Comment Re:Abandonment of small and entry-level car market (Score 1) 304
I think that you missed what the GP was going on about:
Many people in the USA are "brand loyal". IE as long as their first vehicle and the maker treat them decently enough, they'll go back to them for their next car. For example, me and Toyota. Though in my case it's less that I'm brand loyal (I do look at other maker's cars when I shop), and more that Toyota produces vehicles in the price range and feature set I'm looking for.
So if somebody wants a small new car, to use your mentioning it, they go with Honda, because GM/Ford and such just aren't in that segment anymore. Then, when they want to trade up to a crossover SUV, their first stop is likely going to be the Honda dealership, and that might be their last stop. So Honda picked up a future sale because they got the first sale.
That's what sphealey was talking about, I think. It's not that small cars aren't being produced at all, it's that manufacturers who don't make one might find themselves losing sales because people go for the brands that DO make them, because they're a lot of people's first new vehicle.
You basically implied that the used car market can satisfy those currently buying NEW cars (young consumers) even if the car companies stop making them, which caused me to simply point out that if no new cars are made, the used car market will eventually lack them as well.
Even if, due to economics, most young purchasers go for a used car, if their criteria is "car" and not "SUV/Truck", and GM/Ford aren't making them, then they end up in a used Honda, and again, it's to the Honda dealership they'll go when they decide to trade up to a new car. That means a vehicle GM/Ford isn't getting to sell, which is trouble for them.