Rell84shots
Veteran
That's the only flaw you see? Convenience will always keep personal transportation at the top of the list.
The age of ‘the car is king’ is over. The sooner we accept that, the better
- Thread starter bnew
- Start date
Seeing as this will be always reality what’s next?
French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris
Official measurements have found that Paris is rapidly becoming a city of cyclists.
www.forbes.com
French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris
Carlton ReidSenior Contributor
I have been writing about transport for 30 years.
French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris
Apr 6, 2024,10:06am EDT
Parisians rides their bicycles near the Eiffel Tower. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
GETTY IMAGES
Official measurements have found that Paris is rapidly becoming a city of transportation cyclists. The survey of how people now move in Paris was conducted with GPS trackers by academics from L’Institut Paris Région, the largest urban planning and environmental agency in Europe.
The institute’s transportation report was published on April 4. It found that the way Parisians are now traveling from the suburbs to the city center, especially during peak periods, has undergone a revolution thanks in part to the building of many miles of cycleways.
Those cyclists now on the streets and roads of central Paris are not Spandex-clad professionals as seen on the Tour de France but everyday transportation cyclists.
L’Institut Paris Région carried out the survey for a consortium of fourteen public and private partners, including local government and rail companies.
Reporting on the institute’s survey, French TV channel 20 Minutes told viewers that the “capital’s cycle paths are always full.”
Between October 2022 and April 2023, 3,337 Parisians aged 16 to 80 years old were equipped with GPS trackers to record their journeys for seven consecutive days. In the suburbs, where public transit is less dense, transport by car was found to be the main form of mobility. But for journeys from the outskirts of Paris to the center, the number of cyclists now far exceeds the number of motorists, a huge change from just five years ago. Most of the journeys recorded were commuter trips.
The city’s socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo has pushed through a great many anti-motoring measures during her two administrations—such as reducing the number of parking places, restricting access by SUVs, and closing some major roads to motorists—and the latest survey will be validation for her policies, none of which have caused the kind of protests that the French capital has long been famous for.
In short, culling cars has been far more popular than her petrolhead critics predicted, with Paris becoming cleaner and healthier to boot.
Notably, and without the spread of conspiracy theories common outside of France, Paris is also putting into practice the home-grown concept of the “15-minute city,” creating urban areas where access to amenities is close and hence there’s less need to drive.
Yaboysix
That nikka
I live in Tampa...you telling me car use is in a Decline? WHERE!?
O.T.I.S.
Veteran
Apparently in France
hu3ypdadon
All Star
Cars are becoming unaffordable
Yaboysix
That nikka
Ford CEO Wants Americans to 'Get Back in Love' With the Small Cars Ford Gave Up On
Ford quit sedans in 2019, and the F-150 prints money. Still, Jim Farley says buyers need to get over their love for "monster vehicles."
www.thedrive.com
Ford CEO Wants Americans to ‘Get Back in Love’ With the Small Cars Ford Gave Up On
Ford quit sedans in 2019, and the F-150 prints money. Still, Jim Farley says buyers need to get over their love for "monster vehicles."JOSÉ RODRÍGUEZ JR
Posted On Jul 2, 2024 3:45 PM EDT
3 Minute Read
Nic Antaya via Getty
After killing off sedans and small cars in 2019, Ford CEO Jim Farley is now extolling their virtues and calling on Americans to fall back in love with smaller vehicles. That’s strange coming from an automaker that phased out small cars to focus on SUVs and pickup trucks, which seem to get bigger every generation. Ford is the preeminent maker of large vehicles in the U.S., what with the F-150 consistently being the best-selling model in the country every year. But now that EVs are the future we’re slowly but surely heading toward, Farley says America has to get over so-called “monster vehicles,” and get back to small cars, as CNBC reports.
You could say that Ford had an outsized role in steering us away from small cars and popularizing “monster vehicles,” so Farley’s statements are a bit frustrating. Just don’t read this as a newfound fondness for the kinds of cars that dominate markets overseas, such as those in Europe and China. Even in the U.S., Ford rivals like GM are seeing success with new small(ish) cars like the Chevy Trax.
The CEO of Ford tells CNBC that bigger vehicles have major weight issues, however, and goes on to explain how this is hurting the production of EVs due to the cost of batteries, saying, “You have to make a radical change as an [automaker] to get to a profitable EV. The first thing we have to do is really put all of our capital toward smaller, more affordable EVs […] These big, huge, enormous EVs, they’re never going to make money. The battery is $50,000. … The batteries will never be affordable.”
So, Farley isn’t exactly mourning the loss of the Ford Fiesta or protesting the Ford Puma’s absence in the U.S (although, in the Puma’s case, he has before). Farley’s preference for small cars is, of course, driven by his duty as CEO to increase profit. Now that Ford is reportedly aiming to make a $30,000 EV by 2027, which must be small to be profitable, Farley is trying to nudge people in the U.S. back to the very thing Ford turned away from. The chief executive went on to say, “We have to start to get back in love with smaller vehicles. It’s super important for our society and for EV adoption […] We are just in love with these monster vehicles, and I love them too, but it’s a major issue with weight.”
Ford later clarified to reporters that Farley was referring to large vehicles like the F-Series Super Duty, which would need massive batteries to achieve ranges of 500 miles or more, per CNBC. But that doesn’t really let Ford off the hook, because, for one, the company reiterates the fact that big heavy EVs are not viable, and, two, it lambastes the need for longer mile ranges, which some buyers in the U.S. continue to insist upon.
Outside of America, the best-selling EV models are compact vehicles with small batteries that yield comparatively low range. In China, the base model Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV gets under 100 miles of range, although it can go up to around 170 miles. Or, closer to home, the BYD Dolphin Mini for sale in Mexico can achieve just under 200 miles (on the NEDC testing cycle). It’s these kinds of small Chinese EVs that Ford and many others now fear. Farley added, “If we cannot make money on EVs, we have competitors who have the largest market in the world, who already dominate globally, already setting up their supply chain around the world,” he said. “And if we don’t make profitable EVs in the next five years, what is the future? We will just shrink into North America.”
Still, it’s notable that, even in North America, Ford is hinting at the return of small cars. It’s unlikely that Ford will ever make models to compete with the smallest Wuling and BYD EVs, but, at the very least, Ford could once again be embracing small entry-level cars in the U.S. Perhaps one day, we might see the electrified return of neat little vehicles like the Ford Fiesta ST, Focus SVT, Escort ZX2 or Probe. OK, probably not, but a guy can dream.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com
Json
Superstar
They need to get in love with making more reliable engines then we can talk about sedans and hatchbacksFord CEO Wants Americans to 'Get Back in Love' With the Small Cars Ford Gave Up On
Ford quit sedans in 2019, and the F-150 prints money. Still, Jim Farley says buyers need to get over their love for "monster vehicles."
Ford CEO Wants Americans to ‘Get Back in Love’ With the Small Cars Ford Gave Up On
Ford quit sedans in 2019, and the F-150 prints money. Still, Jim Farley says buyers need to get over their love for "monster vehicles."
JOSÉ RODRÍGUEZ JR
Posted On Jul 2, 2024 3:45 PM EDT
3 Minute Read
Nic Antaya via Getty
After killing off sedans and small cars in 2019, Ford CEO Jim Farley is now extolling their virtues and calling on Americans to fall back in love with smaller vehicles. That’s strange coming from an automaker that phased out small cars to focus on SUVs and pickup trucks, which seem to get bigger every generation. Ford is the preeminent maker of large vehicles in the U.S., what with the F-150 consistently being the best-selling model in the country every year. But now that EVs are the future we’re slowly but surely heading toward, Farley says America has to get over so-called “monster vehicles,” and get back to small cars, as CNBC reports.
You could say that Ford had an outsized role in steering us away from small cars and popularizing “monster vehicles,” so Farley’s statements are a bit frustrating. Just don’t read this as a newfound fondness for the kinds of cars that dominate markets overseas, such as those in Europe and China. Even in the U.S., Ford rivals like GM are seeing success with new small(ish) cars like the Chevy Trax.
The CEO of Ford tells CNBC that bigger vehicles have major weight issues, however, and goes on to explain how this is hurting the production of EVs due to the cost of batteries, saying, “You have to make a radical change as an [automaker] to get to a profitable EV. The first thing we have to do is really put all of our capital toward smaller, more affordable EVs […] These big, huge, enormous EVs, they’re never going to make money. The battery is $50,000. … The batteries will never be affordable.”
So, Farley isn’t exactly mourning the loss of the Ford Fiesta or protesting the Ford Puma’s absence in the U.S (although, in the Puma’s case, he has before). Farley’s preference for small cars is, of course, driven by his duty as CEO to increase profit. Now that Ford is reportedly aiming to make a $30,000 EV by 2027, which must be small to be profitable, Farley is trying to nudge people in the U.S. back to the very thing Ford turned away from. The chief executive went on to say, “We have to start to get back in love with smaller vehicles. It’s super important for our society and for EV adoption […] We are just in love with these monster vehicles, and I love them too, but it’s a major issue with weight.”
Ford later clarified to reporters that Farley was referring to large vehicles like the F-Series Super Duty, which would need massive batteries to achieve ranges of 500 miles or more, per CNBC. But that doesn’t really let Ford off the hook, because, for one, the company reiterates the fact that big heavy EVs are not viable, and, two, it lambastes the need for longer mile ranges, which some buyers in the U.S. continue to insist upon.
Outside of America, the best-selling EV models are compact vehicles with small batteries that yield comparatively low range. In China, the base model Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV gets under 100 miles of range, although it can go up to around 170 miles. Or, closer to home, the BYD Dolphin Mini for sale in Mexico can achieve just under 200 miles (on the NEDC testing cycle). It’s these kinds of small Chinese EVs that Ford and many others now fear. Farley added, “If we cannot make money on EVs, we have competitors who have the largest market in the world, who already dominate globally, already setting up their supply chain around the world,” he said. “And if we don’t make profitable EVs in the next five years, what is the future? We will just shrink into North America.”
Still, it’s notable that, even in North America, Ford is hinting at the return of small cars. It’s unlikely that Ford will ever make models to compete with the smallest Wuling and BYD EVs, but, at the very least, Ford could once again be embracing small entry-level cars in the U.S. Perhaps one day, we might see the electrified return of neat little vehicles like the Ford Fiesta ST, Focus SVT, Escort ZX2 or Probe. OK, probably not, but a guy can dream.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com
Unemployed GM
All Star
How I look this day and age waiting for a bus in pouring rain?
Last edited:
Treblemaka
President, BYNKRadio.com (Retired)
Govt Banning or decentivizing mass car use isn't going to to happen.
Economic factors are more likely to reduce motor vehicle use. When gas is $15 a gallon and unemployment is sustained at 10%+ then people will reduce their reliance on cars.
The world governments are way too cozy with car manufactures and Petroleum companies for a govt intervention to ever happen.
Economic factors are more likely to reduce motor vehicle use. When gas is $15 a gallon and unemployment is sustained at 10%+ then people will reduce their reliance on cars.
The world governments are way too cozy with car manufactures and Petroleum companies for a govt intervention to ever happen.
Unemployed GM
All Star
Ford CEO Wants Americans to 'Get Back in Love' With the Small Cars Ford Gave Up On
Ford quit sedans in 2019, and the F-150 prints money. Still, Jim Farley says buyers need to get over their love for "monster vehicles."
Ford CEO Wants Americans to ‘Get Back in Love’ With the Small Cars Ford Gave Up On
Ford quit sedans in 2019, and the F-150 prints money. Still, Jim Farley says buyers need to get over their love for "monster vehicles."
JOSÉ RODRÍGUEZ JR
Posted On Jul 2, 2024 3:45 PM EDT
3 Minute Read
Nic Antaya via Getty
After killing off sedans and small cars in 2019, Ford CEO Jim Farley is now extolling their virtues and calling on Americans to fall back in love with smaller vehicles. That’s strange coming from an automaker that phased out small cars to focus on SUVs and pickup trucks, which seem to get bigger every generation. Ford is the preeminent maker of large vehicles in the U.S., what with the F-150 consistently being the best-selling model in the country every year. But now that EVs are the future we’re slowly but surely heading toward, Farley says America has to get over so-called “monster vehicles,” and get back to small cars, as CNBC reports.
You could say that Ford had an outsized role in steering us away from small cars and popularizing “monster vehicles,” so Farley’s statements are a bit frustrating. Just don’t read this as a newfound fondness for the kinds of cars that dominate markets overseas, such as those in Europe and China. Even in the U.S., Ford rivals like GM are seeing success with new small(ish) cars like the Chevy Trax.
The CEO of Ford tells CNBC that bigger vehicles have major weight issues, however, and goes on to explain how this is hurting the production of EVs due to the cost of batteries, saying, “You have to make a radical change as an [automaker] to get to a profitable EV. The first thing we have to do is really put all of our capital toward smaller, more affordable EVs […] These big, huge, enormous EVs, they’re never going to make money. The battery is $50,000. … The batteries will never be affordable.”
So, Farley isn’t exactly mourning the loss of the Ford Fiesta or protesting the Ford Puma’s absence in the U.S (although, in the Puma’s case, he has before). Farley’s preference for small cars is, of course, driven by his duty as CEO to increase profit. Now that Ford is reportedly aiming to make a $30,000 EV by 2027, which must be small to be profitable, Farley is trying to nudge people in the U.S. back to the very thing Ford turned away from. The chief executive went on to say, “We have to start to get back in love with smaller vehicles. It’s super important for our society and for EV adoption […] We are just in love with these monster vehicles, and I love them too, but it’s a major issue with weight.”
Ford later clarified to reporters that Farley was referring to large vehicles like the F-Series Super Duty, which would need massive batteries to achieve ranges of 500 miles or more, per CNBC. But that doesn’t really let Ford off the hook, because, for one, the company reiterates the fact that big heavy EVs are not viable, and, two, it lambastes the need for longer mile ranges, which some buyers in the U.S. continue to insist upon.
Outside of America, the best-selling EV models are compact vehicles with small batteries that yield comparatively low range. In China, the base model Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV gets under 100 miles of range, although it can go up to around 170 miles. Or, closer to home, the BYD Dolphin Mini for sale in Mexico can achieve just under 200 miles (on the NEDC testing cycle). It’s these kinds of small Chinese EVs that Ford and many others now fear. Farley added, “If we cannot make money on EVs, we have competitors who have the largest market in the world, who already dominate globally, already setting up their supply chain around the world,” he said. “And if we don’t make profitable EVs in the next five years, what is the future? We will just shrink into North America.”
Still, it’s notable that, even in North America, Ford is hinting at the return of small cars. It’s unlikely that Ford will ever make models to compete with the smallest Wuling and BYD EVs, but, at the very least, Ford could once again be embracing small entry-level cars in the U.S. Perhaps one day, we might see the electrified return of neat little vehicles like the Ford Fiesta ST, Focus SVT, Escort ZX2 or Probe. OK, probably not, but a guy can dream.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com
feelosofer
#ninergang
America has too much landmass making cars a necessity. Also what about delivery and outside sales jobs. I think what we need to is make the car safer, cheaper and cleaner.
