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It's a tough market for mid-size cars, but not a tough market for the Accord.
Yeah right IN MEXICO, of course. As long as Ford (and the other 'American' Cos.) continue to put real Americans on the the unemployment line they will play hell getting any of my dollars.
Last time I checked Louisville, KY and Avon Lake, OH were in the United States. But don't let the facts stop your biased tirades.
Prius is not midsize on the inside or the outside. Here are inside measurements of width:
Front Shoulder Room 55 in.
Rear Shoulder Room 52.9 in..
Front Hip Room 51 in.
Rear Hip Room 51.6 in.
Here they are for the barely midsize Mazda6:
Front Shoulder Room 55.9 in.
Rear Shoulder Room 55.2 in..
Front Hip Room 54.7 in.
Rear Hip Room 54.1 in.
More empty space above your head, under the windshield, and wherever else the Prius has added volume over actual midsize cars, does not make a narrow car midsize, no matter what EPA classifications may say about it.
The inside and outside dimensions of the Prius are similar to other compacts, such as Corolla, Civic, Jetta.
But it has always had more bang for your buck vs. Camry and Accord, since the current model Sonata debuted a few years ago. That doesn't explain the current increase. The upgrades to the interior does (I'd look a lot harder at it now than I did back in '05 when I decided on my Accord).
Your continual company shill lines get very tiring and then you accuse me of not having my facts straight? :mad:
You also conveniently forget that Ford moved Focus production OUT of Mexico and BACK to the U.S. exclusively back in 2005. It works both ways.
One reason they build vehicles in Mexico is because they can be exported to Latin and South America without tariffs or restrictions.
Don't gripe about the Fiesta not being built in the U.S. while the Fit, Yaris, Versa and almost all other B cars are also imported. I'm tired of seeing Ford get bashed while the imports get a free pass for doing the SAME THING.
But if width is important, then I guess the Elantra is definitely mid-sized. It is within fractions of an inch of the width inside of the Mazda6. Plus the Elantra has more front leg room than the Mazda6.
If you really need those extra inches of steel and plastic outside to call your car "mid-sized", go ahead. To me, it's what's inside that counts.
I was offered one at invoice. Decided the more than $5k savings for a similarly equipped Sonata was a much better deal. Not to mention I perfer the Sonata's driveability over the Accord's.
Just because Toyota is selling x number of its Camry units, doens't mean this segment is too easy for them. This is probably the toughest segment of all, especially now since every brand is likely putting their best efforts into their midsize product. Also, all midsize sedans are benefiting to some degree consumers trading down to a fuel efficient car from mostly SUVs.
It certainly is an important factor, not the only factor. A car that is about 3 inches narrower inside, for most of the interior width meassurements, than the Mazda6 (which many call cramped) is not a midsize.
But if width is important, then I guess the Elantra is definitely mid-sized.
Ah, but don't forget that the outgoing Mazda6 is called "cramped" by many.
Edmunds classifies both the Elantra and the Prius as compacts. I tend to agree with their opinion on this. Maybe you'd like to try convincing them that the Elantra is misclassified, despite it's "compact" exterior dimensions.
what you just said is just your opinion! If that was a fact it wouldn't matter whatsoever what the exterior looked like, a box for example, and that is simply not the case. Length of the car and it's wheelbase have a definite effect on how a car rides. Small cars ride choppier than bigger cars. I'm not saying they ride badly but they do ride different. They might scoot and park easily but I don't think that is what the majority of midsized buyers are looking for IMO.
BTW, tall people usually have wide wing spans so to speak and appreciate elbowroom as well as headroom.
I don't appreciate the UAW all that much but unions were formed in this country for good reasons. They just got corrupted like many companies before and since. Remember it was the car company management that entered into the pension/retiree healthcare agreements with the unions. Why? Because they were making so much money that they believed it didn't matter and never would. Very short sighted I say.
It takes two to tango and it's all coming back to bite them all in the butts.
I do agree that the interior dimensions, for most people, do have a more important role to play overall though.
Now that's funny.
Another plus for a fairly "tall" car, interior-wise, is that it usually means the seats are fairly high, which makes entry/exit easier, and makes the rear seat more comfortable (providing good thigh support, which is often lacking even in mid-sized sedans).
A wide car is useful if you need to carry three adults in back on a regular basis. Since I don't, other measurements are more important to me. A wider car means to me that it's harder to fit in my garage, and harder to fit the car into parking ramp spaces that seem to be growing smaller every year. The real downer is a fairly wide car w/o folding mirrors, e.g. Fulan and Sonata.
I think to be classified midsize, one thing a car should be able to do is fit 3 normal width butts in the back seat, on occassion. My Mazda6 can just do that and it is at least tolerable for a trip of a couple hours, in my wife's Jetta you need a shoe horn and then the bodies are kind of over-lapping. The extra ~3 inches make all the difference.
I'm no fan of super-wde cars, either. Elantra, on paper (I've never been in the current one), looks like it is quite spacious for it's size. The Prius, otoh, is just another compact...that is not to say that it might not be more spacious than some other compacts.
Passenger volume does not even tell the whole story on how a car feels when you sit in it. In 2005, when we compared the Volvo S40 to the new Jetta, the Jetta felt much more spacious. Yet EPA reports 92 cf passenger space for the S40 and 91 for the Jetta.
The bigger issue is that a car that cannot handle 3 people comfortably is somehow classified midsize. Mid to me means 3 people should be reasonable. While large would obviously hold 3 people well. A prius does not do this. So it's a faux mid.
The advantages of being exterior being wide or not do not apply in this discussion. It's about how legit the interior mid-size classification is for a prius. And it's quite clearly bs.
Everyone has different needs. As I said, if someone really needs room for 3 adults in back on a regular basis, interior width is a big deal. It's just not a big deal for me. I can't remember the last time I needed to carry 3 adults in the back seat. What is a big deal for me is having enough leg room in back for a couple of tall teens (over 6') and a really small, slender girl. They fit just fine in a Prius (I know because we all took one for a long drive once) and even in a Gen 3 Elantra (my current daily driver). So in other words, I need a car with "mid-sized" leg and head room, but I can take "compact" sized width. How do we classify that kind of car? I see interior volume as being just as good as any other way to do that. Certainly if we judge only by exterior size, I have no idea whether everyone will fit inside. And if we judge by width, I have no idea whether there's enough leg room, or headroom.
Maybe what I am talking about is not compact-sized or mid-sized, but "right-sized".
2007 Global Auto sales
2007 Global Sales Rankings
1. Toyota 9,366,000
2. GM 8,902,252
3. Volkswagen 6,191,618,
4. Ford 5,964,000
5. Hyundai-Kia 3,961,629
6. Honda 3,831,000
7. Nissan 3,675,574
8. PSA/Peugeot 3,428,400
9. Chrysler 2,676,268
10. Fiat 2,620,864
FWIW, last month, Hyundai/Kia outsold Nissan/Infiniti in the US for the first time (78,325 vs. 75,847).