The Sedan Market Is Cooked (The Roman Report)

It's over for sedans. At least, that's what you'd think from all the sedans being discontinued by major automakers over the past few years, from Ford to Chevrolet to even Nissan. But is the sedan market truly cooked? Are sedans really going away? If so, who is behind the decline of the sedan? We have our suspects, our theories, and our conclusion, and we're going to give you a definitive answer! So let's investigate this contentious topic and get to the bottom of one of the biggest mysteries in the automotive industry today: what is happening to sedans, and who is behind it all?

If you like The Roman Report, check out some of my other long-form videos:

Chapters:
00:00 Who Killed the Gas-Powered Sedan?
02:24 The Consumers
07:42 The Automakers

16:31 The Government

22:28 A Surprise Suspect

24:35 Conclusion

27:36 Sources / Photo Credits

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[TRJ]

When Corollas got into the $30, 000+, sedans were doomed.

[NCKSO]

Manufacturers after spending decades manufacturing consent about SUVs:
"We JuSt Don'T kNoW why people aren't buying sedans"

[kaijuultimax]

My man you can just say it: The entire non-luxury car market is cooked.

[singular]

Manufactuerers are "manufacturing consent", examples:
Remove manual options - "our manual take rate is zero"
Price out V6 models - "our v6 take rate is really low so we dropped it"
Price out sedans - "No one is buying sedans"
Make a model hybrid exclusive - "no one is buying gas cars!"

[beerdragon]

It’s not just the sedans, it’s every damn car on the market. They’re all wildly expensive and the manufacturers have priced the average buyer right out of the market.

[scittw]

20 years ago I thought SUV's were an obnoxious fad that would eventually go away...

[sadmanh]

here me out, replace the sedans with station wagons and hatchbacks, all the spaciousness and cargo room of a crossover, but still the size of a sedan.

[beardybaldy]

I think your most insightful line here is “sedans would sell better if they were better.” This phenomenon happened in recent history, and to understand it all you need to do is compare the Death Of The Sedan to the Decline Of The Minivan.

Especially during the 90’s and early 00’s, minivans were hot. It resulted in forgotten products like the Mercury Villager, a badge engineered Nissan Quest which was intended by no one to move the needle for excellence in the automotive arts. But, the 1st generation Villager sold 120, 000 units over 4 years. Not a smashing success, but it allowed another Ford product to occupy a slice of the market. Then a thing happened, which you can directly compare to the current situation with sedans. The Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna became such obviously superior products that trying to compete with them on merits alone was a complete folly. So the minivan segment which once had dozens of choices is now left with the two obvious champions and a couple of also-rans.

So it makes complete sense that Ford/GM/Dodge gave up on sedans, because history has proven that they will never be a real threat to the Camry, Corolla, Accord, or Civic. It would cost a fortune to develop something in the same league as Honda or Toyota, and they’ve had, what…40 years?… to build credibility to create such a following in the midsize/compact sedan category. And they never did. So why bother?

TL;DR sedans will become a more niche market like minivans led by the best examples

[Rob_Lobster]

The Big Altima Energy conversation always makes my heart sink. I bought an 06 from my Gramma when I started college. It got me through 4 years and then I gave it to my sister for her to finish school. 8 years and 110k miles, a new paint job, new steering knuckles and 2 power steering pumps later she is still going strong. The Nissan Altima will always have a special place in my heart. No matter the stigma

[Bebop-n-Djent]

Why the hell do light trucks get an exemption when they have always been the least fuel efficient vehicles to begin with?

[DownwithEA]

I'm just tired of every auto maker trying to stuff what would be cheap cars with "luxury" items & being shocked come quarterly results that vehicles haven't sold well.

[TheCoyote]

Cash for Clunkers took an entire generation's ability to buy used from them. 20 years of potential used cars crushed in the name of saving the automakers. So people who could have bought used cars amd been fine were forced into leases and loans they never could have afforded.

Hell, I ended up going out of business because of cash for clunkers. Buy non running used car, rebuild to running, sell for profit. repeat about twice a month, and I used to make about $1.5k profit per car. Those cars were sub $3k after I touched them. Not a single one was made after the turn of the millenium.

Then Cash for Clunkers came and everything was $5k minimum for scrap.

[WoodAndSteel]

Hmmm, who has more influence on the state of sedans and the car market as a whole:
1) Corporations with gigantic marketing budgets, the financial incentive to build and sell more expensive SUVs, and regulatory loopholes to build those SUVs cheaper, OR:
2) Some guy who wants a hatchback

Quite the mystery we have here, gang

[Hooooooooar]

It all started when Krusty endorsed the Canyonero. 12 yards long two lanes wide, 65 tons of American never stood a chance.

[TheMrbigfresh]

The future of cars seems extremely depressing

[Kochiha]

The death of the sedan is secondary to the death of the hatchback and the wagon, both of which are the most compelling arguments against SUVs, and both of which are largely MIA from the American market for reasons that can only go back to the manufacturers.

[noahpatch]

Long time watcher, first time commenter. The lack of actual economy cars I think is a big problem. The loss of the Honda Fit in 2020 was really the end of an era because there isn’t really a cool, reliable hot hatch type car that is available anymore. The love for the 90s JDM vehicles has stayed consistent and if there’s any way to touch back on that in today’s market, I think we could see a change. Fuck CAFE btw.

[Exteminator]

Still blaming the government for slowly incentivizing larger vehicles in general. Today’s Civic is huge compared to a Civic from 20 years ago.

[brooksschneider]

As an aging boomer, I'm often accused of being a curmudgeon, but it has been interesting to watch how marketing has influenced our "needs".

I grew up in Watertown, NY, where winter weather is no stranger. The only people with 4WD vehicles had trucks with plows on them. The rest of us had rear wheel drive sedans and wagons, yet we still got to wherever we needed to go without much difficulty. Now, the message seems to be that driving in any climate without AWD is bordering on suicidal.

The other interesting trend is selling an image. TV commercials lead us to believe that everyone drives off-road the majority of the time. In over 50 years of driving, I have been on many unpaved roads, but nothing like the ads suggest is common. The idea of driving up the side of a mountain never even occurred to me.

So, what do we really need? At least for this geezer, our 2007 front wheel drive Pontiac Vibe met our needs 99% of the time, and 100% when including our small utility trailer. If they still made them, I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

[Jakeyythetr]

As somone from gen z, most of my peers want sedans or smaller cars. Since we are younger, we have no use for a SUV as we arn't hauling family, going on large shopping trips, or bringing large stuff back from home depot (not like we will ever be able to afford a house anyway). We really just need a personal vehicle that can occationally hold a few friends. I'd imagine as we get older we will start to want SUV's as their practicality becomes more relevant in our lives but for now i'm happy with my GLI.