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Essay: As the city pushes other ways of getting around, people sure seem to love bigger vehicles. My lowly sedan is outnumbered.

Low rider: Driving around Charlotte in a sedan can feel like “driving a clown car.” (Photo by Ely Portillo)

by Ely Portillo

I’ve started to notice something strange in the past few years dropping my son off at his south Charlotte child care center: A creeping sense of my own smallness.

It’s not because I happen to be on the short side (I am) or because I suffer from low self-esteem (that’s a whole other issue). It’s because of something I’ve never given much thought to before: my choice of car to drive. My wife and I share a Hyundai Elantra and a Chevrolet Malibu, and we’re one of just a handful of families at our daycare that doesn’t drive an SUV or a pickup truck.

A quick scan of the parking lot each morning always reveals the same: a sea of Honda Pilots, Toyota Highlanders, Subaru Outbacks, Nissan Rogues, Ford F-150s, Cadillac Escalades and BMW X5s. Like me, almost all the parents are dropping off one child, yet I’ve ever seen only a couple of other parents driving sedans.

The trend has held steady at our last two daycares, exacerbating the Lilliputian complex I’ve developed driving around Charlotte over the past decade. Every year, it seems that the cars surrounding me are simply bigger. I often feel like I’m driving a clown-car, not a full-sized sedan, as I struggle to see past the Ford Expedition in front of me on Park Road or try to squeeze my car into a “full-sized” parking spot at Target that looks absurdly small between a Toyota Sequoia and a Chevy Tahoe.

Are cars really in the minority now? In a word, yes. It’s a shift that’s happened surprisingly fast and with little notice, as drivers turn to pickup trucks and SUVs of all types.

In Charlotte, it’s clear that we’ve crossed the Rubicon (a higher-end version of the Jeep Wrangler). An analysis of the most popular vehicles registered in Mecklenburg County in 2018 shows that SUVs, trucks and vans now outnumber sedans by a narrow 51% to 49% edge.

When I was a kid in the long-ago ’90s, it seemed like everyone’s parents hauled us around in Corollas, Accords, Tauruses, Impalas and the like. Each peer group had one unfortunate parent with a minivan who ended up getting stuck driving to pizza parties. When a family got an SUV, it was notable enough for my mother to remark on.

“Did you hear,” she’d ask — probably during a commercial break in “Seinfeld” — “that they got a Suburban? Such a big car, for four people.”

What we’re driving

Vehicle registration data shows the five most popular vehicles in Mecklenburg County are still sedans: the Accord, Camry, Civic, Altima and Corolla account for almost 94,000 between them. After that, however, the next four are trucks, SUVs and minivans: the Silverado, CR-V, Ford light trucks and Odyssey. The Sonata, another sedan, rounds out the top 10.

But go down the list, and it’s soon dominated by Expeditions, Yukons, Acadias, F-250s, Outlanders and other trucks and SUVs. [Note: For simplicity, the Ledger examined only vehicles with more than 1,000 registrations, which account for about 80% of all registered vehicles.]

Our trends mirror the nation’s: According to the EPA, just 33% of new cars produced fall into the “sedans and wagons” category. Truck SUVs (the big ones) and pickups account for 53%, while car SUVs (smaller crossovers) have hit a record high 12% of new vehicles produced.

In 1975, sedans and wagons — man, we need more wagons on the road again — accounted for 80% of the new vehicle market. As recently as 2013, they were holding steady at 50%. Nationwide, SUV sales surpassed sedans only in 2015. Since then? SUVs outsold sedans 2-to-1 last year, according to the New York Times.

Although all vehicle categories have become far more fuel-efficient in recent years, the EPA notes that the switch from sedans to trucks and SUVs has canceled out the emissions reductions we’d have reaped if we’d stuck with our cars.

Cheaper gas, bigger profits: There are many reasons why Americans have shifted to ever-bigger cars. Gas has been cheap for a while now. Automakers are phasing out subcompacts in the U.S. and allocating most of their marketing muscle to trucks and SUVs, where there are fatter profit margins. (Ford in 2018 announced it’s abandoning the car market completely in North America, except for the Mustang and one Focus variant, given “declining consumer demand and product profitability.”) And consumers seem to love the bigger vehicles, judging by their purchases.

But what does this shift mean for Charlotte, a Sun Belt city that grew up in the postwar era of cheap gas and suburban sprawl, trying to remake itself into more of a bike- and pedestrian-friendly place? Despite the Lynx Blue Line, the Gold Line, big plans for the Silver Line and an overhaul of the bus system, we’re still a city of drivers. Pre-Covid, about 75% of Charlotteans commuted to work alone in their cars.

At a recent City Council meeting, officials again talked about Charlotte becoming a “city of buses” with a faster, more useful system that attracts more riders who have the choice to drive — before the city manager announced an experiment with bus-only lanes on Central Avenue would be phased out. A petition against the bus-only lane gathered more than 1,200 signatures.

A few developers — most notably Clay Grubb, with Charlotte’s first explicit ban on cars at his parking-free apartment building in west Charlotte — are betting on a car-free or “car-lite” lifestyle catching on here. New regulations for buildings near transit lines removed parking minimums that forced developments next to light rail stations to build humongous parking decks with thousands of spaces — but you’ll still find more-than-ample parking at the office buildings, apartments and stores going up along the light rail line.

It seems that however much we say we want to drive less, and however much we as a city invest in infrastructure like greenways, light rail and bike lanes, we still love our cars — and love them bigger than ever. Getting at least a small SUV seems to be almost a prerequisite for having a second kid now, at least judging by anecdotal reports from acquaintances who made the decision to opt for more space after seeing two car seats squished in the backseat of a sedan.

In Charlotte, the contradiction nags: We’re putting lots of effort into becoming a city that doesn’t require you to get in your car for every trip at the same time our cars are all getting super-sized. The bigger our vehicles get, the more space they take up, in our driveways, on our roads, in parking decks packed along our light rail, and in our minds. And the more space our cars take up, the less room is left for other ways to get around.

Our cars are both about a decade old, hitting the point where the cost of repairs starts to weigh heavily against the resale value. We’re still considering what to buy next, but to be honest, the choice seems preordained. We’re looking at our sedans, with two car seats and a mountain of kid debris jammed in the back. We’re looking at our friends, all now with SUVs or pickup trucks. And we’re looking at the sea of big vehicles looming over our Elantra and our Malibu, now suddenly so little.

Ely Portillo is assistant director at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. He previously spent a decade as a reporter at The Charlotte Observer.

Today’s supporting sponsors are T.R. Lawing Realty…

… and Landon A. Dunn, attorney-at-law in Matthews:

Ex-Panthers Olsen and Stewart bought million-dollar teardowns on same star-studded street

Former Carolina Panthers teammates Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart have bought million-dollar houses on the same street alongside Carmel County Club’s golf course — in a neighborhood quickly falling into favor with pro athletes.

Property records show that in early March, Olsen and Stewart bought houses seven doors down from each other on Parview Drive, in the Carmel Estates neighborhood off Rea Road near N.C. 51:

Olsen paid $1.2M on March 1 for 0.95 acres with a 3,500 s.f. house with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It was built in 1969. The property listing says the house is on Carmel Country Club’s 15th fairway and that “the sky is the limit with this large backyard including unobstructed views of the club’s property with zero power lines.”
Stewart paid $1.15M on March 10 for a 1-acre lot with a 4,600 s.f. house with 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It was built in 1965. The listing says “the views from the back are a golfer’s dream” and that buyers should feel free to “knock down, update or just move in as-is.”

GOLF COURSE VIEWS: Properties bought last month by former Panthers Greg Olsen (top) and Jonathan Stewart (bottom) on Parview Drive command views of Carmel Country Club’s golf course. (Photos from Zillow)

Demolition time: The two former NFL stars are apparently no fans of 1960s home design. The house on Stewart’s new lot has been knocked down, and the site over the weekend had only a bulldozer, rubble and tree limbs. Olsen’s newly purchased house seems ready for oblivion, too: A demolition permit was approved last month, according to county records. Get ready for some new monster golf-course mansions.

But it’s not just ex-Panthers on Parview Drive. Property records show that on the other side of the water hazard, there’s:

Charlotte Hornets star Gordon Hayward, who paid $4.7M for an 8,800 s.f house with 5 bedrooms and 8 baths on 1.2 acres on Jan. 5. It was built in 2006. And he and his wife are next-door neighbors with…
Former Charlotte Bobcat Matt Carroll, who spent nearly $2M on his 5,900 s.f. house way back in March 2019 (and did some renovations — property records show it’s now 6,300 s.f.).

Looks like the lifestyles of Charlotte’s rich and famous are being increasingly lived on Parview Drive. Watch out, Quail Hollow Club — Carmel Country Club is coming for you. —TM

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Renovation controversy at Myers Park Country Club?

In other country club news, we’re hearing there’s controversy a-brewin’ at Myers Park Country Club, one of the city’s oldest and most prestigious clubs.

The Ledger’s well-connected sources tell us that there’s dissatisfaction among some members (to put it mildly) about renovation plans that would expand the club’s already large men’s-only areas — and that the club is being vague on some of the details, even to its members. (The full initiation fee is a reported $80,000, plus dues between $600 and $800 a month.)

‘Lively discussions’: Business North Carolina hinted at some of the unrest last week. The magazine reported that “there’s a buzz among some of the 1,000 or so Myers Parks golf and social members over a $27 million plan to renovate the 100-year-old club. Some longer-term members think the pending assessment will be a bit much, prompting some lively discussions. Many others are enthusiastic about the improvements.”

We’ll keep our ears open on this one. If you know anything, feel free to drop us a line. —TM

More than 1/3 of N.C. hospital employees refuse Covid vaccine

Vaccines for Covid have been available for about four months — but more than 1/3 of N.C. hospital employees have still not been vaccinated.

That’s the eyebrow-raising result of a survey of the state’s 14 largest hospital systems by students at Queens University of Charlotte. They write:

Seven of the 14 hospitals surveyed reported vaccination rates ranging from 50% to 65%. Five refused to disclose their vaccination rates.
By comparison, almost 70% of the American public either has been vaccinated, or plans to be, according to a February survey by the Pew Research Center.
“I’m not sure how you can express enough frustration at folks who don’t think it’s important or don’t want to get the vaccine,” said Dennis Taylor, president of the North Carolina Nurses Association. The association has roughly 7,700 members.
“I think it’s important especially (that) those of us that work in provider offices, that work in the hospital, that work in areas where we come into contact with vulnerable populations, that we take it as part of our professional responsibility to be vaccinated against the virus.”
Cynthia Charles, vice president of the North Carolina Healthcare Association, also expressed concern. The association represents N.C. hospital systems.
Charles and Taylor said they believed many employees who declined to be vaccinated first wanted to see how the vaccine affected others.

Members of minority communities and younger workers tend to be less likely to take the vaccine. Novant Health said 63% of workers had received the vaccine, the third-highest among those surveyed. Atrium Health declined to release a figure and said its legal team was studying the request for information.

You can read the full article here. —TM

Wrapping up ‘Entrepreneur Week’

We hope you enjoyed last week’s six-part series on entrepreneurs. It’s fascinating to hear from people with a vision who are making it happen. Thank you to those who shared their experiences building businesses and provided useful advice.

A couple of our takeaways from working on the series:

Surround yourself with good people. If you’re building something, you probably can’t do it all by yourself. Your early hires are crucial. As Hugh McColl told us: “If you want to be successful, you’re ultimately going to be successful working through other people.”
Do what you know. Rather than start something totally new, is there some knowledge or interest you have that you can lean on to start a business? Ted Williams knew a lot about the marketplace for digital ads and built Charlotte Agenda, which excelled at … selling digital ads. Mahari Freeman taught voice and piano for a decade, then opened a business that … teaches music.

Sure, those tips might not sound revolutionary. But it’s inspiring to see people putting them into action.

Last week’s Entrepreneur Week interviews, available to The Ledger’s community of paying subscribers, can be found on our website (🔒). —TM

In brief:

About those stacked triplexes and Chili’s in Myers Park…

You’ll be happy to know we received an overwhelming response to our April Fools’ Day edition, which you might recall led with an article that became more implausible by the paragraph about a mixed-income “entertainment district” in Myers Park called “Triplex Acres@MyPa.”

We received more than 100 emails in response — almost all of them positive — and many that were some variation of “you got me.” It had a good run on social media and quickly became the #2 most viewed Ledger post of all time (second only to our not-made-up scoop last fall that Earth Fare planned to reopen its Charlotte stores).

The consensus seemed to be that many of you believed the article to be real until getting to the passage about the proposed addition to the development of an adult establishment called “The Booty Loop.” Some, though, said it didn’t dawn on them that it was April 1 until the subsequent article, about a new restaurant that planned to charge $22 for a sandwich consisting only of bread and $12 for an Instagrammable glass of tap water with “artisanal ice.”

Still, some readers reached out just to be sure. “Is this an April Fools’ joke? Sharks suing and Myers Park allowing a Chili’s?” one reader emailed. We assured him it was, to which he replied: “Hahaha I knew it. Myers Park would never allow for a Chili’s.”

Additionally, people who clicked on links in the post were taken to a video of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Our analytics show we Rickrolled more than 2,300 people. Not bad for a day’s work.

Still, not everyone was laughing. One of our paying subscribers — this is actually true — canceled his subscription and wrote:

Your April Fools joke about the so-called entertainment district on Queens Road West in Myers Park was grotesque, and I found it very disturbing and upsetting. I expect serious journalism from The Charlotte Business Ledger. What CRAP you’re printing. Please provide me with a partial refund of my subscription. I will certainly not recommend the Charlotte Business Ledger to my friends.

(We refunded his payment and sent a note of explanation but received no response.)

These things are tricky. Nowadays, especially, news outlets are sensitive to charges of “fake news” — and writing purely invented articles seems to fit that definition. We consider credibility and trustworthiness to be our most important assets.

Still, we thought Charlotte could use a laugh. As the famous poet Jimmy Buffett once wrote, “If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” We’re glad that most of you laughed along with us. —TM

Taking stock

Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:

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The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and website publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business-y news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.

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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith

The Charlotte Ledger

SUV city: Small cars take a back seat