What “popular cars” mean in the US, Argentina, and Spain

The American section forgot one major requirement on the list of popular cars in the USA....power.

It wasn't until I arrived here that I realized Americans are obsessed with Torque & HP. It's on every commercial and arguably take precedence in automotive discourse over MPG. My minivan in Texas pushed 280 HP. It was IMO absurdly powerful for it's purpose of hauling kids to school.

When I bought my Cronos here, I was in despair that the highest selling car in the country couldn't even push 100 HP. Even my first 98 Honda Civic had 106 HP and only after a summer modifying the engine bay could I get it to make it up the CA Hwy 2 in Los Angeles without decelerating.

I thought no way would the Cronos make it up the cordillera to Chile without babying the pedal. However after 3 years, I am thoroughly impressed with the Cronos. Fiat did a great job on the motor. Now if only Argentina cared a little more about airbags...
 
I rented a cronos for a week in catamarca last year, and I liked it. It’s the best selling car in Argentina, and made in Argentina. The one we got had a cvt auto transmission, which is considered to be a minus in US cars, but it was fine. I have a Honda fit with a cvt in the states, so I looked up the new price of the cronos, vs the price of the now discontinued ( in the USA ) fit. Today, on Mercado Libre, its 20,000,000 for a cronos, a bit under $14,000 usd at todays excange rate. I paid $21,000 for my fit in 2015.
Theres your airbags right there, along with better fit and finish. Stellantis, who make fiat, citroen, peugeot, and dodge, along with other argentine carmakers like toyota, ford, and volkswagon, all have airbags and luxury options in their lineups. Argentina has required airbags in most cars since 2014. But the market speaks, and most cars sold in Argentina are half the retail price of the cheapest cars sold in the US.
Hence, less features.
I mean, you can get a porsche or a mercedes or a land rover here, even a new electric ford mustang. But you have to pay more.
 
Ries said:
Today, on Mercado Libre, its 20,000,000 for a cronos, a bit under $14,000 usd at todays excange rate. I paid $21,000 for my fit in 2015.
Theres your airbags right there,
Click to expand...
You lost me on that one. The cheapest car in the country starts at $25M ($17,000 USD). The Cronos MSRP now starts at $30M ($20,000). You get 2 airbags in the Cronos. That's right, 2 whole airbags, even 17 years after side airbags became mandatory in the US car market.

That's not even the tip of the iceberg. The top selling sedans in Argentina (Cronos, Yaris, Peugeot 208) don't even make it past 2 stars in the Latin NCAP safety ratings.

Sedans sold in this country with a high safety rating (VW Taos, Toyota Carolla) start at $42-50M. ($26k - $33k).

Meanwile, the cheapest car in the US is the Nissan Versa at $18k. It comes with 10 airbags. Yes, TEN and is rated 5 stars in safety.

In the Argentine market it's sold with 6 airbags at $33M ($22k). So for $4,000 more, you get 4 less airbags. What a bargain.

There is absolutely no reason for this other than Argentine safety standards allow Argentine manufacturers to get away with it so they can cheap out on basic security features to pretend they're giving you a "great price".
 
As mentioned in the article, mid sized pickup trucks are extremely popular in Argentina and for good reason. The most popular models are all manufactured in Argentina (Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, VW Amarok) which means that parts/service availability will never be an issue anywhere inside the country. They are also true go anywhere vehicles as they have high ground clearance, robust full frames, heavy duty suspensions , high payload capacity and of course available four wheel drive. They are similar to USA prices for similar models and have very good resale value; they also come with a minimum of 5 year or 150,000km warranty. I personally own a Ranger and have been 100% satisfied with it in the 4+ years of ownership.
 
LuckyLuke said:
You lost me on that one. The cheapest car in the country starts at $25M ($17,000 USD). The Cronos MSRP now starts at $30M ($20,000). You get 2 airbags in the Cronos. That's right, 2 whole airbags, even 17 years after side airbags became mandatory in the US car market.

That's not even the tip of the iceberg. The top selling sedans in Argentina (Cronos, Yaris, Peugeot 208) don't even make it past 2 stars in the Latin NCAP safety ratings.

Sedans sold in this country with a high safety rating (VW Taos, Toyota Carolla) start at $42-50M. ($26k - $33k).

Meanwile, the cheapest car in the US is the Nissan Versa at $18k. It comes with 10 airbags. Yes, TEN and is rated 5 stars in safety.

In the Argentine market it's sold with 6 airbags at $33M ($22k). So for $4,000 more, you get 4 less airbags. What a bargain.

There is absolutely no reason for this other than Argentine safety standards allow Argentine manufacturers to get away with it so they can cheap out on basic security features to pretend they're giving you a "great price".
Click to expand...
I just looked on mercado libre, and there is a 20,000,000 Okm cronos there. Actually a bunch of em.
Everything I ever buy on Mercado Libre is the cost they say it is.
Is that somehow different for cars?
here is one in San Isidro ro 19,999.999 pesos
there are at least 4 other types of brand new cars for 20 million or less.


This may vary regionally, but where I live in the USA, the stripper models like your $18k Versa are imaginary. No dealer has basic models of anything. The cheapest Versas I see near my US home are around $23,000. And the average price of a car in the US now is over $40,000. The cheap level of cars is around $25,000, but most are a bit more because dealers order them with extra packages.
Pickups in the US are more.

As far as airbags, lots of Argentine cars have more than 2- the Fiat Pulse, for example, has 4, but, it costs double what a cronos does. Its around 40 million, which is about $26k USD, which is what a stripper Kia will run you in the states.
there are peugots, volkswagens, fiats, citroens, and renaults that have 4 or more airbags. Just higher priced models.
I know lots of people in the USA who complain about the reason cars being so expensive is the government safety requirements, and I am sure if Argentine cars cost as much as US cars, they would complain here too.
 
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