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December 14, 2009 - 12:01 am ET
If you want a vehicle that will hold its value, buy a big SUV rather than a small car, the experts at Kelley Blue Book say.
Automakers, under pressure to meet tighter fuel economy rules, are about to flood the market with so many small, fuel-efficient vehicles that the residuals of those vehicles will fall, predicts Eric Ibara, director of residual consulting for Kelley Blue Book.
Gasoline prices are expected to stabilize below $3.50 a gallon for the next three to five years, also lessening demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, Ibara says.
Kelley projects lower 2010 residual values for brands such as Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen than it did in 2009 because their lines include many small, fuel-efficient vehicles.
....Honda was Kelley Blue Book's No. 1 brand in its 2009 residual-value analysis with a projected residual of 44.5 percent after five years. But in Kelley's projections for 2010, Honda's projected residuals shed 6.5 percentage points, and the brand dipped to No. 3.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20091214/RETAIL04/312149975/1132
Poor old Honda. ;-)
So what about the "flood"of crappy pick-ups that are on the market right now? Why aren't their residuals impacted? The top two sellers even in this lousy market are still the F-150 and the Silverado/Sierra twins.
I don't know about those gas price predictions either. Gas never went below $2.90 in my area this year, even now in the low season and with oil down $10/bbl since summer. I laugh when I see those TV ads boasting that the Hemi in the Ram makes 20 mpg highway. What a joke (and not a good one).
But I will be surprised if Honda's residuals stay out of the #1 spot for very long. It IS true that for non-premium subcompacts, residual value isn't very good. Aveo and Yaris values drop like a rock.....
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Sounds like an attempt at second-line/vested interest marketing for SUV's, but maybe that's just me being cynical. We've had small, efficient(ish) cars here in Europe for years but they still hold value better than the big stuff; which is usually bought by companies, against tax, written down over 3 years and sold into the used-car market where they make brilliant buys for those wanting that sort of thing "on the cheap".
Once had a conversation with a colleague about this subject. I'd just changed my Skoda Fabia and he was changing his BMW 540i. His side of the debate went as follows :
"See, your little Skoda depreciated by just over 30% whilst my big Beemer only dropped by 25%. Ergo, my BMW was a better buy, financially". Invited him to do the most basic math; Skoda dropped 30% of £11k and his big BMW dropped 25% of £35k.........plus the difference in 3 years running costs of 1.9TDi vs 4.0 V8 gasser. His response ?
"Well, my BMW was a much nicer car than you crappy little Skoda".
Hard to argue with that sort of logic.
If residuals fall and used ones become cheap, fewer people buy new, and automakers reduce supply of new compacts.
Then the used values will go back up again.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Nippon, I'm in the Bay Area now too, but I haven't seen the Yaris values drop a lot here. As for the Aveo, well, 'value' is a realtive term, right?
23 Civic Type-R / 22 MDX Type-S / 21 Tesla Y LR / 03 Montero Ltd
an '04 Mazda3s has the same value as an '04 RX8 and '04 Mazda6s. Same thing with VW; an '04 Jetta GL is the same as an '04 Passat GL. Focus and Taurus are also the same. And an '04 Saturn Ion is actually work a few hundred more than an '04 L300.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
That just seems like a lot of money to me, for a 3 year old stripper economy car with 55K on it! For about $2400 more, they have this 2008 S model, with 16000 fewer miles. That extra price also gets you alloy wheels, automatic, power windows/locks, and cruise. But that's still a $12K car, and just seems like an awful lot of money for what it is. But, I imagine they're pricing them like this because there's a market for them!
23 Civic Type-R / 22 MDX Type-S / 21 Tesla Y LR / 03 Montero Ltd
Those Hyundai Elantras and Sonatas are definitely a lot of car for the money. They still seem to depreciate pretty quickly, even though Hyundai has a good quality reputation these days. So I guess that makes them a winner all over...cheap AND dependable! I would've considered checking out a used Sonata when I was on the car hunt. A couple months ago a friend of mine had a Kia Spectra for a rental while his '04 Crown Vic was in the shop. I rode around in it a little bit, and thought it was a respectable little car.
I like the Yaris, and love the 1st gen Fit, but they just don't pencil as a used buy...
23 Civic Type-R / 22 MDX Type-S / 21 Tesla Y LR / 03 Montero Ltd
:lemon:
Compared to a 1996 Honda Civic and 2001 Toyota Corolla we've owned, the Elantra is head and shoulders above both in terms of lack of problems, warranty recalls, and reliability. Frankly, I'm impressed with Hyundai, and I've had a great experience with our local dealer too which is icing on the cake.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Gee, you don't think a post from a Delhi member about a F-150 Supercab qualifies as subcompact talk? mmm, spam for breakfast.
Yeah, but by some standards (EPA, for instance), it IS a subcompact! But then, so are some Rolls Royce and Bentley models. :surprise:
BUT... trade-in is right around $10k on it, so $12k is actually a decent price. I just don't see how it makes sense from a buyer's perspective.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Most people bought the new ones but a couple bought used. Things are a little better now but still screwy.
Aston Martin reveals the Cygnet city-car concept
Today we're getting a first peek at the curious pairing of Aston Martin and Toyota with the release of official pictures of the Aston Martin Cygnet concept.
The car is being billed as a luxury commuter ride for urban areas. It's a Toyota iQ with a restyled front end with Aston Martin's styling cues.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20091216/CARNEWS/912169998
I DO think it looks better as an Aston than as a Toyota. :-P
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Ford bets customers will pay premium prices for the Fiesta
Ford Motor Co. will charge more than $23,000 for a fully loaded Fiesta, a new car smaller than the Focus.
..."The price is out there, and we already have 1,000 orders," said Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of global marketing. "Americans have shown us if we bring out aspirational products, not only will they pay the base price, but go up."
The 2011 Fiesta, which goes on sale in summer, starts at $13,995 including shipping for the four-door sedan. The base five-door Fiesta starts at $15,795. The Focus starts at $16,535 including shipping.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20091221/CARNEWS/912219994
I forget when they are going to dump the crap-ola current Focus for the one on the European platform - have they already done it? - but I am thinking the price will go up when they do.
In the meantime, if that $23K Fiesta is an RS with the luxury features offered in a Mini Cooper S, people might pay it. I would be hoping for an RS a little closer to the $20K price point, but then I have no desire for xenon headlights and in-dash NAV.
On the flip side, I bet that $14K base sedan will be pretty well stripped down, and that's a shame.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
the fiesta has a wheel/tire package that can add just under 2k to the price.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
it's the product the buyers are going to look at.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
At what point does the USA get the new euro Focus? Next generation?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
By the time it arrived here, it already looked old to me.
Another 2 years with this crapola Focus?! They need to get the Fiesta into dealerships SOON.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1c530a/341#MSG341
I do hope the idea succeeds, but let's see an update with a true manual trans and an engine tuned for cheap gas, please.
They will also scrap the wonderful interior of the European car, the one we have seen in pics.
Then they will put much of that stuff back (but not all aspects of that interior I so liked) on top-trim models priced over $20K. I guess Ford wants the Fiesta to be an Aveo as well as a Mini Cooper. That never works well, as you always end up getting some Aveo components in the car you spent Cooper money for if you go with the top trim.
The only good news is for automatic fans: a 6-speed automated manual as the transmission choice for those who don't shift for themselves, with an expected
EPA rating of 30/40. Honda had better make some improvements to the Fit, but quick!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Was reading today that even though European Fiestas get many features not considered typical for subcompacts in America, such as integrated blind spot mirrors, push-button start and "intelligent" access, moonroof, hands-free Sync, 4-inch on-dash LCD multi-display, USB jacks, and ambient lighting, the base Fiesta 'S' won't get any of it.
Nope, but the SE and SEL get it. Are you really complaining that a $14k car doesn't have a sunroof and pushbutton start? It will actually have an LCD display on the dash, because its integrated with the radio, like the Fit and Civic.
They will also scrap the wonderful interior of the European car, the one we have seen in pics.
Where did you find this out? As far as I can tell, its the same or very similar (color pallet changes).
The only good news is for automatic fans: a 6-speed automated manual as the transmission choice for those who don't shift for themselves, with an expected
EPA rating of 30/40.
There is no auto-manual provision to shift though, PRNDL and that is it. Its all about efficiency.
Link? So far, the photos of the US interior look very close to the Fiestas I saw in the UK last year...
23 Civic Type-R / 22 MDX Type-S / 21 Tesla Y LR / 03 Montero Ltd
I'm really complaining that they want to sell a $14K version. It should start with the SE, with SEL feature content, at $16K or so.
Don't have links, this was out of the February print edition of Motor Trend, which probably isn't on-line yet, but I will check anyway, just in case.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I wonder if they will manage 60 mpg with the hybrid Yaris. It's certainly small and light enough. Might give the new diesels a run for their money,will certainly give Honda a headache.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The Canadian press is still reporting that the iQ is coming to North America (maybe just Canada? Or maybe they are out of the loop?)
The Yaris in a hybrid flavor is good, but adding some iQs to the fleet would be fun too.
Here's the link.
23 Civic Type-R / 22 MDX Type-S / 21 Tesla Y LR / 03 Montero Ltd
A 5-door iQ ??? Where are they going to fit the rear doors ? On a trailer behind the car is my guess. And a sedan ? Please, God, no. :confuse:
As for Auto 'box options; my beloved's '06 Honda Jazz, (Fit), has a 7-spd CVT transmission with the option of full-auto or steering-wheel mounted flappy paddle "manual" shifting. As far as I know, same 'box is still an option on the current Jazz here in EU. My wife never uses the "manual" option but I do, if I can sneak the keys away unchallenged. Good fun but the 1.4 engine tones down the fun compared to my Geartronic D5 Volvo.