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The biggest reason for the disappearance of the spare tire?

C

Chris Jones

Member
It just hit me I don't think anyone mentioned this as a reason the spare tire is disappearing. Others and myself have mentioned weight reduction/mpg increase, improved reliability of tires/lack off need, and lack of driver knowledge on how to install a spare as reasons for the disappearance of the spare these days.

I now submit another: cell phones.

Today few people are stranded when they have a flat. It's rare to have to walk a dark street or miles of busy highway to find a pay phone--people can sit in their car and call someone to come to your rescue. In the 70's folks had to change tires in the cold rain on the side of the road at night with a flashlight using a bumper jack and a 4 say lug wrench while cars whipped by. I remember the anxiety when someone was pulling over--was this a good Samaritan going to help or trouble. If the spare was flat or missing I might walk for miles hoping again the right person and not the wrong person stopped to offer a ride. Finally I remember finding a pay phone and the receiver was broken. :) I can smile now. I used to know folks that kept spare hoses, belts and tools in their car/truck.

So, you keep a car charger for your cell in the glove box right?
 
Second reason......The majority of people out there now days wouldn't have a clue how to change the tire if their life depended on it....and are too dumb to do it even if they had the owners manual as a guide.
 
Yeah, I do actually. This year I have been running my business on Thursdays from "the road" since my wife changed her hours and cannot cover my phones for me on that day. Cell phone runs hands free thru the stereo system. I have road service for the cars if I need a tire changed. I can find the spare if it comes up and I know how to change a tire. Oddly enough it is the new fangled jacks that keep me guessing and the 'all too specific' location you have to jack from. On my nice old '76 chevy truck I can place the jack most anywhere and the spare is usually laying in the bed. Big heavy rims/tires though.
 
Well, That makes sense in a way........

But, In my option, it's always about the money. If I'm a car manufacturer and I can convince buyers that they no longer need a spare, that's about another $500 profit from every vehicle that I sell.

As for me, if I'm buying a vehicle it better darn well have a spare tire, because I know if I need it Murphy's law will be in full force. (Worst weather, no cell phone coverage, late at night, but hey, I'm an optimist LOL)

Larry
 
A few years back I had a flat on the way to an appointment. Glanced at my watch as I was pulling over. Eight minutes later I was underway again. Let's see your cell phone do that! Believe the lack of spares started out at a time when there was a strike in the rubber industry. Car manufacturers were issuing them without spares so they could keep production going. Imagine my trepidation when I got one of those spareless ones for my driver ed car one summer.
 
I think all of you are correct.

The car manufacture does not put the spare tire in to save money; increase mileage; and boast about bigger storage space.

The car owner puts up with it because they have a cell phone and increased reliability of tires today.
 
Years ago, daughter went on a weekend outing with the youth group at church. On the way home, one of the cars had a flat tire. She was the only one in the group that knew how to change a tire.

Now people would rather pay someone else to do those jobs. No wonder the young people have no hope of ever saving any money.
 
A woman can call someone but who is the average man going to call? Years ago I always kept some kind of log wagon for a crew change car, a big Olds or Mercury, always had 4 or 5 "maypops" in the turtle hull.
 
Also, the flat repair in a can stuff- spray it in, it goops the hole and re-inflates your tire. Kinda like magic.
 
There are two kinds of people in the world today. People who carry a spare tire, and people who don't but will wish they did.
 
I wish they still came with a bumper jack!

What I didn't like was the half bent tire tool that most came with, especially if the last place buzzed the lugs on with an impact. Once or twice used the bumper jack as a cheater to break 'em loose and then jack car. Finally got smart and made sure to have a 4-way with me.
 

I'd agree cell phones made a big difference. I live along a main highway and always had people coming to the door looking for help or gas. All that disappeared with the popularity of cell phones. Now we maybe get somebody once every three months, mostly looking for directions but GPS has thinned that down, too.

I sure don't miss those late night knocks on the door or the door bell ringing after midnight.
 
Here I thought the spare tire being missing from the new cars was because so many of us old guys are carrying them around!!! LOL
 
I remember reading about new Corvettes awhile back. No place you could stick a flat full-size tire except the passenger seat. Spare? Why?

My little car's not far from that, but did come with a diminutive spare. And a lovely jack, with careful instructions in the owner's manual.

No need for a cell charger in the car. If I screwed up, the next person along will have a charged phone. Tools are different. Sprung a large coolant leak in downtown Key West last December. Tow to the nearest dealer was $1000. Much less to my buddy's winter house a couple of keys away, so I could order a plastic housing that showed up a couple days later. 1/2 hr repair, which shocked the neighbors. "You actually work on your car?"
 
It's been many years 30-40 since I have had to change a tire on a vehicle, now boat trailers are a different story! I carry a plugging kit and a small air compressor in both vehicles. We still have spare tires in both of our vehicles (less than 3 years old) but doubt if we ever need them, and I think we have roadside assistance, which I don't plan on using either.
 
If one of the tires go flat on the vehicle, then pull over on the shoulder of the road and Nancy changes it.

No cell phone so no cell phone charger.

Makes more room in the glove box for the .45 pistol.
 
The last time I attempted to change a tire on the side of the road it was on a Dodge truck. I got out the jack that came with the truck and the idiot that designed it made it so tall it wouldn't fit under the truck with a flat tire. I ended up having to drive home on the flat tire ruining the tire and wheel.
 
I'm surprised no one mentioned weight.
Spares of any sort are heavy in a time when manufacturers are looking for ounces and pounds in weight savings.
 
We never needed room for the spare - we always had those kits to mount the spare in front of the grill on the pickup. Try getting a radiator support to hold that up now! But was a nice thing to have when rounding up cattle. You could use it as a battering ram. It helped keep that honeycomb grill on the mid 70's Chevys from getting cracked from a swift kick.

Remember when the "Yugo" came to the U.S.? The spare was mounted on top of the engine where an air filter would be. I bet that was fun on a summer day.
 
Wow... it costs $500 to put a spare in the car??? Seems to me it is a lot less then that. Figuring that the manufacturer gets tires and wheels by the thousands, and probably pays out pennies for each piece. I'd like to see a real world accounting of what it costs to put a spare in a car and what they charge the customer for it.
 
Yes weight reduction is a factor however the rise of the female driver/car buyer is the main marketing reason.
Sorry guys. Last week we were in a Honda dealership; at least 1/3 of the salespersons were female selling to female (and men drivers!
 
Another reason...If you drive a pickup,99% of the time the spare won't wind down with the winch.So...unless you happen to be carrying an acetylene torch with you, you are screwed. I've had 3 service call this winter and had to cut the spare tire down so I could change a flat.
 
Just causes more junk to pay for anyway. At work a couple weeks ago we had to change the tire pressure sensor in the spare tire. Kept saying it had a tire pressure malfunction. It would give the pressures for the tires mounted on the vehicle, which were fine, but still kept setting off the light on the dash. A Ford guy that
works with us told us to check the spare. Sure enough, had to change the sensor in the spare.


Ross
 
Just causes more junk to pay for anyway. At work a couple weeks ago we had to change the tire pressure sensor in the spare tire. Kept saying it had a tire pressure malfunction. It would give the pressures for the tires mounted on the vehicle, which were fine, but still kept setting off the light on the dash. A Ford guy that
works with us told us to check the spare. Sure enough, had to change the sensor in the spare.


Ross
 
If they don't want to supply a spare that I can change, Then THEY need to have more cell phone coverage, Service that will come off the black top, Someone knows the difference between Left and Right handed lug bolts. The last time I bought a vehicle and they said there was no room for a spare I told them the vehicle was no good to me. They said they COULD put in a donut tire. I showed them in THEIR own manual that all tires on a four wheel drive needed to be the same size. Hard to believe but a full size tire fit. Guessing I have changed a tire 6-10 times. You can't carry a spare in the back of a truck without someone taking it. Yes I lower and keep mine greased and moving. One good thing about having a flat often. LOL. I have not found a dealer that will let a $200 tire/rim mess up a sale.
 
(quoted from post at 08:33:04 04/05/15) It just hit me I don't think anyone mentioned this as a reason the spare tire is disappearing. Others and myself have mentioned weight reduction/mpg increase, improved reliability of tires/lack off need, and lack of driver knowledge on how to install a spare as reasons for the disappearance of the spare these days.

I now submit another: cell phones.

Today few people are stranded when they have a flat. It's rare to have to walk a dark street or miles of busy highway to find a pay phone--people can sit in their car and call someone to come to your rescue. In the 70's folks had to change tires in the cold rain on the side of the road at night with a flashlight using a bumper jack and a 4 say lug wrench while cars whipped by. I remember the anxiety when someone was pulling over--was this a good Samaritan going to help or trouble. If the spare was flat or missing I might walk for miles hoping again the right person and not the wrong person stopped to offer a ride. Finally I remember finding a pay phone and the receiver was broken. :) I can smile now. I used to know folks that kept spare hoses, belts and tools in their car/truck.

So, you keep a car charger for your cell in the glove box right?
Click to expand...

I read thru this thread, and nobody mentioned OnStar. We had a flat on my wife's Tahoe one evening, we were going out to dinner with a older couple ( mid 80's ), and we were dressed up. I pulled over, started looking for the jack, my wife pushed the OnStar button, and the OnStar guy was there in about 5 minutes. He had the tire changed in less than 10 minutes. I never did use that jack...
 
Well, you're close. What's the real reason? Market demand. If the market wanted a car with a full-size spare, manufacturers would figure a way to deliver it, even if it meant mounting the spare over the rear bumper, MG-style. Market demand also explains why air-conditioning replaced vent windows and cup holders have replaced ash trays. The ubiquity of cell phones is just one part of market demand.

Understand that women buy roughly half of all new cars. For small passenger vehicles, it's probably 60 percent or more. Most women won't change a flat tire, although they might be willing to use a can of Fix-a-Flat. Also, the market demographic for small cars is mostly urban, and urban drivers are less likely to change a flat than rural drivers. It's a matter of safety and convenience: why risk getting robbed or run over while changing a flat tire when you can drive a couple of blocks to a garage or tire store?

Meanwhile, EPA CAFE standards continue to increase, and the easiest way to improve a vehicle's economy is to take out mass. Although the spare tire might not weigh that much, it takes up space which requires the car to be bigger.

I think the future will be run-flat tires. Some models have them today, and with tire monitoring systems they make a lot of sense: Changing a tire is no longer an emergency but rather a service issue that can be deferred for a day or two until the car can be brought in for service.
 
Some of the replies remind me of my sister in grad school. Only one out of about 20 who could back the boat into the river to collect water samples. Someone tried hotrodding it pulling out one day and stuck it. There was a tractor and brushhog nearby and no cell service, chain on the tractor, so she fired it up and pulled the truck out.
No one could believe it could be done without a class on running the tractor.
 
(quoted from post at 11:53:39 04/05/15) A few years back I had a flat on the way to an appointment. Glanced at my watch as I was pulling over. Eight minutes later I was underway again. Let's see your cell phone do that! .
Click to expand...

Yup, I had one in my Nissan Sentra when I ran over a piece of steel on I-696 last summer. Ripped the tire to pieces (lot of help the spray can with goop is if the tire has a big hole in the sidewall). No way was I waiting for anyone to come change it.

In a few minutes I was on my way again. Got off my exit where there's a Costco and in a half hour had a new tire and on my way again.

Only thing I hate is the wheel locks they put on almost all new cars. I can see the ones with the fancy rims needing them but even then that doesn't help. Guy at work had his brand new 2015 Taurus stolen while he was in a restaurant. Found the car with only the tires/rims missing. Lot of good the wheel locks did.
 
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