Nissan
just announced a new SUV they’re not going to sell here.
It’s
called the Terra – and the Chinese (and other foreign markets) will get it
beginning next spring. Nissan’s Ashwani Gupta says there is growing demand in
China for “go anywhere SUVs built like the rugged SUVs old” – which apparently
are no longer in demand here.
This,
of course, is claptrap. There is plenty of demand.
The
problem is Uncle.
It
is becoming extremely difficult to sell “go anywhere SUVs built like the rugged
SUVs of old” because they are heavy and heavy means big engines and
that means a hearty appetite for gas. This however isn’t a problem for the
people who buy such vehicles; they are – presumably – ok with paying more for
gas in exchange for the ruggedness and go-anywhere capabilities.
Else
they would not buy them.
Just
as people sometimes buy a bigger house rather than a small apartment – knowing
the carrying cost is higher. So what? It’s their choice. And more to the point,
it is their money paying the mortgage and the utilities. Just as the SUV
buyer’s money – not the government’s money or anyone else’s money – is paying
for the fuel that goes in the tank.
The
market takes care of itself.
If
a thing is burdensomely expensive for natural (market) reasons, then that thing
becomes rare as a commodity for just that reason.
But
never mind. Uncle – acting in loco parentis – believes we are using “too
much” gas.
He
therefore imposes taxes and other disincentives to artificially curb
market demand for “rugged, go anywhere SUVs” – punishing you for daring to want
what he thinks you ought not to have. As a result, “rugged, go anywhere SUVs”
are already very few in number and mostly expensive models such as
high-end Land Rovers.
Medium-small
SUVs under $30k like the soon-to-be-here (well, soon-to-be-there) 2019
Terra are all but extinct in the United States.
We
get crossover SUVs – which aren’t really SUVs because they are basically
just jacked-up cars styled to look like SUVs. They are
defined by not having rugged underthings, such as a four-wheel-drive
system with a two-speed transfer case and low range gearing. They have
all-wheel-drive (without the transfer case and low-range gearing) meant
for light snow on paved roads; maybe wet grass.
Most
of all, they are defined by not having their drivetrains and suspensions
cradled by rugged and so heavy steel frames, onto which their bodies are bolted
– as real SUVs do.
Instead
they have car-ish unibodies. Frame and body welded together. It’s much
lighter – which makes it feasible to use small engines in these things. Which
in turn means they use less less gas.
But
they are much less rugged – and you can’t “go anywhere” in these things – as a
result.
It
is also harder – and more expensive – to repair these unibodied crossovers when
they are damaged. Including in particular lightly damaged, as occurs when a
fender is bent.
You
can unbolt most of the exterior sheetmetal bolted to the frame of a body-on-frame
SUV. You have to cut – and weld – most of the panels on a unibody crossover, if
it gets bent.
Also,
the body of a body-on-frame SUV isn’t structural; if you hit a deer, you
bend a fender – not the frame.
Because
of this design difference, the real-deal SUV is much more able to take a hit
without taking functional damage. If the frame’s not bent – and it is hard
to bend the girder-like frame of a body-on-frame SUV – the thing isn’t broken.
Just bruised. You can still drive it with a crinkled fender or a smashed-in
grill. The damage is cosmetic. But if you bend the frame of a unibodied
crossover, the thing is no longer drivable.
At
least, it’s no longer safe to drive.
It’ll
pull to one side, handle like a drunk staggers down the street. Not good – and
not cheap to fix, either. And not fixable by you. It takes frame-straightening
equipment and welding.
With
a body-on-frame SUV, it takes a come-along.
If
you don’t know what that is, you probably don’t know why SUVs differ from
crossovers. A come-along is a heavy strap with a ratcheting mechanism. One end
wrapped around a big tree. Hook the other to the bent fender. Now, pull it back
into shape – more or less. Or just put the transmission in reverse and back up.
It’s not body shop perfect, but its serviceable – and doable by you, for free.
Real
SUVs also last longer because they are built tougher. A V8 that makes power
(and torque) by dint of displacement and without much effort is an engine that
will almost always outlast a turbocharged four that’s subjected to greater
stress (being pressurized) and which has to work harder, more often, just to
keep up.
And,
of course, rust.
So
long as the frame isn’t rusted, the body of the body-on-frame SUV is both
expendable and repairable. The frame will rust through, eventually. Just as a
railroad track will eventually rust into dust. But the thickness of the metal
makes that a long-term proposition. The much thinner frame of a unibody rusts
sooner – another hidden cost of Uncle’s interferences.
The
question is – why do we allow Uncle to interfere?
This
isn’t a criminal matter. No one is victimized by someone else’s decision to
spend his money on a “rugged” SUV – or the gas which goes in its tank.
It’s
very interesting that so few people seem to object to the fact that the
government is now in the business of punishing people who’ve not harmed anyone
but only on account of some decision of theirs which others do not like.
And
that’s something even the Chinese aren’t doing.
. .
.
Got
a question about cars – or anything else? Click on the “ask
Eric” link and send ’em in!
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