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The Cars Spotted Appreciation Thread



S-JM

ClioSport Club Member
  A4
Fairly mundane but I passed a Dacia Spring in traffic this morning, had to look twice as it was between a truck and an SUV and couldn't believe how dinky it looked, bet they'll sell quite well given the price etc.

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massiveCoRbyn

ClioSport Club Member
  Several
Looks alright, but wish we could ditch this silly trend of trying to make everything look like an SUV. It would look 100% better if the ride height was more sensible.
 

massiveCoRbyn

ClioSport Club Member
  Several
It’s what people buy though! That’s what car manufacturers do, produce stuff that the general money paying public want to buy!

That's absolutely true....to an extent. Obviously demand for faux-SUVs has exploded over the last decade-or-so, but I do think a little caution is required. After all, Ford told us that demand had dropped for the Fiesta because people were buying the Puma, but what was really happening was that, with the production challenges during Covid, Ford basically stopped producing the Fiesta, so customers who wanted a Ford could basically have a Puma or nothing. They weren't the only ones either. I went into a Mazda dealer here in Jeddah a couple of years ago to enquire about an MX-5 and the salesman told me they'd had orders from above that they basically weren't allowed to submit orders for anything other than SUVs and crossovers.

It makes absolute sense of course, as these types of cars allow manufacturers to charge more for what is basically the same thing, but it's still not cool and, let's face it, most of these crossover things are utter, utter gash.
 

RustyMojo

Bon Jovi Officianado
ClioSport Club Member
That's absolutely true....to an extent. Obviously demand for faux-SUVs has exploded over the last decade-or-so, but I do think a little caution is required. After all, Ford told us that demand had dropped for the Fiesta because people were buying the Puma, but what was really happening was that, with the production challenges during Covid, Ford basically stopped producing the Fiesta, so customers who wanted a Ford could basically have a Puma or nothing. They weren't the only ones either. I went into a Mazda dealer here in Jeddah a couple of years ago to enquire about an MX-5 and the salesman told me they'd had orders from above that they basically weren't allowed to submit orders for anything other than SUVs and crossovers.

It makes absolute sense of course, as these types of cars allow manufacturers to charge more for what is basically the same thing, but it's still not cool and, let's face it, most of these crossover things are utter, utter gash.
Because a dealer in Jeddah tells you that doesn’t mean it’s true! 😂 it’s a bit more complicated than that. Cross platform is obviously the way OEM’s are going but that’s all down to having to save costs. If the demand was there for cross platform non “SUVS” then that’s what they would produce. Thats not to say you are wrong about how they look. But being on this forum alone would suggest you are into cars and as such not cut from the same cloth as most of the car buying public. There is still absolutely demand for small traditional hatchbacks, much like there is for traditional saloons, coupes and estates. But not to anything like the point it was historically. If there was genuine demand and margin to be made I can guarantee you a car manufacturer would try and fill it. They know their customers pretty well, they spend just as much researching their markets as they do developing the blooming cars it would seem. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, I’m with you in terms of the car looks. But I work with loads of them and that’s basically where it’s at.
 

massiveCoRbyn

ClioSport Club Member
  Several
Because a dealer in Jeddah tells you that doesn’t mean it’s true! 😂 it’s a bit more complicated than that. Cross platform is obviously the way OEM’s are going but that’s all down to having to save costs. If the demand was there for cross platform non “SUVS” then that’s what they would produce. Thats not to say you are wrong about how they look. But being on this forum alone would suggest you are into cars and as such not cut from the same cloth as most of the car buying public. There is still absolutely demand for small traditional hatchbacks, much like there is for traditional saloons, coupes and estates. But not to anything like the point it was historically. If there was genuine demand and margin to be made I can guarantee you a car manufacturer would try and fill it. They know their customers pretty well, they spend just as much researching their markets as they do developing the blooming cars it would seem. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, I’m with you in terms of the car looks. But I work with loads of them and that’s basically where it’s at.

I've worked with them too. Manufacturers might spend huge chunks on market research, but that doesn't mean they always make good decisions. Remember Ford's Vignale idea a few years ago? Infiniti arriving in the UK and quickly disappearing again?

Don't get me wrong, there is obviously big demand for SUV-styled cars, but there's also a bit of screwing around going on too, not to mention big variation across different markets.

Crossovers do well in the UK, but I recall it's the Dacia Sandero thats the best seller in Europe, with the Clio, Corsa, 208 and Yaris all in the top ten
 

RustyMojo

Bon Jovi Officianado
ClioSport Club Member
I've worked with them too. Manufacturers might spend huge chunks on market research, but that doesn't mean they always make good decisions. Remember Ford's Vignale idea a few years ago? Infiniti arriving in the UK and quickly disappearing again?

Don't get me wrong, there is obviously big demand for SUV-styled cars, but there's also a bit of screwing around going on too, not to mention big variation across different markets.

Crossovers do well in the UK, but I recall it's the Dacia Sandero thats the best seller in Europe, with the Clio, Corsa, 208 and Yaris all in the top ten
So there you go… you’ve named 4 cars already available in that segment. It’s not like they’ve disappeared. It’s just the margins poor and the market is over crowded. What did you do with OEMs out of interest?
 

R3k1355

ClioSport Club Member
I've worked with them too. Manufacturers might spend huge chunks on market research, but that doesn't mean they always make good decisions. Remember Ford's Vignale idea a few years ago? Infiniti arriving in the UK and quickly disappearing again?

Don't get me wrong, there is obviously big demand for SUV-styled cars, but there's also a bit of screwing around going on too, not to mention big variation across different markets.

Crossovers do well in the UK, but I recall it's the Dacia Sandero thats the best seller in Europe, with the Clio, Corsa, 208 and Yaris all in the top ten

Mitsubishi made a load of crossover SUV things, couldn't sell a f**king thing here.
 

Nickw88

ClioSport Club Member
  BMW F82 M4
Saw a red and gold Ferrari SF90 today, unfortunately no picture. Very strange to see it trying to find a space at the nearby shopping centre though. The spaces are so tight there that I hate parking my car let alone something of that value…
If I had one, I’d definitely be using my daily for a trip to Merry Hill!
 

ForceIndia

ClioSport Club Member
  Gentlemans spec 200
Saw a red and gold Ferrari SF90 today, unfortunately no picture. Very strange to see it trying to find a space at the nearby shopping centre though. The spaces are so tight there that I hate parking my car let alone something of that value…
If I had one, I’d definitely be using my daily for a trip to Merry Hill!
I wouldn’t take a Fiesta to merry hill 😂
 


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