People say this, and I wish they could get one if they want it, but the sales figures don’t back it up. People buying new cars weren’t buying the base trims with no frills. The XLT outsells the XL on the F150, the EX-L outsells the LX on the CR-V. Even the Versa, which used to be the cheapest car, they started making fewer S trims because people didn’t buy them.
That's because people with less money aren't buying new cars. Because new cars are unaffordable. If they were affordable, then more regular folks would be buying them and they would be buying the base models too.
And because of what dealers tend to stock on the lot. That was a problem with manual transmission trucks actually. The dealers point to a low percentage wanting them, but a low percentage wanting them was because they didn’t wanna wait. Two fucking months. many years ago I waited that two months. I got one of the best trucks ever built. they had to bring it in from out of state and there was a wasp nest in the fender well when they gave it to me, lol
When OPEC did their first oil embargo back in the 1970s, everybody wanted great gas mileage. Well, the only manufacturers making great gas mileage cars at the time were offshore, primarily Japan. Manufacturers ramped up production but nothing near enough to meet demand. You couldn't order a car, just had to shop from whatever came in.
Sooooo, in order to make more money off fewer cars, dealers gut-stuffed every import with every option they could.
And Detroit started making The Crappiest Cars Ever. They rusted away because thin metal is lighter. Aluminum engines. Electric windows became the norm because crank assemblies are heavier. Most car shows don't have many 1973 to around 1990 models. They were weak bodied and mechanically undependable. We drove late 60s early 70s GM models until the early 2000s. Dependable, gas was 99 cents a gallon, could pick 'em up for a couple hundred dollars. Junkyards were full of 'em, so parts were never a bother.
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u/freetotebag 9h ago
People say this, and I wish they could get one if they want it, but the sales figures don’t back it up. People buying new cars weren’t buying the base trims with no frills. The XLT outsells the XL on the F150, the EX-L outsells the LX on the CR-V. Even the Versa, which used to be the cheapest car, they started making fewer S trims because people didn’t buy them.