Beentherefixedthat wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
Veebyes wrote:
Are the people smaller in the rest of the world so they fit in smaller cars easier?
Thy buy smaller because big brother says they will penalize those that don't.
They buy smaller cars because they are more fuel efficient in countries where gasoline is $4-$7 per Gallon. They are also cheaper to buy initially.
As for "Big Brother". In China the best selling car for years was the biggest Buick made (and it was made in a factory in China) And Ford Motor is looking at a very big new Lincoln Continental for sale in China. In actual terms Big Brothers don't all have the same agenda.
There is also the widespread belief that Japanese and Korean cars are more reliable than US made ones. Thus the Toyota (any Toyota) is the most favored car in Thailand and Cambodia and in many many other countries.
Simplistic ideas of what motivates people are rarely accurate.
The fuel price is just the club used in Europe to force people to buy small cars. You are making a totally unsubstantiated claim that people "want" fuel efficient cars. They want cars they can afford and the govt has tried to make larger cars unaffordable.
The China example is outdated and misleading. It was from back before China went capitalist and the only people who could get cars were wealthy party officials...they weren't paying so it didn't matter what the price of fuel was. Current sales are heavily skewed toward tiny cars because you have people making $8-10k/yr wanting to buy cars.
Speaking of Thailand and the original comment about are people smaller...just went there last October and yes, they are smaller. I felt like a giant walking around Bangkok. Also there average income is around $400USD per month...back when we were living in a house and commuting, we spent that much just on gas...we have no idea if they "want" a Buick. The issue is they can't afford a Buick.