Auto Trends

fads come and go, sometimes on a whim, other times because of outside forces. Here at the halfway point of the first decade of the new millennium, the car culture is certainly taken some interesting turns.

Those of you who are innocent test drive of the plain Jane Nissan Altima, when it was new in 2002, floored it, and almost sprained your neck after the discovery of 240 horsepower, May have a suspicion that the standard rate has risen a tad since 90-ies. Turns out that was just the beginning. Today, Volkswagen Passat built to the same bar, family car to over 280 horsepower. We are a small $ 30,000 Mitsubishis that can be left for Camaros mrtve.500-hp Dodge Viper suddenly look ordinary and the once-acclaimed Acura NSX is a joke. Whether or not you're Speed ​​Freak, there are two trickle-down benefits: minimum standard horsepower was increased from 55 (Geo Metro) to 103, and very few cars in any segment are really underpowered anymore. Not a bad development.

Cars just do not stop growing. Any redesign must be greater than the last, the new Toyota RAV4 is 14 inches longer than the last, and the current Civics now dwarf the agreement of years past. It is an inevitable force of marketing, no one wants to pay the same money for less car, right? Larger also means more difficult, our cars pack more weight than ever

.

and there is no rule that contradictory trends can not coexist. It seems Americans expect their cars to compete with the speed of sound, while also using less gas than their shoes hodanje.Toyota Prius hybrid heads into its third year with unsatisfied demand, long lines, a price premium. All this despite the ample supply of perfectly attentive Corolla in the same dealers. No automaker wants to be caught with their pants down, and all are rushing to market with a hybrid, even if it means using a system developed by competitors (the Nissan Altima will use Toyota's hardware ).

It seems that we want our vehicles with more features and more osobnosti.90 banality in our styling is gone, even the most banal car like the Camry and Accords. I notice that almost every car has power windows and locks standard, and how even the Kia Rio comes with six airbags and a powerful stereo. Is it any wonder that the average car now costs $ 28,000?

Speaking of "Cars", we are moving toward the day when the word is yet to be applied as a general term. SUVs are at once for mad. They have always been, but now everyone seems to know it, too. Ford's Explorer and Expedition are going down the drain, and the trip is but istekao.Veći SUV, a greater drop in sales. Small cars are selling better than ever, even as indigenous Sentra and neon.

Finally, we are going by, and brzo.Big Three market share was 60% in the first part of this decade, which will cost at or below 50% by the end of it. This new trend is difficult, but its recent acceleration is alarming. One thing for sure is that in terms of players, the market has matured. Only two major car manufacturers set up U.S. bases in 90 (Kia and Daewoo), and 2000-they have contributed nothing.

cars do not get bigger or faster forever, but no one can stand still. Hybrids are hot, but long-term experience and continues to be seen. What will become of all this car madness? Check back in ten years.