ITT, we celebrate the economic crisis.

[Tornado]

I know what you are thinking: Celebrate companies like GM and Chrysler potentially going out of business? Celebrate doom and gloom of people losing their jobs and homes? Celebrate the ownership of America by the Chinese?

Yes. We celebrate all of that. Because all of those problems were totally worth it. Do you wanna know why?

This complete piece of...wonderful engineering excellence? Not getting replaced. Can I hear a round of applause for the good folks at AIG?

In fact, the economic crisis has been the result of a lot of awful ideas not coming to fruition.
You know that 2+2 S2000 replacement? Killed by the housing market. Hilarious front engine NSX? Ditto. What about that awful Pontiac...er, BMW Homage concept? Hoist by the same petard. How about the actual Pontiac Stupid Truck (alternatively, STupid)? Death by headshot. All we need now is for it to kill the X5M & X6M (hopefully that nasty Aston SUV as well) and we'd be set.

 

[bergauk]

But I actually like the FJ Cruiser. Theres one at the end of my street in Plum Purple with Black steelies. Its beautiful. One of the few SUV's I'd consider buying if I had the money for it.

 

[Azuremen]

The irony is the FJ Cruiser actually out does Jeeps and such at off roading because of its superior engineering.

 

[homeforsummer]

But I actually like the FJ Cruiser. Theres one at the end of my street in Plum Purple with Black steelies. Its beautiful. One of the few SUV's I'd consider buying if I had the money for it.

I quite like them too. There are thousands of the things in Dubai and they fit in brilliantly there. Some of the new colours for them (cream, sand, that purple you mention) look fantastic.

The irony is the FJ Cruiser actually out does Jeeps and such at off roading because of its superior engineering.

As mentioned, people in the UAE love them for this very purpose, and because when you brush the sand off them they look cool cruising along too. And because it's based on a Prado/Landcruiser, it'll never break down. The V6 even sounds pretty good with the pseudo-sporty exhaust they put on them.

Re: the economic crisis - I think the main reason we can all celebrate is because it's killed the value of second-hand cars, making previously slightly too expensive cars come within reach. A year and a half ago there was no way I'd be able to afford some of the cars I'm looking at now unless they were in very poor condition. And they're so cheap at the moment that they probably won't even depreciate over the next three or four years if you keep them in good nick (I can definitely see that being the case for the BMW Compacts and MX5s that I'm looking at).

 

[Jim Prower]

Can the FJ out do it's 4-Runner Stablemate, though?

I'll be honest, Toyota cutting any fat they have will be good for them. They've grown a Mercedes-like amount of excess.

 

[Jondot]

Re: the economic crisis - I think the main reason we can all celebrate is because it's killed the value of second-hand cars, making previously slightly too expensive cars come within reach.

It's killed the value of everything. A few months ago, my sister walked into a Nissan dealer and got over 1/3 (i.e £5k) off a new Micra C+C purely because she was paying with cash. Admittedly it's a slow selling car, and she bought it in the middle of November... but still.

What's strange is that I thought it'd kill off 0% financing completely, and it just hasn't. In fact I think there are more manufacturers doing it now than there were before! I don't think a single Vauxhall salesman has ever uttered the words 'interest free' before, for example, but now they seem to be more than happy to do it (and chuck in some cheesey '5% back to the customer' haggle-removal offer while they're at it).

I quite like this scrappage allowance thing too. It'll presumably mean that every Citroen Saxo that hasn't already been crashed by a 17 year old into a Threshers will probably be traded in and crushed. Less lowered chavmobiles with drainpipe exhausts and Halfords stereos can't be a bad thing, can it?

...except that won't happen, because nobody that owns a 10 year old car buys a brand new replacement anyway. *Sigh*

 

[Keef]

The irony is the FJ Cruiser actually out does Jeeps and such at off roading because of its superior engineering.

And the irony of that is that nobody serious about offroading would ever buy a new truck to go hardcore offroading. Instead, they'd buy something 20 years old, say, a Jeep. Or maybe the original FJ. Those trucks just keep on truckin. The new Jeeps will, too, but not that new FJ.

I agree with Philly on most of these things. There were a lot of stupid ideas out there. Hopefully some more die off here soon.

 

[homeforsummer]

Can the FJ out do it's 4-Runner Stablemate, though?

Who cares? The 4-Runner is dull as ditchwater. And is it just me or is the FJ incredibly cheap, for what it is? Surely it doesn't even cost that much more than the RAV4?

...except that won't happen, because nobody that owns a 10 year old car buys a brand new replacement anyway. *Sigh*

Well, quite. I don't whore my blog often on this site (save for the link in my sig) but as I mention in my latest post, I fail to see quite how the £2k cashback scheme will have much impact on anything at all, save for putting people into more debt as they realise that even with £2k and some of their own savings in their pocket, they still won't have enough to own even a remotely decent car whatsoever so end up taking out a loan or financing to make up the difference.

I saw an advert for a Fiat Panda tonight - quite impressive offering a Panda for £4995 with this £2k discount - but if you own a £2k car (or one worth even less, but you'll receive £2k for it regardless), what exactly is the likelihood you're able to afford the £5k necessary to buy that Panda, without financing?

Unfortunately I fear the scrappage scheme is identical to many offered by the UK government - impressive in theory, hopeless in practice.

 

[YSSMAN]

Unfortunately I fear the scrappage scheme is identical to many offered by the UK government - impressive in theory, hopeless in practice.

Is it a trade-in of any car, or are there certain requirements? Here in the US, for example, it has to be a car that averages 18 MPG or less based on EPA figures, and then you have to get a car with a 4 MPG increase ($3500) or 10 MPG increase ($4500) to get the cash toward the new vehicle.

I could see that doing a lot of good here, particularly for the American cars with their increasing fuel economy figures... As a lot of the cars effected in that group would be of American origin to begin with, most of their owners likely American-loyal as it is.

=-=-=-=

RE: Killing Off "Bad Ideas"

I guess it depends. This whole ordeal has destroyed the possibility of having Pontiac as the Holden operation in the US, likely with a wealth of affordable RWD performance cars. I'd call that a fairly substantial loss.

As for the rest, perhaps it will teach everyone to get a bit more creative with their lineups, and ultimately diversify the product lines to stay "safe" with new sales.

 

[homeforsummer]

Is it a trade-in of any car, or are there certain requirements? Here in the US, for example, it has to be a car that averages 18 MPG or less based on EPA figures, and then you have to get a car with a 4 MPG increase ($3500) or 10 MPG increase ($4500) to get the cash toward the new vehicle.

The trade-in has to be over ten years old and you have to have owned it, in your name, for the past 12 months at the least (stops people buying bangers the day before just to get the 2 grand discount). The new car has to be brand new, unregistered. Not nearly new, not a year old, not brand new but registered.

And it won't work. As mentioned in my blog, even the cheapest new car on sale (Perodua Nippa - basically a re-badged old Daihatsu Cuore) would still leave you with a £2500 deficit to somehow fill, and I suspect most people would fill that by taking out £2500. And I very much doubt that people will all be buying the cheapest new car on sale too. That Fiat Panda would leave a £5000 deficit, and it just goes up and up from there. Unless you were already in the market for buying a new car and financially secure enough to finance the car without causing lots of problems for yourself, it's not going to help most people in the slightest.

If someone gave me £2k for my Fiesta I'd be over the moon, but then I'd only have a maximum of £500 on top of that to afford a car with - and that ain't gonna get me a brand new car. I suspect I'm not the only person in that position. People drive older cars because it's all they can afford.

 

[eiriksmil]

Yssman, I actually thought of this the other day, long before I saw this thread.. I live in a pretty expensive area, walked past this house looking really quality the other day. Three-four years ago there would've been a Range Rover, Hummer or X5 outside (I bet it was too) as a status symbol. Instead an electric car is parked there. The economic crisis and the focus on the environment and pollution are not just making it politically incorrect to drive a SUV, but it's now considered status to drive small cars. You really don't have to go back more than four years to remember the real Hummer wave. I never see them anymore. It's not just the car makers that are forced into making smaller and cheaper cars, but the people want it too - especially the ones wanting to be in front of everyone else.

Yeah, I know Hollywood has been driving Priuses for a couple of years, I just tell what I see. Norway's a little behind I guess

 

[neanderthal]

The old GM would have dived 1000% (yes thousand. Witness thier proliferation of SUVs and trucks just 3 years ago) into this green thing then been overtaken by the next fad. Wonder how the current GM will conduct itself