World's Cheapest Car comes to US

[Locke357]

I think I'd still rather stick with my tiny Japanese car. It's not quite that tiny, but it's definitely tiny. XD (And it gets around 30-35 mpg, which isn't so bad for it being 18 years old).

Japanese cars are much better manufactured than American cars, and will last you much longer, smart choice. My folks had a Honda that lasted them for 20 years ^_^

[PhycoKrusk]

Japanese cars are much better manufactured than American cars, and will last you much longer, smart choice. My folks had a Honda that lasted them for 20 years ^_^

They are also heavily subsidized by the Japanese government, which is why they are better manufactured often for a lower price; it is almost impossible for Japanese automakers to take a loss on their products.

[Ashpool]

I think I'd still rather stick with my tiny Japanese car. It's not quite that tiny, but it's definitely tiny. XD (And it gets around 30-35 mpg, which isn't so bad for it being 18 years old).

Japanese cars are much better manufactured than American cars, and will last you much longer, smart choice. My folks had a Honda that lasted them for 20 years ^_^

Agreed. I <3 Hondas. My parents have a Civic Hybrid that they put 150 thousand miles on in under five years, and it still rides almost like it's new. Of course, my dad is obsessively careful about that car, and I'm sure that has something to do with it, but I find it amazing that the thing has held up that well to the amount of driving they do in it. If I can get my CRX to do half as well I'll be happy.

[avwolf]

You could have a different car for that, but you could use this car for other single travel. With the price and how much you'd save on gas, it would save a heck of a lot of money in the long run.

Not enough to pay for itself. Cars are not an investment, they're a rapidly depreciating expense. Gas is simply not expensive enough to recoup an eight thousand dollar expense. I mean, that's part of my justification for my motorcycle, but if I'm honest, it's mostly because "I wanted one" and "they look cool." It'd take an awful lot of driving to recoup the expense. For a bachelor like me, it's just within the realm of possibility. For someone in Wynni's position, it wouldn't be worth it. Some folks with long commutes might find it handy (if you were buying a car for the commute anyway, why not), but it's simply not a good fit for most American driving. It doesn't really have anything to do with "big car syndrome." As epion pointed out, the way that the roads are set up here in America are not particularly friendly to a car driven by a glorified lawnmower engine. Generally you can get by, but there's always going to be a situation where you need to be able to have some get-up-and-go. When you can't even reach the speed limit, you don't have any of that.

And that's on top of the amount of cargo space that we demand from our vehicles. This isn't about the Hummer status-symbol eyesores on the road, it's about how pretty much everybody packs their car, van, or truck as full as it can get with stuff. I really don't expect it to do very well. The other miniature cars that have reached our import market are toys for the urban very rich; status symbols of their own. If it can't fulfill needs, it won't be purchased. And if you think it's got a market for college kids or high schoolers, you're fooling yourself again, as I don't believe it's got enough perception of safety to make parents (let alone the drivers) happy. Perception of safety (whether it's actually there or not) is vital for a vehicle. We like having big, steel boxes because they make us feel safer on the roads. When you're having your kid driving? Well, there's a reason there's still a market for those enormous Buicks.