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How the automobile industry turned us into SUV drivers (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] Professorozone 22 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I disagree. They have gotten smaller on the inside. Totally agree in that. But the rest of the vehicle is definitely larger...and heavier. Look at a corolla today vs. there 80's. It's the size of a Camry back in the day. Trucks and SUVs, too. They don't fit in garages now. Remember mini trucks? Well no more.

I think to meet safety standards, they have more crumple zones. Plus they have more features, which take up space the passengers would normally use. Finally I think people just like larger vehicles. Maybe they feel safer, even if they aren't or they like the intimidation factor. I don't know.

Trucks are larger because of the footprint of the wheels is large enough, they have to meet different efficiency standards. But I think a lot of that was driven by manufacturer.

[–] acosmichippo 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

also SUVs became the new minivan because minivans aren’t cool. with an suv you can cosplay as an off-roader who goes mountaineering on the weekends and drives uphill through snow both ways to work and back.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I agree, but I was making a different point. I think most people drove larger CARS, but today most people drive SUVs. And today’s SUVs are smaller than the cars of the past. Yes any particular model seems to have gotten bigger - but I think people in general are in smaller vehicles than they were when I was a kid.

[–] Crashumbc 5 points 3 months ago

I drove a 73' Impala in HS, that thing was bigger than a F250 today...

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago

Maybe that perception is skewed by America's culture of having ridiculously large cars. European cars were always smaller, but nowadays it's getting pretty hard to buy something other than an SUV here, too.