FrankReynoldsCPA

Even if buyers wanted a manual, they probably wouldn't be offered in an era where manufacturers need to squeeze as much efficiency out of their cars as possible to meet regulatory requirements. They can control your automatic transmission far more than your manual. Long gone are the days of the manual being faster, more reliable, and more efficient.

Margate330

Yeah, but I'm still going to complain about it until the grave! Lol

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

of course in texas sunshine that will nicely melt the skin off your hands.

mmarshall

My 2001 Lexus IS300's automatic also had a chrome ball shifter. It wasn't too bad as long as it wasn't in direct sunlight.

Margate330

Can maybe just get fancy and put on some driving gloves. Lol

Yeah, I'm sad to see all the sedans go and bulby SUV's with big rims everywhere.

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geko29

There are no shortage of people who are "sad to see sedans go", and yet own zero sedans and several bulby SUVs. That cognitive dissonance is one of the primary drivers behind the death of the sedan.

Margate330

Yeah, I can see your point but I wouldn't call it cognitive dissonance, IMO.

In my case I need an SUV more than I need a sedan but if I can have a 2nd car I'd pick up a used MB or BMW sedan maybe.

Only reason I don't is I don't drive enough miles and it would die a slow death rotting away. Lol

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peteharvey

How come you need an SUV?

mmarshall

One reason (although it is not the only one) that sedans are going is that, years ago, their wagon versions disappeared from the American market, mostly due to the rise of minivans, and SUVs, to a large extent, replaced minivans, particularly with those who wanted a taller ride height, more ground clearance, and AWD for bad weather. Those who used their big, full-frame, V8-powered American sedans and wagons for big American families and towing/vacations now use Ford Expeditions and Chevy Tahoe/Suburbans. Added to that was the fact that sedans and wagons themselves became smaller, converted to FWD, used smaller engines, and got unitized bodies less capable of towing or carrying large families. So, it's not necessarily the fact that people said one thing and did another....it was more the fact that what they wanted in the past simply disappeared from the market, which originally started when vehicles were downsized in the late 1970s because of CAFE rules.

In my particular case, though, I shifted from a larger sedan to a small crossover more by need than by choice. My body was aging and needed seat height easier to get in and out of, my driving needs were dictating something small, maneuverable and easy to park, something with a 360-camera, something with AWD although we don't get that much snow where I live, something with Buick comfort, and something simply more versatile. The Encore GX was a Godsend.

peteharvey

I guess global warming melting polar caps resulting in higher sea levels that slowly diminish land size.
Meanwhile population is booming.
Hence higher population densities.
Hence, society must grow vertically with high rise buildings and tall narrow proportioned motor vehicles.
However, just remember that a low seating position lounge chair is always more comfortable than an upright dining chair.
Sit too low like an F1 car and it certainly does become difficult to enter and exit...

Striker223

Personably I went the other way quite hard.....but yeah I never understood how people claim one thing and do another. Most should just admit an suv is what they really want.

In my case I only have them to do things cars can't and only drive them at those times

Margate330

My RX330 is more like a big hatchback more than an SUV. Lol

When I think SUV, I'm thinking a proper body on frame.

Mostly I keep my car for the utility and I can put big things in it when I need to.

I've always had a pickup truck as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle but now my "SUV" is my pickup and my sedan all in one. Lol

It's not that easy for me.

I'd like to have a lot of things but I only buy what is practical in this point in my life. Lol

What I want and what I get are not always the same thing.

Example, I was hard looking at an H2 before the RX330 but wife was afraid of it. The RX, she feels ok driving it

geko29

The market doesn't care what the reasons are. You're on the spectrum of people who have converted to SUVs, and there are a variety of reasons. None of that matters. Sales numbers are all that counts, and we all have seen where those have gone. This is how markets work. Regardless of how those who actually buy sedans and those who might buy sedans if not for X and Y would choose for it to go.

Likewise. I have daily driven sedans (to be specific, BMW 3-series sedans) without exception since 1999--a legitimate quarter century. Our current fleet of four vehicles is two sedans, one SUV (which I objected to, but not my car, not my call), and one inherited convertible. But I'm only one person, and the market will do what it is going to do. I count myself blessed to be able to own and drive the last RWD manual sedan that will ever be made by anyone.

Striker223

I just can't drive an SUV after tasting cars and how much better they are to actually drive/they feel like you are wearing them vs captaining them like an suv. I only have the ones I do for specific tasks lol!

SW17LS

Yep, for sure.

It’s like the beach town that we go to, Ocean City, MD. all the old small motels and all on the boardwalk are one by one being torn down and replaced with modern nice hotels. People online constantly complain about the loss of the old motels that have been there forever. When you ask them when the last time they stayed in one they would never stay in one lol. It’s a business, those people smiling at that old crappy motel that’s been there since 1954 as they walk by on the boardwalk doesn’t pay their bills.

Same is true of cars, you can’t complain about the loss of sedans when you yourself have stopped buying sedans. I put my money where my mouth is and still drive a sedan, but even I don’t complain because I recognize my purchasing dollars aren’t enough