Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 15, 2024

As an engineer, the answer is that you have to strike a balance between all of those. How you draw the line(s) explains why there are over 250 cars sold in America today, (not all are economy cars) and there’s a market for all of them.

Maybe economy cars have to be bought in bulk so that they’ll last as long as an economy package of paper towels.

Anybody remember the Yugo? They tried to market it as an economy car, but discovered that “economy” and “cheap” have slightly different connotations.

A good economy car is a car that you can only afford if there is a good economy.

Back in the late 70s, America was being deluged with so called economy cars as gasoline was approaching $1 a gallon. While riding in a friend’s new Honda at 35 mpg and $165 per month payment, my father made the simple observation. Buy a gas guzzler for $200 outright, run it into the ground in a couple of years, go buy another one. That is a low cost option even at 12 mpg.

Maybe frugal?

No such thing as an economy car. If you live in a place that doesn’t have a uzable public transport system like the majority of Americans, all transportation is a luxury.

North american consumerism and our special brand of capitalism never ceases to amaze me. In these times of crippling inflation and obvious climate change impacts, personal vehicles have never been larger and more expensive. And we just keep buying into it. Try to find a sedan on a new car lot. Pick-ups and SUVs as far as the eye can see.

My definition of an economy car:

When I was in school, I owned a 1979 Dodge Scamp. This car was heavy, sluggish, and didn’t have any heat in the winter time. It also got 12 miles to the gallon. I had a commute of 60 miles to school every day, and figured if I could get a car with better gas mileage, it would quickly pay for itself. I approached my dad with this idea, and to my great surprise, he agreed to loan me the money for a more “economic” vehicle. What I found was a 1979 Dodge Omni (with a stick shift) that got slightly more than 30 mpg. The savings that I realized was more than the monthly car payment. It wasn’t the perfect car, but it did get me through 4 years of college and a few years after graduation. I think the extra mileage and cost savings were great, but having heat in the car during the winter made me very happy!

I have a 2012 Nissan Juke. An economy car by all of Caulfield’s criteria: it was cheap to buy, cheap to run and maintain, and very reliable, But, before you rush out to buy one, Nissan stopped making them 6 or 7 years ago.

When I got the insurance settlement for getting my face shredded in a car wreck, I bought a brand-new 1977 Triumph Spitfire for a bit over $2800. Bought my parents a ’76 (demo) Vovlo 244 for, IIRC, a bit less than $7000. The Spit got 48mpg; the 244 hung at around 35mpg. And the Volvo ran for about 350,000 miles.

So, economy cars by several definitions – especially at a time when the average American car was getting about 15mpg, and rarely lasting 80,000 miles.

My 2018 Honda Civic. Comparatively cheap to buy, gets 40MPG, and has had zero repairs and only basic maintenance.

*all of the above, an economy car should cover all the mentioned.

I had a 1987 Ford Escort stick shift soon after high school. Loved that car! Wish I still had it.

In 1958 the first Japanese car – a Toyota went on the showroom floor and the Big Three laughed and said it would not sell, the same attitude as Decca Records telling the Beatles that bands with guitars are not popular when the Beatles were looking for a recording contract. Today the best selling cars are either Toyota (worldwide best seller) or Honda in the US market and both manufacturers are also tops for dependability with the Toyota Camry and Honda Civic In the economy car category.

Gina’s Kia Soul sips fuel, over 40 mpg.

Repair parts for it, on the other hand…

My first several cars were different variations on the original VW air-cooled rear engine, rear wheel drive plan. It was interesting to read about the panicked crowds chasing after truckloads of VW’s to buy one during the Carter energy crisis in the 1970’s.

Hey, kid. There are these places called libraries. Inside you’ll find something called a computer. On that computer you can access something called Google…

Economy cars are the ones at the airport rental agencies where my husband can’t squeeze his knees in behind the dashboard.

There’s a thing called “Life cycle costing” that’ll answer all those questions, Caulie

TCO.