They should just treat the little cars like side by sides, which are road legal around these parts (they are not legal on the interstates). I don't think that I'd buy one of the cars, but I'd buy a manual Hilux Champ in a heartbeat.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I don't think that I'd buy one of the cars, but I'd buy a manual Hilux Champ in a heartbeat.

Same. A small truck that's very reasonably priced that I can actually offroad with, yes. A shoebox with a motor, no.

Lots of use for one, in the right town.

We are probably moving, but if we were staying in the part of Charleston we now live in, it would make a lot of sense for a second car.

Probably a good second car in a lot of places, if it’s just for driving to groceries, etc. (basically a golf cart with roll bars/at least I’d add them.)

Some of these would make a decent first car for a kid as well. Our high school is just 2 miles from our house & we have most of everything around our area.
My daughter is convinced she's getting my Fiesta when she turns 16 in 1.5yrs. I figure having to work a clutch and shifter will keep her hands off her phone while driving.

Anybody remember the Volkswagen Rabbit? They had the two door car and the little truck. With a diesel four banger they did 50 mpg. Their 4 cylinder gas did almost the same.
A very practical second car for the young family. Mom, the kid in the back seat, groceries in the hatch. Simple, boxy, dependable.
The truck was a truck, but obviously wouldn’t carry much. A few bags of concrete and you’re done.
They were a good idea then, would make sense now.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
IMO a cheap, simple, efficient little ICE car makes a whole lot more sense than an expensive hybrid or EV if you're really looking to save money.

I have a cheap, simple, efficient EV car that makes a lot of sense and I’ve been driving for a daily driver for 12 years straight. I charge it for almost nothing, next to free, off the 35 panels on top of my house.

As long as it’s a small car, efficient, and low in cost, it makes sense. It doesn’t have to be limited to ICE. I paid $19,700 all in for my DD. In today’s money that is cheap AF.

How much was your solar setup? Electricity costs here are insane, but our weather makes solar unviable for most of the year. We haven't seen the sun in a couple of weeks, and there's currently between 8-12" of snow on the ground.

I'd be alright with a budget EV if I could make it financially advantageous. Unfortunately many of them are so loaded with tech that they're just as expensive as other cars, and you can't work on them without access to their proprietary software (getting to be a big problem with new ICE cars, too). Used EVs also scare me due to the potential for having to replace a really expensive battery. My FIL made a good living refurbing Prius batteries for a while, but even he admits that what I'm doing is simpler and cheaper.

We bought our Mazda 3 used 5 years ago for $4k and have put over 120k miles on it at this point with maybe $1K in parts over that time span (I do my own work). It's going to be hard to realize that kind of return with anything on the market these days.

I'm not a rich guy. Closer to poor, actually. Trying to provide for a wife and 4 kids on a single income. We don't do new cars. We buy used ones, and as basic and simple as possible. But thanks to a combination of the libtards' stupid policies and the American consumer's obsession with unnecessary gadgetry, those criteria are getting harder and harder to meet.

The cheap used market is going to be shit for the foreseeable future. But legalizing small economical cars like Trump is suggesting could turn that around.

quote:

Originally posted by dan03833:
I've had the discussion about the production of cheaper cars. Basic standard government required stuff. Hand crank windows, no AC, basic radio, keyed ignition, no fob, manual seats, etc, etc. I wonder how well such a car/truck would sell.

A lot of people will say that is exactly what they are looking for and no one will buy one.

I don't want a car that little. I just want a car without so much needless complication.

Probably the worst thing they are doing is making components and systems too interconnected. You might not think, for example, a backup camera or radio going bad would disable a car, but like a bad bulb in a string of Christmas tree lights taking out the whole string, they can and do. There would be a lot less need for the backup camera if you could see out the back of the car in the first place.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by dan03833:
I've had the discussion about the production of cheaper cars. Basic standard government required stuff. Hand crank windows, no AC, basic radio, keyed ignition, no fob, manual seats, etc, etc. I wonder how well such a car/truck would sell.

A lot of people will say that is exactly what they are looking for and no one will buy one.

True. I like most modern refinements, I just don't think it should nearly require a mortgage.

I bought myself a new vehicle after almost twenty years of driving a mid-90s truck. It isn't fully loaded or super modified, but it still feels like living in the future after driving it for a year now.

Then again, I haven't enjoyed driving in decades. I'm over it and would rather just beam back and forth if it were possible, so if I gotta drive I want it to be comfy.