Renting a BYD in Austria for the week..

[matthew1]

And it is a shame. In terms of Ford they can at least say they didn't took government bailout during last crisis(one of the reasons why I bought Ford truck years ago).

That was only because they took a huge loan out just a few months before the financial crisis. It was pure luck, not savvy business. If they hadn't done that they'd have been asking for a bailout also, or going under.

I agree that most of the society has no need for big truck/suv , however now toyota cant keep up their corolla and camry and rav 4 hybrids in stock. Last year had to pre-order and wait 5 month for corolla for my dad. Same story with prius and slightly better with camry. Americans are not willing to buy crap and big 3 are seeing it(tariffs or not). Lets be honest here, how many of us would nowadays buy new volvo over lexus? My vote would be for lexus.

Toyota is way ahead of everyone by being way behind... they design an engine for instance, really well designed, and then use it for 20 years across most/all models. Example: that 22E (or whatever the designation is, sorry if it's wrong) four cylinder. Or their V6. They stick with proven tech that doesn't break. Contrast that with GM's bats#it crazy V8 cylinder deactivation tech that is once again causing recalls in the hundreds of thousands of units. They've been putzing with this cylinder deactivation crap since around the 1990s. I might be a little off, but it's been an on-off circus for decades.

I think the next new car I buy might be Mazda. They make distinctive, quality, beautiful cars and SUVs. Dependable too. They also have the best red paint of any car on the road. Take a good look next time you see one. It's like looking at a galaxy through the Hubble space telescope. It's gorgeous.

[matthew1]

I've said it here many times: Mazda is the Japanese Volvo.

[BlackBart]

I think their design, (their paint!), and their engine technology is right up in the top five now. Does anyone say reliable and BMW in the same sentence anymore? No. Has there been a good-looking BMW in the last five years? No.


(Also)....what the hell is a BYD/BVD?

[Vova585]

I still partial towards flamenco red metallic paint. Have nothing bad to say about Mazda. They upped their game significantly. If they were able to improve corrosion issues it would be a an awesome competitor to honda and Toyota. Also agree about cylinder deactivation system-total shame. Fords ecoboost is not far behind GM mess.

[matthew1]

GM's cylinder deactivation goes back to 1981(!) https://www.autoblog.com/news/a-tale-of ... nally-succ Not the tech itself, but actual showroom/sold cars(!).

From Bing search results, I was getting approximate comparison Mazda vs. GM in company size:

Mazda Motor Corporation is a car manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan. Mazda is the 15th largest car maker in the world, [1] and 12th largest in U.S. sales. [2] The company was started in 1920. Today it has about 44,000 employees.

GM: The company has over 155,000 employees and operates across 22 time zones. GM has a market cap of $72 billion with revenue of $116 billion and net income of $3.4 billion. The company has more than 93,000 employees in the United States and approximately 167,000 employees around the world. In its 2022 fiscal year...

I'd guess Mazda is more focused because they're much smaller/more nimble than the Big Three, and also much smaller than BMW and VW/Audi etc.

Once you get to a certain threshold as an automotive company, 90% of your headcount suddenly transforms into accountants trying to save $1/car on dash material, $2 on seat cushion foam type, etc., ad nauseam...

[volvolugnut]

I think their design, (their paint!), and their engine technology is right up in the top five now. Does anyone say reliable and BMW in the same sentence anymore? No. Has there been a good-looking BMW in the last five years? No.


(Also)....what the hell is a BYD/BVD?

See wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_BYD_Auto_vehicles

BYD builds full electric and hybrid cars in China marketed in several brands.

volvolugnut

[abscate]

We just voted in protectionism. It will end badly, but it will end. We don’t seem capable of looking at10 year strategies unless it’s to build bombs. We are expanding our next assembly point internationally as a direct result of the policies of 2025. That’s so that we can keep 60 jobs here

[BlackBart]

And they are irreparably damaging NASA. Smart people are headed for the doors in anticipation.

[matthew1]

How was the BYD car?

[scot850]

BYD now sell more cars electric cars than Tesla. They will have quality challenges, but really are they any worse than most manufacturers today. I don't know any they don't have vast recalls on their cars these days for some quality/safety reason. We seem to have returned to 70+ years ago where the owners have become the vehicle testers for manufacturers.

In Japanese world, we used to think Subaru were amazing in the UK back in the 1980's. Many owned by farmers that were neglected for servicing and yet they seldom broke and ran huge mileages before the bodies rotted off them.

Then Toyota and Mitsubishi were considered indestructible mechanically, and now it looks like Mazda. Other than being rust prone where we live, they seem to last mechanically well. I know several Mazda 3 owners who love their cars and in one case has had is about 20 years.

The technology in BYD and other Chinese manufacturer's electric vehicles make Tesla vehicles look archaic. It's not like Tesla vehicles are renowned for quality vehicles although they have improved over the years.

It is obvious why the US and Canada have barred Chinese electric vehicles. Although Canada has softened their stance now they are getting closer to Europe.

Neil.