July 28: A eulogy

Who died? No one died, but they are on life support and their death is more than likely imminent. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to rush things along, but the way things are going, it doesn't look good for all involved. Sure, these folks all look happy now, but they are holdouts, if indeed this is a current picture (which I sincerely doubt).......

Ok, so get to it, Barry. What's going on here? Why the grieving? Simply put, my grief is for the almost certain demise of the full size family sedan as we know it. Great cars are sitting on dealers' lots waiting for those rare individuals, like me, to walk in. Cars like this Impala........

.....or this Buick........

.......are seeing their sales lanquish. Take that poor old Impala. It gets rave reviews and yet, it's not unusual for a dealer to sell one, only every couple of months. Buyers are flocking to suvs, no matter what they call them, from 4x4's or crossovers or whatever. Practical? Sure. Fun to drive? Not unless you are ponying up the coin for a Porsche suv or a Jaguar model.

I love the agility of my car, but even me, the diehard sport sedan buyer, can see an suv somewhere in my future (hopefully my distant future) as the onset of aging makes getting in and out of a lower car less pleasurable. Even my brother bit the suv bullet recently, but at least he also has a new Mustang to play with.

A couple of other shining examples of cars that are heavily rumoured to be headed to the auto graveyard in the very near future........

Now, of course, there is a good reason why I'm showing the police car models, since both the Taurus and the Charger have very large sales to these agencies, which basically keep those cars in production. What will your local police do, if they have relied on Chargers? Whatever, it's too bad, as they make a great cop car.

As these sedans head to the boneyard, they are being helped along by new or revised sport utes almost every week. Suvs like the new and very attractive Chevy Traverse.......

......or the just announced smaller Jag, the E-Pace.......

......or the very hot selling brand new VW Atlas........

Lordy, where will it end? Next thing you know, is that Rolls will be doing an suv for all you high rollers out there.......

And, of course, we know that this will actually happen in 2019, as RR will be adding the Cullinan to the line at that time. Something to keep all those oil sheiks happy.

With all these suvs on and coming to market, and the sedan sales tanking, surprisingly there is actually a bright spot.........

Surprise, surprise, Nissan's big Maxima has had a double digit sales increase over last year. What's its secret as Nissan all but keeps it hidden, with hardly an advertisement and never anything in the local papers touting low monthlies? Maybe there are still a few smart and discerning people (like me) out there, who know a good thing when they see it. By the way, my Maxima has been a great car for the past sixteen months, with no issues. Might even get another one when this lease is up.

So please shed a tear for a North American mainstay. The "go to" vehicle for families for the past, god knows, how many years. Remember the good times and regale your offspring with stories about looking up at the police officer, who pulled you over, as you were nestled behind the wheel of your low riding, mobile sofa.

Until next time......