Global explosion of small SUVs helps consumers and the environment

The Americanism of the globe can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. It’s discouraging, for example, to see an American fast food restaurant in the middle of a beautiful Spanish town.

At first glance, it also seems discouraging to see people around the world embracing the SUV lifestyle. It just seems wrong from an environmental standpoint to see our automotive avarice for bigger, bigger, bigger automobiles influence the lifestyles of our world neighbors.

Yet, in reality, from an environmental standpoint, it’s actually a good thing to see small sport utility vehicles taking the place of compact sedans. Why’s that? Gas isn’t always going to be this cheap and it helps development costs by spreading them around the world.

During the sudden increase in gas prices in June 2008 the industry was caught flat-footed by the sudden demand for small compact cars and crossovers. It largely couldn’t meet the demand, and there were instances where used cars in these categories cost just as much, if not more, than new counterparts in some cases.

It took a while for manufacturers to catch up because product development can take up to five years. Or, at least it used to. When gas next hits $4 a gallon or more, the industry is going to be ready because it has been busy producing compact crossovers and SUVs for other global markets.

The industry is truly global now. The big players like Ford, Toyota, GM, FCA and Volkswagen have vehicles all over the world and it’s no longer a system dominated by American tastes.

The beauty of this is when the time comes that high fuel prices suddenly compel us back into smaller vehicles, the manufacturers are ready. Why’s that? Since the last fuel crisis, they have been building cars from the bottom up. Compact and subcompacts are no longer afterthoughts. They’re important contributors to the bottom line.

Case in point would be the 2017 Chevrolet Trax. When it was introduced as new for the 2015 model year it had already spent two years overseas in other markets. In other words, it was a Chevrolet that came to the United States after experiencing a global introduction.

By the time it hit our shores, it was a refined vehicle, comfortable to drive, and configured to provide lots of storage in a small space. In the past, the Trax may have never come here but it did because the subcompact market in the United States is getting stronger in spite of low gas prices because some people still like small but want the flexibility of a crossover.

Though Fairway Chevrolet of Las Vegas hasn’t begun carrying the 2017 Chevrolet Trax, Marketing Director Chris Leslie said he’s anticipating that buyers and test drivers will gravitate towards the smaller SUV.

“Everyone who has come in to test drive it loves it,” he said of the 2016 Chevrolet Trax. “They like that it sits up a little higher than a traditional sedan and, for small families, it’s great because they have space in the back to add a bike rack.”

Leslie said the 2017 Chevrolet Trax features a sportier redesign and comes standard with both a traditional and digital tachometer as well as boasts several safety features such as side blind zone alerts, rear cross traffic alert, forward collision alert and lane departure alert warnings.

“A lot of the features that are typical for the higher end sedans are standard in this vehicle,” he said. “It’ll also have Apple CarPlay and 4G LTE Wi-Fi.”

Leslie added, “It’s a good sized car for not a whole lot of money and a great way to get into smaller SUV.”

Another advantage to this trend toward smaller is how it benefits all small vehicles. It’s almost surprising to see the level of refinement in vehicles like the Hyundai Elantra when compared to the Sonata, the next size up. In the past, the difference between the two was distinct in the interior. This time, there was no discernible difference.

Will Americans drive small vehicles? Yes, as long as they are crossovers, which are fast becoming the preferred alternative to subcompact cars.