I believe “downsizing” is actually a misconception.

The current 3-series is the same size as the previous generation 5-series.

People aren’t getting smaller cars, the cars are actually growing and people are just buying a new one that is the same size as whatever they just got rid of.

there’s probably some truth to that, but i’m guessing recent economic forces are a bigger factor in the short term…these number suggest rapid and recent change…model bloat is typically on a longer time scale…

I’m not buying any of that conspicuous consumption crap… ‘oh, I wouldn’t want to do anything that might make the peons think I’m rubbing their noses in it’. Bullsh*t. If I can afford the S class then I’m buying the S class. That’s the (North)American way… dammit!

The reason for these numbers is simply because the rich are hurting just like everyone else. Believe it or not but sometimes the sh*t does flow uphill.

I don’t care about the brand, I care about the quality and durability of a product. Certain brands have respect not because of price but because of reliability. Why is it that cars built by the big 3 have no respect in other parts of the world, even here in California domestic cars are considered a joke, but cars like Honda, Lexus, Subaru can be seen all over the world. Why? respect for the brand because what the brand stands for.

And this all plays well for the Korean and Chinese auto makers. Good timing on their part. Good luck GM and Chrysler.

acc you’re missing the point…this article isn’t about brands, it’s about the size of car being sold within brands…i disagree with your statement that “cars built by the big 3 have no respect in other parts of the world” – because frankly that’s ridiculous and easily dismissed (top selling brand in china = respect in other parts of the world, for example)…but i’m not going to degrade this discussion into a brand war…

fact is, this is about people choosing a 3 series over a 5 series, not a honda over a ford…

stick to the topic, please…

+1 Raineman.

Pick any car with a long history – it is likely larger than its ancestor, sometimes by a wide margin.

Today’s Civic is larger than the Accord in the 1980’s ever was.

Same with the Corolla – larger than the Camry (and Corona) of yesteryear.

Perhaps the steam has run out of the proverbial up-sizing train, while at the same time, the economy has taken a dump. It’s no wonder people have stopped scaling up the chain – the manufacturers have done it for us.

@ACC: Well in the rest of the US California is a joke, so I’m not going to hold too much value in their opinions on cars.

Now back on topic to the article: I find it hard to believe that people who could afford an S-class but are getting an E-class b/c they don’t want to be seen with “having luxury”. More like, the economy took a sh*t and now people who once thought money grew on trees are coming back to reality and making a little “smarter” decisions. The only exception to my theory would be the liberal Hollywood type who could afford a Mercedes but drives a Prius instead as an eco-status symbol. But lets not dwell on that…

@05Z88Path – Say what you want about CA, it is the largest auto market in the US. If it doesn’t fly here, it’s not going to fly in the rest of the country. The design centers have migrated here for that very reason.

so tired of people trying to make every thing to an import export/ my brand and thing and such.

I would have to agree that it is a combination that the cars have grown in size from what they first where and the economy. i think it more that people like midsized cars then any other in america and that is what the 3 series and C class are now, before they were not and there more expensive then they used to, so people may see them as more upscalle.

these ‘wealthy’ auto buyers are the same type of persons that purchased homes they couldn’t afford in the first place. so guess what happens when their leases end? yup, they trade down.

-1 nickeldime

if car sizes haven’t changed between ‘08 and ‘09 significantly, yet the size of cars being bought has changed significantly, then it’s not the model bloat that is driving the change in buying habits…

What couple be more conspicuous than a woman with assymetrical nostrils?

+1 avus9. Agree completely.

Smegley, I don’t know, but if she also has an Adam’s apple then I’m running like I’m being chased by the devil himself.

I have heard a few folks who own small or medium-sized businesses use that excuse. Their employees want raises, even during this recession. They feel that if they’re unable to justify raises, they can’t justify more luxury for themselves, either. Even if it ain’t true, they’re still saying it…

johnny, if she’s got an Adam’s apple, you shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Find a different bar.

Johnny, if she has an adam’s apple you ARE being chased by the devil himself

Apologies, johnny, for assuming that Canadians patronize bars. That was an egregious generalization.

That why Smart People are not driving Mercedes in California their Buying the New 2010 Ford Taurus SHO which is a Better Built Better Performance, and better value than the Imports ACC- which is why Ford is taking California by Storm and soon the World Europe and China will want their own Ford Taurus Too!

smaller cars are getting the options and luxuries that used to be exclusive to bigger cars. lots of people realized this, especially during the crisis.

No we won’t… Mondeo is fine. (And become great with some supercharged small engines!)

Hence, Hyundai sales going up by 20 to 37% every month globaly.

I think NMOFGM is not feeling well, did not read his commentary on foreign crap and superiority of Buick and Cadillac. Not to be outdone, I did enjoy similar (if not identical) B.S. about Ford superiority over Benz. Right.

RaineMan got a point. However, I was having conversation with “luxury concierge” in NYC (yes this business does well n NYC) and she told me that people under 400K income are hurt and not seeking her services (high end tickets, restaurant reservations etc), however recession have done little to families with over 500K income (except Madoff). Maybe there is point her about conspicuous consumption: even well to do folks got squeezed a bit, if they were not top flight.

I’d spend $70k on an RS4 before I spend $70k on an S6, just because a smaller more nimble car with more sporting characteristics is just plain fun to drive by comparison. Unless I have a family, in which case I’ll buy whatever my wife tells me (which in most cases is never going to be a full-sized sedan, how many women want 7’s or A8’s?). I think the fact that smaller cars have reached the right size for most consumers, and the fact that theyre just plain more fun to drive for less than the bigger options, makes them more appealing in this day and age. You arent going to get a piece of plywood into an A4 and you wont into an A6 or A8 either. You can fit the same amount of people, an adequate amount of stuff in the trunk of either, and get the A4 for less, or get one for a similar price with a lot more credentials. If you really think about it, the S4 has the same engine as the similarly priced A6 3.0T, that blends in to the crowd much more, but which one would you rather drive?

(Yes I’m also aware that the S4 3.0T has been tuned for more power and such, but please don’t be a nitpicking asshole. You know what I meant.)

Audi is just overpriced VW.

Sales of 7-series, Lexus LS, and S-Class sedans are all down 40-50%

Hyundai can’t even get a luxury brand together, but they decide NOW is the time to bring Equus to The States?

Who’s in charge of their product planning?
Captain Crunch?
DrFill

This article is the victom of “extremesurveying.” That is a sport played by journalists that have an awesome amount of technology mixed with the lack of available work provided by their employers. It’s commonsence horse**** on steroids. You can get many of the same options on the next size down car that you can get on the bigger car hence the reason for the lack of “upsizeing” within a low-budget market. I dont care what J.D. Power and Associates decide to litter the media with, but stating that wealthier CEO’s volunteering to order the “smaller” car out of sympathy for thier employees will never take place in such a way worth entering data about. Some people are put on too high a pedestal. C’mon.

Peeps R realizing they don’t need dat much car.

da growth of da 3 mite explain sum stuff

I can’t a4d the S-Class

who in yourope wood bi a Lexus ?
they R smarter’n us.

lot of stupid people in cali, so sno wonder Lexus duz well tghere

da p[rius is good as a stus siympbol abnd nuthin’ else!
care about da evo? gert a dieselm VW!!

da taurus us better than da Carmry irt accord,m but not a NMercedes.

I luve da A8

Lexus LS is just oover-overpriced toyota. da regular totatas R aklready overpriced.

Damn Ktulu, get your basic English up and running. You spell like a 12 year old girl text messaging. That **** is embarrassing.

ktulu if i decided to speak from my ass it would make better sounds than your ****ed broken english

I think I’d rather listen to what NMOFGM has to say over ktulu

I hope Americans start realizing that they can have the same luxury and even more driving pleasure with reasonably sized cars…

Here in Brazil (and also in Europe and Asia) cars like my A3 (as well as Civics and Corollas) are called mid-size.

Cars like Ford Fusion are considered large and usually dubbed as “bathtubs”. The Camry and the new Accord are so big that nobody wants them.

Even though the Fusion has a bigger dealer network and costs the same as the less powerful and less equipped Civic, the Honda car sells about 20 times more (being the best sold sedan) just because it´s possible to park it in the streets. I´d like to understand: HOW DO YOU AMERICANS PARK YOUR “MID-SIZE” HUGE BATHTUBS?

P.S.: When I say nobody wants Accords and Camrys for their huge size, I´m referring just to Brazil, not to Europe and Asia

Maybe we have bigger parking spaces BrazilianA3?

I don’t really pay attention, I park my motorcycle anywhere I flipping want to.

@RAineman

Sorry, 3 series is still MUCH smaller than the 5 series from a decade ago

Current 3 sedan wb=108.7 and length = 178.20

1999 5 series wb= 113.7 and length = 191.1

Not only that the current 3 series sedan is still 1/2″ shorter than a Toyota Corolla, though the 3 has a longer wheel base.

The 3 is a very compact car. The 1 looks like a large roller skate.

- A4 -

Buy a Acura, Lexus Or Infinity

@BrazilianA3:

2 observations: 1) “Bathtub” is a connotation reserved for small cars – miata, mini, etc “like driving in your bathtub”, if it is used at all.

2) “How do you Amercians park your “mid-size” huge bathtubs”? We aren’t as densely laid out and parking spaces are larger as they accommodate VERY large vehicles, all the way down to compact/mid-size sedans.

I will admit coming from a couple week trip in Europe last week that our cars seem bigger, but we have the space and gas is cheap (in comparison to Europe).

Also…

While small cars outsell large cars in Europe, every person I spoke with on the subject preferred a larger car, but admitted they couldn’t afford the gas / cost. Just because there are fewer, doesn’t mean the desire isn’t there.

@leftwingagenda:

It isn’t just the upsizing that the manufacturers are doing – it’s the combination of a consistent upsizing in the same product line AND the economy taking a dump, which is causing people to re-evaluate their needs. I.E. I don’t think the difference would be so pronounced but for the fact that both events are in play.

Also, the refresh cycle isn’t annual – it takes place over 3-10 years for some people. That spans 1-2 generations in cars. The Accord, for example, grew exponentially from the last gen to this one.

Great example of product bloat: Honda Accord sedan sizing by generation (from wiki):

Generation W-Base Length Width
1976-1981 93.7 162.0 ??
1982-1985 100.7 164.0 ??
1986-1989 102.4 179.7 67.4
1990-1993 107.1 185.2 67.1
1994-1997 106.9 185.6 70.1
1998-2002 106.9 189.4 70.3
2003-2007 107.9 189.5 71.6
2008-Now 110.2 194.1 72.7

So if you have a 2003-2007 model and you’re ready to trade in, are you going to get a new, bloated Accord or look at the Civic, which has a wheelbase of 106.3, length of 176.7, and a width of 69.0 (similar wheelbase, width, and seating capacity as previous gen accords)?