That’s an old argument that doesn’t hold up. There’s no actual, legit proof that uninsured, unhelmeted riders who have accidents are a significant taxpayer burden. If you’re going down that road you’d also need to include other activities with a higher number of injuries, like using ladders.

More distracted car drivers, less helmet use, more car miles traveled (which = more traffic) all increase motorcyclist fatalities. More unlicensed motorcyclists also increase motorcyclist deaths, as motorcyclists without a valid motorcycle endorsement are vastly over represented in fatalities, as are motorcyclists who…

Anyway, this has been fun but I've got work to do. Bye!

Well shit, Volvo should clearly be basing their production decisions on your roommate’s mom’s opinion then, since she is representative of an entire class of future Volvo owners who will purchase a car that isn’t in production yet.

I’m not against anything. Are you making things up now? Come on. That's a lame dodge.

You didn't answer the question.

What other $30k plus premium models use a 3 cylinder engine by itself?

We’ll see, right? Volvo is a bit player here and has done poorly in the US market for the last decade. When you’re only selling 70,000 units annually in a 17.5 million unit market there isn’t much to lose on a European focused global strategy.

I said it would be interesting to see if Volvo buyers would spend $30k on a three cylinder near luxury car.

So what? Most people buy off the lot nowadays, so sales mixes reflect what Ford wants to build - in this case, more small displacement turbo sixes to keep their CAFE numbers up, which is driving their design priorities and choices these days, including the switch to aluminum bodies to reduce weight.

You’re mistaking fiesta buyers wanting fuel economy with ones that want performance. The big gain there is with rated fuel economy, which is a high priority for most Fiesta buyers.

So what? Tiny (about 5,000 worldwide) annual world sales of a $140,000 niche hybrid sports car have nothing to do with sales acceptance of a mainstream US market gas powered $30k near luxury car. Apples and torpedos.

Maybe, but you don't see a 3 cylinder as a standalone engine in any $30-$40k near luxury cars in the US, at least not yet.

That $1000 increase gets you 3 horsepower over the standard 1.6 liter four cylinder engine in the Fiesta.

Yeah, they do seem to like odd cylinder numbers more than other manufacturers... although Audi did a bunch of 5 cyl engines for years, too. VW phased out their 5 cyl recently.

Considering it’s a $1000 option on a $16k car, I'd say more people know than you might think.

Sure, the 1.0 has met Ford’s modest sales goals in the Fiesta, but a fuel economy 3 banger in an $18k subcompact is one thing, a similar engine in a $30k near luxury/upmarket brand is a harder sell.

It'll be interesting to see if US consumers go for a 3 cylinder Volvo in any significant number. It'll also be interesting to see if US market 3 cylinder cars are made in China...

It’s marketing when they don’t do real money in damages - an actual pissed off girlfriend would have keyed the car/broken the windows, etc.

If you read the Atlantic article you linked to, it says that they were having huge problems even when oil was $100/barrel, and that corruption, dismantling of institutions, price controls and terrible government policies were the actual root causes of Venezuela’s problems.