Listen to “AAH #689 – What's Going Wrong with SUV and Pickup Sales?” on Spreaker.
Charlie Chesbrough is the Senior Economist with Cox Automotive and he has some surprising insights into the way the American car market is going. Compact cars and CUVs are pulling the market up, while big SUVs and pickups are trying to pull it down. Is this just a one-time blip or are we seeing fundamental changes in the market?
PANEL:
Charlie Chesbrough, Cox Automotive
Mike Colias, The Wall Street Journal
Gary Vasilash, shinymetalboxes.net
John McElroy, Autoline.tv
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Going from Camry 35 MPG to Prius hybrids, 52 MPG saved a car payment each year.
Going to a Sandy Munro recommended, PHEV, the BMW i3-REx was ‘training wheels’. It taught how bad CCS-1 chargers are. Worse, EV charging was 4x the cost of premium gas at 39 MPG. But around town it was brilliant and cheap, 113 MPGe.
Unfortunately, the second PHEV, a 2017 Prius Prime, was a disaster. It was traded in for a 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng Plus, 133 MPGe. But the BMW i3-REx had already taught how to drive the Tesla.
My 2019 Tesla Model 3 has 130,000 miles. The major maintenance costs are the ‘car parts’ like the suspension links and ordinary body scrapes. Replacing the OEM rims and tires with light weight rims and Bridgestone ECOPIA tires, I’m still on the Bridgestone set.
The Tesla battery has an expected 90% loss down from the original 240 mi range. The supercharger network growth and adding CCS-1 adapter has grown faster than the battery degradation. I still drive over 3 hours on a 100% charge but my old man bladder, I prefer 2.5 hour segments with a charge and pee break.
Both the Tesla and BMW get over $2.50-2.75 per 100 miles around town, not including the 15% free charging miles. On the highway, the Tesla costs $3.00-3.50 per 100 miles with cheaper costs by staying overnight at motels with free breakfasts and charging.
JOHN you have taught me so much for decades…thank you!
I just posted this on LinkedIN
Candidly, I think Ford Motor Company’s Jim Farley is smart to have restructured their company into 3 different segments and to concentrate on Ford Pro! Smart…
Just a note on EVs.
John, until we have a low cost nonpolluting and nonflammable fast charging battery, the current EVs that we have now from Tesla and others in my opinion are not very good for us all and the global environment. Yes, you can say they are saving gas for the consumers, but at what global health care and insurance costs increases in the future for us all?
Are future EV public consumers educated and aware by the EV industry about items like……
1) Battery fire – very toxic just as mining metals for battery construction.
2) The current tire materials composition and higher friction due to EV weight – increased cancer causing tire dust in the air??
3) Limited and slow charging infrastructure in the cities and outdated power grid, both generation and distribution to support charging.
4) Cost of owner ship and insurance as EV are much more expensive to repair after accidents.
5) Parking garages in the cities – will they get upgraded fire protection for parked EVs in them??
6) Road repair costs due to higher vehicle weights?
I think we should all be looking at the large global environmental picture then just never going again to the gas station before making an EV purchase. I can’t wait to see and hear the narrative in the planned new TV adverts for Tesla that are being consider by Musk to increase sales of the EVs they make.
It’s all about cost of ownership as inflation squeezes disposable income. I am a retired engineer who grew up a car guy. I am in the process of trading my 2014 jeep wrangler which I bought new for a used newer Jeep. I do not see the value in a new vehicle. My other vehicle is a 22 year old trilblazer which serves as my farm truck. It still runs great.
I live in the country and I don’t see the value yet in electric. I still see electric as “bleeding edge technology, it’s day is coming. I am not convinced that these new vehicles are going to have long term reliability. I do not see any new cars in my future, the value is not there. I can afford a new vehicle, the excitement is not there.
Your show is great, keep it up.