problems.

Even if you have plenty of money, you still reach a point of diminishing returns once you get into the 30-something MPG range.
A 10 MPG increase from 10 to 20 MPG, is 100%.
A 10 MPG increase from 20 to 30 MPG, is 50%.
A 10 MPG increase from 30 to 40 MPG, is 33%.
A 10 MPG increase from 40 to 50 MPG, is 25%.
A 10 MPG increase from 50 to 60 MPG, is 20%.

We paid about 12 grand for our new KIA Spectra. At 29-39 MPG, is it a better buy than a 22 grand Pious at 39-49 MPG?
For those of use who don't go to Hollywood movie openings or algore the-sky-is-falling rallies, yes.

Originally Posted by jbernie

People will buy whatever they can afford to drive. A 10 year old SUV which costs next to nothing to own will potentially be cheaper long term than a quality new fuel efficent car.

Even is gas is $x, if i save $y thousand dollars on the purchase then I can get a lot of gas at $x before i lose money over all.

Well at least that it the way a lot of people will view it.... assuming they can even get approved for credit etc to buy any vehicle in the first place.

Indeed, say 8 grand for a lightly-used soccermobile that gets 15 MPG vs 24 grand for a Pious that gets 45, it will take a while to burn through 16 thousand in gas money. Plus you can hit your walker friends up for gas dough, too.

[hotrod1949]

Originally Posted by Ming

Except that for the imports, heavy investment in small, efficient engines is nothing new, so I assume you are speaking for the Big 3.

I was, the Detroit3 must learn to profit from their small cars, and quality and content will mean they can't chase the Asian manufacturers.

[F14CRAZY]

You can get a '72-76 Eldorado, with the 500 ci/8.2 V8, for considerably less than a Prius

[AMERICA 123]

Originally Posted by osv_alero

With the ability to convert trash into fuel with a HUGE reduction in CO2 (in some cases having C02 get reduced) and the ability to use algae fuel, I don't see the big rush to get rid of the combustion engine. Converting this country to earth friendly power for our cars is going to be more difficult, more expensive and in some cases not as positive for the environment.

Driving a Suburban using a combustible engine that powers on Algae power or "trash" power has less "negative" earth impact than building a nuclear power plant, coal plant, oil plant, etc. to supply a bunch of Volts.

Cheaper all the way around as well. Somehow affordability just took more preeminence.

[big swede]

The economy is at the very early stages of what will be a depression. No one will call it that just like when everyone tried to deny we were in a recession for months after it was obvious that's exactly what we were in.

With that said, oil prices will only have a small effect on our car purchases over the next 5+ years. With the amount of pork that was added to the 700 billion dollar bailout and BOTH candidates not having the balls to stand up and state exactly who is adding to our problems and instead supporting such disgusting behavior it's obvious neither of these clowns have any idea how serious our situation really is.

Forget oil, the lack of jobs and run away inflation will force people into cheaper and cheaper cars. If every manufacturer isn't rushing to bring their cheapest cars to market they are going to be in big trouble. Actually the big 3 are all in big trouble because they just don't have the cash to weather this ominous storm that is clearly on the horizon and the cheap cars that are going to be so prevalent in the next 5+ years are not going to help them much because they don't have enough profit built into them.

[hotrod1949]

Originally Posted by big swede

The economy is at the very early stages of what will be a depression. No one will call it that just like when everyone tried to deny we were in a recession for months after it was obvious that's exactly what we were in.

With that said, oil prices will only have a small effect on our car purchases over the next 5+ years. With the amount of pork that was added to the 700 billion dollar bailout and BOTH candidates not having the balls to stand up and state exactly who is adding to our problems and instead supporting such disgusting behavior it's obvious neither of these clowns have any idea how serious our situation really is.

Forget oil, the lack of jobs and run away inflation will force people into cheaper and cheaper cars. If every manufacturer isn't rushing to bring their cheapest cars to market they are going to be in big trouble. Actually the big 3 are all in big trouble because they just don't have the cash to weather this ominous storm that is clearly on the horizon and the cheap cars that are going to be so prevalent in the next 5+ years are not going to help them much because they don't have enough profit built into them.

Free Trade doesn't work,globalization doesn't work, except for the few. Build the barriers, man the blockades, and the middle class will do just fine. Morals need to be brought back into the equation, and regulation is required, because money is a drug, and those addicted will do anything to get more Need should be met, greed should be beat.