Detroit killed the sedan. We may all live to regret it

[313WX]

Last week, General Motors announced that it would end production of the Chevrolet Malibu, which the company first introduced in 1964. Although not exactly a head turner [[the Malibu was “so uncool, it was cool,” declared the New York Times), the sedan has become an American fixture, even an icon, appearing in classic films like Say Anything and Pulp Fiction. Over the past 60 years, GM produced some 10 million of them.

With a price starting at a [[relatively) affordable $25,100, Malibu sales exceeded 130,000 vehicles last year, a 13% annual increase and enough to rank as the #3 Chevy model, behind only the Silverado and the Equinox. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep the car off GM’s chopping block. The company says that the last Malibu will roll out of its Kansas City, KS, factory this November; the plant will then be retooled to produce the new Chevy Bolt, an electric crossover SUV.

With the Malibu’s demise, GM will no longer sell any sedans in the U.S. In that regard, it will have plenty of company. Ford stopped producing sedans for the U.S. market in 2018. And it was Sergio Marchionne, the former head of Stellantis, who triggered the headlong retreat in 2016 when he declared that Dodge and Chrysler would stop making sedans. [[Tesla, meanwhile, offers two sedans: the Model 3 and Model S.)

As recently as 2009, U.S. passenger cars [[including sedans and a plunging number of station wagons) outsold light trucks [[SUVs, pickups, and minivans), but today they’re less then 20% of new car purchases. The death of the Malibu is confirmation, if anyone still needs it, that the Big Three are done building sedans. That decision is bad news for road users, the environment, and budget-conscious consumers—and it may ultimately come around to bite Detroit.

When asked, automakers are quick to blame the sedan’s decline on shifting consumer preferences. Americans simply want bigger cars, the story goes, and there’s some truth to it. Compared to sedans, many SUV and pickup models provide extra cargo space and give the driver more visibility on the highway. In a crash, those inside a heavier car have a better chance of escaping without injury—although the same can’t be said for pedestrians or those in other vehicles. [[That discrepancy inspired a headline in The Onion: “Conscientious SUV Shopper Just Wants Something That Will Kill Family In Other Car In Case Of Accident.”)

This narrative of the market’s dispassionate invisible hand tossing the sedan aside holds intuitive appeal, but it leaves gaping holes. For one thing, federal policy has, in many ways, ]distorted the car market to favor larger vehicles][[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2...licy-pollution). Fuel economy regulations, for instance, are more lenient for SUVs and pickups than they are for smaller cars, nudging automakers to produce more of the former and fewer of the latter. Another egregious example: Small business owners such as real estate agents can save thousands of dollars by writing off the cost of their vehicle—but only if it weighs more than 6,000 pounds, a stipulation that effectively excludes sedans entirely.

Carmakers, for their part, powerfully influence consumer demand through billions of dollars spent on advertising. Because SUVs and pickups are more expensive and profitable than sedans, manufacturers have a clear incentive to tilt buying decisions away from small cars and toward larger ones [[which helps explain ad campaigns designed to confer an undeserved green halo on SUVs).

Even those who don’t want a big car may feel pressure to upsize, if only to avoid being at a disadvantage in a crash or when trying to see what lies ahead on the road. Such people find themselves trapped in a prisoner’s dilemma, preferring that everyone had smaller cars, but resigning themselves to buying an SUV or pickup since others already have them.

For all these reasons, modest-size sedans like the Malibu are disappearing from American streets, supplanted by SUVs and pickups that seem to grow bulkier with every model refresh. [[The Chevy Bolts produced at GM’s Kansas plant will be bigger than the previous Bolt model, which was retired last year.) This pattern of ongoing vehicle expansion, a trend I call car bloat, is especially advanced in North America, but it’s visible worldwide. In 2022, SUVs alone comprised 46% of global car sales, up from 20% a decade earlier.

From a societal perspective, the decline of the sedan is a disaster. Consider road safety, an area where the U.S. underperforms compared to the rest of the rich world, especially for pedestrians and cyclists [[deaths for both recently hit 40-year highs). Larger cars have bigger blind spots, convey more force in a collision, and tend to strike a person’s torso rather than their legs. They’re also heavier, with propulsion systems that guzzle more gasoline [[or electrons) to move, producing more pollution in the process. Their weight also catalyzes the erosion of tires and roads, spewing microscopic particles that can damage human health as well as aquatic ecosystems.

Despite the myriad problems of car bloat, the federal government has taken no steps to restrain it. In the absence of regulations or taxes, carmakers have ample reason to abandon their sedan models in favor of SUVs and trucks. The higher margins of larger cars is especially precious now, as the Big Three scrabble for money to invest in electrification and autonomous technology, as well as to pay for the rising costs of wages and benefits that they agreed to last fall during negotiations with the United Auto Workers.

Realistically, it would be a Herculean task to pivot back toward selling small cars, even if American automakers wanted to. Although adept at selling high-priced, feature-laden SUVs and trucks, they’re far less experienced at the low-margin, high volume business of producing cheaper small cars. That is one reason [[though hardly the only one) that China’s booming market for EVs, including many modest-size and affordable models, is sowing fear throughout Detroit—and in Washington, too.

Where does the shift from sedans toward SUVs and trucks leave everyday Americans? With a strained wallet, for one thing. With its MSRP starting at $25,100 the Malibu has been one of the most affordable U.S.-produced cars, costing barely half as much as the average new vehicle, which exceeded $47,000 in February [[the Malibu is also at least a few thousand dollars cheaper than the Bolt that will replace it at the Kansas factory).

Especially when factoring in higher interest rates and spiking insurance premiums, cars are becoming a financial strain for many Americans. According to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average annual, inflation-adjusted cost of owning a vehicle and driving it 15,000 miles hit $12,182 in 2023, an increase of over 30% in just six years.

Over time, the elimination of sedans leaves the Big Three vulnerable if consumer preferences shift away from enormity. “Legacy car companies haven’t done a great job of thinking long term,” said Alex Roy, a cohost of the Autonocast podcast. “Gutting lineups is probably good for manufacturing efficiency, but not having one vehicle in a given product segment is short-sighted.”

Due to sprawled development patterns and woefully underfunded transit, many American families will still want a car even as they become more expensive. But, as I argued previously in Fast Company, a surge in vehicle prices could compel some households to swap a second or third car for a minicar or e-cargo bike that offers limited range, but costs only a fraction as much. Already, golf carts are popping up in places far removed from the retirement and beach communities where they have been a mainstay: In New Orleans, they’ve become so popular that the city is adopting new ordinances.

With the Malibu’s death, is clearer than ever that Detroit has abandoned the affordable sedan. They may yet live to regret it.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91123174...e-to-regret-it

[Zacha341]

Right. SUV's and Trucks are very expensive and in this economy more are not able to pay their car notes! Or consider purchase.

Yet, GM low quality manufacturing of sedans such as the current Malibu and particularly the Chevy Cruze didn't help people love sedans. Not these models, etc. Honda and especially Toyota [Lexus] will continue to do well with their sedans. I've owned three Camry's!

[Dan Wesson]

Right. SUV's and Trucks are very expensive and in this economy more are not able to pay their car notes! Or consider purchase.

Yet, GM low quality manufacturing of sedans such as the current Malibu and particularly the Chevy Cruze didn't help people love sedans. Not these models, etc. Honda and especially Toyota [Lexus] and Honda will continue to do well with their sedans. I've owned three Camry's!

yep you got that right

If your drop some coin on an used car
dont buy any old michigan rust bucket
go toyota

[Richard]

I am not buying the argument that you get a better view of the road in an SUV,in the beginning yes but now that everybody is driving them and trucks you cannot see over them anyways.

The other thing I have noticed is now when U.S. made vehicles reach that 100,000 mile mark its back to the 80s where everything starts to break but the difference is you are talking about repairs in the $5000 to $10,000 range on top of a monthly payment.

I agree with if everybody wanted or the market demands SUVs and trucks you would not see all of the “import” brands scooting about,lots are driving Toyota,Audi,Mercedes,BMW etc.

I kinda think vehicles have gone the same path as first time home buyers,they want their dream car out of the gate and it used to be car purchases were based on what you could afford now it does not matter if you can afford it or not,they will figure out away to put you in it.

Of course the consumer is going to demand trucks and SUVs because that is where the highest profit margins are and that’s where the dealers are going to direct the customers.

[Honky Tonk]

All that aside, I take offense to the "author's" B/S title, accusing Detroit of "killing" something and making EVERYONE else suffer for it. As far as SUVs and monster trucks go, if you're that insecure in your manhood [or womanhood] that you feel compelled to drive a Cadillac hearse around, have at it. It's up to the individual to decide how they want to squander their money. NOT the governments.

[royce]

All that aside, I take offense to the "author's" B/S title, accusing Detroit of "killing" something and making EVERYONE else suffer for it. As far as SUVs and monster trucks go, if you're that insecure in your manhood [or womanhood] that you feel compelled to drive a Cadillac hearse around, have at it. It's up to the individual to decide how they want to squander their money. NOT the governments.

You, Honky Tonk, don't like the title, but it is pretty accurate. Last time I checked, Toyota still makes the Corolla and Camry. Kia puts out the K-something and the Forte, and Hyundai still puts out the Sonata, and the Genesis line of cars. The Big 3 pushed SUVs on the American public years ago and can't get off the "profit-drug."

What bothers me the most is that the Big-3 isn't worried about the entry-level buyers. If entry-level buyers have no entry-level car to buy from the Big-3, then they'll go to the imports. When they're ready to move up to the next level car, they'll probably go with the same company that they got their entry-level car from. The Big-3 loses out. If gas prices rise sharply, then the Big-3 is back in the boat that they were in in the early 1970s.

[stasu1213]

You, Honky Tonk, don't like the title, but it is pretty accurate. Last time I checked, Toyota still makes the Corolla and Camry. Kia puts out the K-something and the Forte, and Hyundai still puts out the Sonata, and the Genesis line of cars. The Big 3 pushed SUVs on the American public years ago and can't get off the "profit-drug."

What bothers me the most is that the Big-3 isn't worried about the entry-level buyers. If entry-level buyers have no entry-level car to buy from the Big-3, then they'll go to the imports. When they're ready to move up to the next level car, they'll probably go with the same company that they got their entry-level car from. The Big-3 loses out. If gas prices rise sharply, then the Big-3 is back in the boat that they were in in the early 1970s.

The Big 3 never learn their lesson. The 70s oil crisis caused the industry to downsize their cars to meet up with consumer's needs the the Japanese car companies were meeting. The CAFE standards were adjusted to force the Big 3 to make their cars more efficient. What did they do when the 90s came in? They gradually started making their cars and pickup trucks larger while Lee Iacocca went on a rant telling American consumers not to buy Japanese cars due to them not playing ball with us. SUVs were being pushed. Gas prices increased higher than before. The American consumer and the Big 3 loses out

[401don]

The Big 3 never learn their lesson. The 70s oil crisis caused the industry to downsize their cars to meet up with consumer's needs the the Japanese car companies were meeting. The CAFE standards were adjusted to force the Big 3 to make their cars more efficient. What did they do when the 90s came in? They gradually started making their cars and pickup trucks larger while Lee Iacocca went on a rant telling American consumers not to buy Japanese cars due to them not playing ball with us. SUVs were being pushed. Gas prices increased higher than before. The American consumer and the Big 3 loses out

Well, I guess if people can be conditioned to buy whatever the Big 3 wants them to then there's no problem is there? Here I thought there was demand for both and the Big 3 was ignoring a small but important segment of the market that was being filled by the Japanese. My Marketing degree was a waste after all!

[JBMcB]

What bothers me the most is that the Big-3 isn't worried about the entry-level buyers.

A Hyundai Sonata starts at $27,000
A Camry starts at $26,000
A Corolla starts at $22,000
A Kia Forte [[which is a subcompact) starts at $20,000
The cheapest car you can buy in the US is a Mitsubishi Mirage at $16,000, which, from what I understand, is a terrible car


A Chevy Trax starts at $20,000
A Ford Maverick pickup truck starts at $23,000

[401don]

Both Kia and Mazda dropped their only mid-size sedans last year and rumor is Hyundai will drop the Sonata soon. On the other hand, the segment grew last year for the 1st time in years and the Malibu's numbers, despite no design changes, bounced back the last couple of years so you would think GM would want to keep one sedan. It's another kick to the dealers who have been forced to spend on ev's with no return on investment in the near future. I love my Fusion and the Ford equivalent in China, the Mondeo, is a gorgeous sedan but Ford killed their sedans here as well. Meanwhile Stellantis plans to build the new Charger with an ICE version along with the EV but it will be another year before it's available.

[JBMcB]

Another huge factor not brought up in the article are fleet and rental sales. Most sedans have shrunk to the point that they can't be used as police cruisers any more, so, aside from Chargers, most police departments have moved to Durangos, Explorers and Tahoes.

The same with rentals. If you are on vacation, a standard sized sedan won't be enough to haul three or four people and all your luggage around. If you are traveling alone or with one other person, a compact car will be fine. Last time we rented a car in Florida, none of the rental places had sedans, except for a "high end" rental place that had Chargers and Tesla Model 3s. It was all SUVs and compact cars.

[CassTechGrad]

I'll alway have fond memories of the big black Chrysler Newport sedan cruzin' around at night when I was a teenage growing up in Detroit back in the 1960's.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I'll alway have fond memories of the big black Chrysler Newport sedan cruzin' around at night when I was a teenage growing up in Detroit back in the 1960's.

"The Big Four" [[STRESS) They struck fear in black Detroiters in the 60's. They would stop young big men just because, I was one of them. Walking down the street, minding my own business only to be harrassed about where I was going. Glad Coleman Young got rid of them.

[EASTSIDER BALDUCK]

1970's

"The Big Four" [[STRESS) They struck fear in black Detroiters in the 60's. They would stop young big men just because, I was one of them. Walking down the street, minding my own business only to be harrassed about where I was going. Glad Coleman Young got rid of them.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

1970's

The mid to late 60's as well sir... I was harrased by them in 1968.

[Richard]

The mid to late 60's as well sir... I was harrased by them in 1968.

were you driving a sedan or SUV ?

[Honky Tonk]

The mid to late 60's as well sir... I was harrased by them in 1968.

Kid, Have you rehabilitated yourself?

[mwilbert]

The mid to late 60's as well sir... I was harrased by them in 1968.

The STRESS program didn't start until 1971. The Big Four was around well before that.

[CassTechGrad]

"The Big Four" [[STRESS) They struck fear in black Detroiters in the 60's. They would stop young big men just because, I was one of them. Walking down the street, minding my own business only to be harrassed about where I was going. Glad Coleman Young got rid of them.

"In Detroit, during the 1960s the “Big Four” or “Tac Squad”roamed the streets, searching for bars to raid and prostitutes to arrest. These elite 4 man units frequently stopped youths who were driving or walking through the 12th street neighborhood." https://abfalter.weebly.com/the-big-four.html

[Henry Whalley]

I prefer sedans with excellent handling. Never owned a truck or SUV.

[stasu1213]

The corporations world is forced to consumer the latest product by introducing something new and more expensive and gradually getting rid of the old. How many analog televisions are being used in households across the world currently? Consumers are forced to purchase SUVs on tge assumption that tge vehicles are safer, roomier for the family, and give better view of the roads. Every other person own some type of crossover or SUV. However, the insurance on a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria is still lower than in a 2018 Chevy Equinox, Ford Explorer, and Dodge Durango. Why? The safety standards of these modern dat SUV flooding the market are low. The Ford sedan as well as surpringly a 20 year old Honda Civic are safer to drive due to crash test results. Unfortunately American consumers have very limited choices when purchasing new vehicles which is done by design

[401don]

The corporations world is forced to consumer the latest product by introducing something new and more expensive and gradually getting rid of the old. How many analog televisions are being used in households across the world currently? Consumers are forced to purchase SUVs on tge assumption that tge vehicles are safer, roomier for the family, and give better view of the roads. Every other person own some type of crossover or SUV. However, the insurance on a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria is still lower than in a 2018 Chevy Equinox, Ford Explorer, and Dodge Durango. Why? The safety standards of these modern dat SUV flooding the market are low. The Ford sedan as well as surpringly a 20 year old Honda Civic are safer to drive due to crash test results. Unfortunately American consumers have very limited choices when purchasing new vehicles which is done by design

I don't believe any of that. Right or wrong, GM, Ford and Stellantis clearly believe they can't sell enough sedans for them to be profitable. I, like others on here, disagree with that decision and believe they should have retained at least one compact or mid-size sedan each but they have chosen to allow that segment of the market to go to Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. It may be more profitable in the short term but also may be difficult to get the customer back if the sedan demand returns. Either way, nobody is forcing consumers to buy suv's and trucks as long as the foreign automakers are providing them.

[stasu1213]

I don't believe any of that. Right or wrong, GM, Ford and Stellantis clearly believe they can't sell enough sedans for them to be profitable. I, like others on here, disagree with that decision and believe they should have retained at least one compact or mid-size sedan each but they have chosen to allow that segment of the market to go to Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. It may be more profitable in the short term but also may be difficult to get the customer back if the sedan demand returns. Either way, nobody is forcing consumers to buy suv's and trucks as long as the foreign automakers are providing them.

The reason why consumers are not buying sedans in America because they had been conditioned over the years into thinking that SUVs are better. Mini vans are going tge way of the sedan. Europeans may not be so easily taken in for still still buy sedans and small vans

[stasu1213]

I don't believe any of that. Right or wrong, GM, Ford and Stellantis clearly believe they can't sell enough sedans for them to be profitable. I, like others on here, disagree with that decision and believe they should have retained at least one compact or mid-size sedan each but they have chosen to allow that segment of the market to go to Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. It may be more profitable in the short term but also may be difficult to get the customer back if the sedan demand returns. Either way, nobody is forcing consumers to buy suv's and trucks as long as the foreign automakers are providing them.

On case you don't know. Many American consumers chooses to buy American cars because they chooses to support the American auto worker. Also, had you seen the price of a Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, or a Nissan Sentra lately?

[401don]

On case you don't know. Many American consumers chooses to buy American cars because they chooses to support the American auto worker. Also, had you seen the price of a Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, or a Nissan Sentra lately?

Those things you're grasping at to justify your comments are called straws.