Those of us who are not working for an automaker or supplier to the industry think we know better than any of these people. We think we know how to improve upon a vehicle. The way it looks, operates, how some functions should work, how it should perform, and so forth.
What we saw were the results of these measures that shaped the automotive industry in North America in 1982. It wasn’t enough to build smaller passenger cars. There was something else that took place that also changed the way we looked at transportation – for both work and play.
Sure, you may think that certain cars should be removed off of the highway. I beg to differ. You see, there are situations in life where a small hatchback – around, say, 155 inches in length, would actually be a perfect vehicle.
This is an opinion that is rooted in fact. I had a chance to work with a couple of them over the past few years and have published my findings in a few outlets. What I discovered from the Eclipse Cross was a small SUV with driving manners that enthusiasts would enjoy and a strong driveline that punches above its weight.
That rented Outlander was the beginning of a story for a vehicle that had the right idea, yet they fell short of the expectations of consumers. In particular, those whose dollars are married to Toyota, Honda, and other high-volume brands.
There are now generations of Americans who have forgotten that there was a mighty production facility in their community. Though some of them have not seen the wrecking ball, others either resemble a lay of wasteland or have been built to unrecognizable specifications.
That is a 50-year old question that has scratched the heads of those of us who lament and laugh of these cars. In particular, how do we map the advent of a new class of American car to today’s automobiles?
In the meantime, the automotive retail business has been working overtime to reinvent itself. They are hungry for inventory, while production is ramping up under safer conditions along the assembly lines. Used cars are becoming scarce, with some auction facilities laying off personnel. However, the rental car companies are trying to reduce excess fleet in the pall of financial issues due to a reduction in travel.
The one factor that neither of us in the automotive media corps did not factor in was whether the Thai-assembled Mirage would hold up for more than 100,000 miles.
Translation: Japanese cars were thought of as cheap tin boxes that would never make it through a Minnesota winter. That was the mentality of the American consumer until the last couple of decades. It does help that several Japanese automakers set up shop building vehicles on our soil to change our collective minds.