cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/48712513
Smaller vehicles that do not need to meet the same safety requirements as existing cars could be Europe’s answer to maintaining its automotive industry.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/48712513
Smaller vehicles that do not need to meet the same safety requirements as existing cars could be Europe’s answer to maintaining its automotive industry.
But they have been growing ever bigger and ever more expensive. There are barely any European manufacturers who build a small, practical, and affordable car.
True. What we need are the likes of the fiat 500, 600, 127, Renault 4 (the 2 CV actually would fall in Microcar territory), and such, but with updated safety design and features. Under 100Km//h, not allowed on highways, size restrictions. A middle ground between automobiles, and microcars. The only compromise that shouldn’t be made is in safety.
Those cars did have another big benefit over modern cars. They were very simple and therefore easy to service and repair yourself. A feature virtually lost in modern cars.
Actually all cars from that era were. I drive a 26 year old car (in great shape, well maintained) precisely because of that. OTOH, they were also noisy, underperforming, unsafe, etc. Maybe a law making cars to be mostly modular, and with openly available disgnostics and open shop manuals, could make up for that. Sadly, in this era of subscription features, that’s unlikely.
Yes, when it comes to serviceability, the automotive world peaked several decades ago. Enshittification of cars started in the mid 2000s.
Dacia Sandero, Citroën C1?
Yes, two manufacturers, in total two models. Of how many car manufacturers in Europe?
There are more, but I won’t search for you, you can do it yourself. Peugeot 107, VW Up, Lancia Ypsilon, Renault Twingo…
Most of them aren’t that affordable.
I mean if you are price sensitive then you shouldn’t be looking at new cars anyways - they depreciate way too much, let someone else pay for that
That, too, of course, but that depreciation is just a sign of how artificially inflated prices are. New cars are a scam. Even more so if they are enshittified beyond belief.
And discontinued