I see a few new Mazdas here and there. But Subaru and Honda have given up on offering competitive vehicles (in Europe) a long time ago. Their sales figures plummeted as a result; to roughly zero.

That is exactly it. Subaru has one big problem, and it’s not the marketing nor the dealerships. They have one big problem in Europe:

As has the Golf. It's also a reason why the Passat and its segment is dying.

About that RAV4 2.5L hybrid. In 2021 form that get slapped with a ~4300 euro CO2 emissions tax (‘gas guzzler tax’) where I’m from. Had it been a 2021 RAV4 FWD non-hybrid with a 2.0L engine and slushbox; ~8400 euro emissions tax. That’s $10.k USD.

Exactly. These are very rare in Europe, and that $5500 price is a bargain. But I would not want to own it.

You’re probably right.

You’ll know better than I do, as an outsider. I used the income tax as a short/simple example. There will be other ways to compensate a regressive tax like a gas tax, in such a way that at the end of the year the lower incomes have more disposable income. Not less. Despite having spent more on fuel.

Exactly. Without commenting on if it the right way to take, it certainly is an effective way for consumers and manufacturers to care about emissions and fuel economy. You can still buy whatever you like, but if you want something ‘dirty’ you will have to pay for it.

Also, what exactly do you see causing a gas price spike at this juncture?

It’s not though. In Europe Opel is available in every market, except the UK. Vauxhall is only present in the UK, and no where else. Zero overlap. Very easy and clean. In the UK they tend to have a market share of 7% nowadays, it used to be more.

I honestly lack the knowledge to make any absolute statements here. I do wonder though, do people in countries like China, India or Nigeria buy a significant amount of *new* Hondas?

It’s smaller than a full size Transit. Not something you want to drive through the center of a city, but you can. It’s a work vehicle. I guess the appeal is to make it more agreeable to live with.

It’s a truck, and a functional one at that. What did you expect them to do? Cut the weight in half and lower it so its exhaust almost scrapes the asphalt? The ‘sporty’ part of a truck is typically appearance orientated. Maybe a bigger motor to go faster in a straight line, but output has little to do with being…

Or they can learn from their mistakes and simply release a next gen that conforms more to their history; less luxury, lower prices, less focus on the US and maybe a bit smaller too.

I don’t know how a global company like Stellantis can recon with the fact that their only volume brands are regional...

Vauxhall is nothing but RHD Opel. It’s not really another brand at all. Keeping it around costs them the development costs of badges for new models (= roughly zero costs), killing it would mean having to introduce an entirely new brand into the UK (Opel) and losing a century of brand equity. All for the same cars.…

In Europe, the FCA brands have been horribly mismanaged for years. For decades maybe.

The only reason for Chrysler/Dodge to continue living is for them to sell rebadged and sightly re-engineerd Peugeots and Opels.

Alfa is compact luxury and Maserati is everything larger.

Probably. I was mostly replying to the idea of Peugeot leaving the US because the cars are supposedly crap.