Anthony Grove’s Post

In Fast Company, I wrote about the demise of the Chevy Malibu and the reasons why Detroit is turning its back on the American sedan. Ford, GM, and Stellantis no longer offer a single such model to American car buyers. Automakers claim that consumers simply prefer bigger cars. It’s true that SUVs and pickups now comprise 80%+ of the US car market, but the invisible hand alone didn’t create that outcome. Federal policy incentivizes big cars in myriad ways, and consumers may buy larger models simply to avoid being at a disadvantage on the road (a classic prisoner’s dilemma). Although SUVs and trucks are more profitable than smaller vehicles, Detroit is putting itself in a vulnerable position by refusing to offer any small, affordable models at all. As Alex Roy noted, automakers are now vulnerable to a shift in policy or consumer preferences. And with the cost of car ownership skyrocketing, cash-strapped consumers may swap a second or third vehicle for an e-bike or golf cart. Detroit apparently thinks that the demise of the sedan is to its advantage. Me, I’m not so sure.

It will be interesting to see whether this strategic choice pays off or leaves legacy American automakers vulnerable to increasing competition from OEMs based in China, who are already offering far more affordable sedans and SUVs in EMEA and APAC.

As mentioned in the article mid size and compact SUV, as well as trucks and large SUV are cash cows for the OEM’s. Also, the market saturation may be 80% for these vehicle platforms, but, it would be an interesting analysis to see what the results would be if there were more affordable small and midsize American sedans and coupes to choose from. If you look at the current auto loan interest rates and the larger vehicle incentives I believe that the 80% noted of new vehicle sales is derived from higher income families. I’m willing to bet the average family that makes up the majority of population cannot afford these SUV and trucks, unless they are leased and that payment is still a struggle for the average family. What is the used auto market look like and what is the ratio of sedans to the comparble SUV and trucks I wonder.

Interesting read.

The Malaise Era - The New Chevrolet Caprice and Impala for 1977 Yes, it was an era of downsizing. The 1971 to 1976 GM B-bodies as they were called (Chevrolet Caprice/Impala, Oldsmobile Delta 88, Pontiac Bonneville/Catalina, Buick LeSabre) went on a diet for 1977. Losing some 800 pounds of mass and 10 inches of length, these vehicles were about 20% lighter and shorter than their predecessors. The reason? Well, until the 1973 oil embargo when gasoline became super expensive, a vehicle that was longer-wider-lower was what people wanted. I remember these pre-1977 beasts and my parents certainly drove these mammoth vehicles. Then along came the magic year of 1976 when GM unveiled its downsized 1977 models. I'm not sure that that term "downsized" was used prior to 1977 but at any rate, the vehicle lineup for GM's new full sized vehicles flew off the shelves like no one anticipated. Each of these vehicles was a sales hit! The one that we'll focus on in this post is the Chevrolet series. The Caprice in full trim was one luxurious car indeed. I applaud Chevrolet for making the powerplant lineup so that everyone had a choice. If you wanted pure lackluster economy, you had a 250 CID 1-barrel inline-6-cylinder. One step up was a 305 CID 2-barrel V8 and finally, if you wanted all the horsepower, you ordered the 350 CID 4-barrel V8 boasting 170 horsepower (which was a lot back then). 0 to 60 performance and G-force on turns actually beat the performance imports from Europe! You have to love the GM marketing in the day, promoting an "F-41" suspension option that made the car handle quite well. The Caprice model alone sold nearly 2.9MM copies from 1977 through 1990, the end of the run. Shown below is a well-equipped model in bright red, circa 1977.

How 6.4L Hemis Differ In Cars Vs Trucks: … medium duty and heavy-duty trucks had several differences to … more valuable metric to most truck owners than sheer performance. … also the Cummins-powered Ram trucks. Related Chrysler has been … Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico. Ram trucks and Dodge and Jeep SUVs … #truck #trucks #cars

David Zipper for Fast Company: Detroit killed the sedan. We may all live to regret it. Last week, General Motors announced that it would end production of the Chevrolet Malibu, which the company first introduced in 1964. Although not exactly a head turner (the Malibu was “so uncool, it was cool,” declared the New York Times), the sedan has become an American fixture, even an icon, appearing in classic films like Say Anything and Pulp Fiction. Over the past 60 years, GM produced some 10 million of them. With a price starting at a (relatively) affordable $25,100, Malibu sales exceeded 130,000 vehicles last year, a 13% annual increase and enough to rank as the #3 Chevy model, behind only the Silverado and the Equinox. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep the car off GM’s chopping block. The company says that the last Malibu will roll out of its Kansas City, KS, factory this November; the plant will then be retooled to produce the new Chevy Bolt, an electric crossover SUV. With the Malibu’s demise, GM will no longer sell any affordable sedans in the U.S. In that regard, it will have plenty of company. Ford stopped producing sedans for the U.S. market in 2018. And it was Sergio Marchionne, the former head of Stellantis, who triggered the headlong retreat in 2016 when he declared that Dodge and Chrysler would stop making sedans. (Tesla, meanwhile, offers two sedans: the Model 3 and Model S.) As recently as 2009, U.S. passenger cars (including sedans and a plunging number of station wagons) outsold light trucks (SUVs, pickups, and minivans), but today they’re less then 20% of new car purchases. The death of the Malibu is confirmation, if anyone still needs it, that the Big Three are done building sedans. That decision is bad news for road users, the environment, and budget-conscious consumers—and it may ultimately come around to bite Detroit. https://buff.ly/3WKR0me

Need Auto Leads? Text CBT to 21002 \ Flathead-Powered Ford Roadster by VooDoo Larry Kustoms: This ’30s Ford was built by Larry Grobe of VooDoo Larry Kustoms. The car is built around a ’32 frame with a Brookville roadster body, and power comes from a flathead V8 sourced from a ’49 Ford linked to a 350 Turbo automatic and a Winters quick-change rear end. It rides on a modified suspension with products from Speedway Motors, a dropped axle, and rear coilovers, front brakes sourced from a ’39 Lincoln, and ’39 Dodge front wheels. Other details include an aluminum radiator, a Duvall windshield, E&J headlights, a ’50s sprint car steering wheel, a custom exhaust system, a Gennie shifter, and more as described below. Acquired by the current owner in 2022, this Ford hot rod is now offered on dealer consignment with handwritten build notes and a clean Illinois title. http://dlvr.it/TFlbZw For Leads Visit: CarsBuyText.com #carsforsale #carsbuytext #autoleads

Txt LDS to 21002 Junkyard Gem: 1987 Dodge Ram 50 with V8 swap: View the 21 images of this gallery on the original article Chrysler did very well selling Mitsubishi Forte pickups with Plymouth and Dodge badging in the United States, even after Mitsubishi began moving the same trucks out of their own American dealerships in 1982. The 1987 Ram 50 2WD short bed weighed in at just over 2,500 pounds, so it was reasonably perky with its 2.0-liter G63B four-banger making 90 horsepower… but there's no replacement for displacement!  At some point along the line, a Chrysler small-block V8 engine found its way into the engine compartment of this truck, now residing in a car graveyard in Sparks, Nevada. This was the cheapest new Dodge-branded pickup Americans could buy as a 1987 model, though it had to compete with its near-identical Mitsubishi Mighty Max twin for sales. The 1980s were great times for little pickups in the United States, but a desire for bigger cabs and more creature comforts doomed them by the dawn of the following decade. The most interesting thing about this engine swap is that it didn't involve a Chevrolet or Ford small-block V8. Both the Chevy small-block and Ford Windsor V8s are a few inches narrower than the Chrysler LA-series V8, which makes them easier to stuff into a small vehicle. It appears that engine length was the critical dimension in this case, since the Mopar seems to have had enough side-to-side clearance to avoid any slicing of Mitsubishi steel to make it fit. My guess is that whoever did the swap happened to have the engine handy and that's why it's here. Keeping it all Dodge might have been a factor in the decision as well, though the truck's Mitsubishi ancestry makes that unlikely. It was over 100°F out when I found this truck, so I wasn't motivated to check block casting numbers to determine exactly which LA engine we're dealing with here. The easiest LAs to get cheap for the last four or so decades have been the 318 (5.1-liter) and the 360 (5.8-liter), so one of those two is the most likely candidate here. Power levels for these engines got pretty dismal during the Malaise Era, but anyone with the wrenching skills to do this swap would have applied some basic power-enhancing wizardry before the engine went in. We can see there's an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, and you might as well stab in a better camshaft if you're upgrading the intake. How much power? With a four-barrel carburetor on a dual-plane intake plus a meaner cam, 300 to 350 horsepower is easily achieved with one of these engines, even with stock exhaust manifolds. There's no way even a low-profile air cleaner would have cleared the hood, so a hole had to be cut and a scoop added. That took away from the sleeper aspect of this truck, but it… http://dlvr.it/TDV9Yd www.CarsBuyText.com #cartalk #Cars #carsofinstagram

Automotive history is fascinating to me, and we can learn so much from exploring it. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with 94 year old Chevrolet engineer, Walt Banacki, and talk about his favorite vehicle projects while at GM. This article speaks to the 1984 Corvette, but other related articles are linked within this one. https://lnkd.in/g-AFZDZu