The year was 1983. Chrysler/Plymouth rocked the domestic
market with the introduction of the ’84 Plymouth Voyager/Dodge Caravan. The
names weren’t new but the product was. America was downsizing and what had been
full sized vans were now smaller products. Mom and Pop America raised eyebrows,
abandoned their station wagons and pulled out their checkbooks. The new
successful suburban household had a 7-passenger mini-van in the drive instead
of the Ford Galaxy or Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagons of old.
In other news, the primordial ooze of auto evolution was coughing
up other leaner life-forms too. Due to tightening federal CAFE (Corporate
Average Fuel Economy) standards, Detroit was finally taking cues from Europe
and Asia on what small vehicles should look like. Tiny trucks and passenger
cars were now filling showrooms and fleet operators were scratching their
collective head trying to figure out how to make these vehicles work. But as
fast as the popularity of these wheels materialized they were doomed to
disappear, because those same CAFE standards had forced reduction of the size
of some old rural standbys too.
The Ford Bronco, Chevy Blazer and Dodge Ramcharger all fell
under the knife for a nip and tuck routine and came out of surgery trimmer and more
glamorous. It is unclear why the Sport had appeared on the Utility Vehicle, but
the days of rubber mats & hose-out-the-mud utility were gone. Instead we
got carpeting, sound deadening, running boards and 6-channel stereo systems.
Ironically these vehicles were functionally 4X4 station wagons, but smaller than
those that came before. While the fuel mileage could barely compete with the
older/bigger wagons, they helped the CAFE standards because they were
classified as a truck. Back then a 17-18 MPG truck was something to boast
about.
So again we had the changing of the guard. While mini-vans
were still available, they showed up less often in the drive-through. Suburban
Sally was now hauling Extra-Curricular Eddie to little league practice in a small
4X4 station wagon with chrome wheels. Eventually Sally realized she needed more
space to haul Eddie’s over-committed friends around too, so her SUV grew, and
then it grew some more. It became a full sized truck with a wagon body, so the
big wagons of old were back in bloom – they just sat higher, weighed more and
got worse fuel mileage than they used to. But the public reveled in spaciousness of
these living-room sized vehicles and gas was cheap.
Corporate Carl felt slighted. He liked the machismo factor
of pickup trucks but they were uncomfortable. He figured if a big cushy SUV was good
for Sally, a big pickup with leather seats, 4X4 decals and tube steps should be just
the ticket for his commute. Detroit reacted to the market and built him what he
wanted and simple trucks went away. And so fleet operators spent a lot of time looking
for a product that was reasonably economical to run and without the extras that
they didn't really need.
So your average fleet operator is doomed to sweep up after
American whim, buying whatever is available that most closely matches the need
and available budget. Ironic that a profession which must sometimes buy upwards
of 500-600 units at one time can have so little influence on what they have
available to buy.
© 2014 D.W. Williams.
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