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Paris is saying ‘non’ to a US-style hellscape of supersized cars – and so should the rest of Europe
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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Europe used to laugh at American big cars, but recently the cars on our roads get bigger and bigger too :-(
Yeah I am glad at least that a number of countries are taking measures to de-car city centers. They're a blight. Especially these big stupid SUVs.
Biggest misnomer in the Auto industry. They are neither sporty nor utilitarian.
They are essentially a rebranding of minivans. Minivans were seen as soccer mom vehicles, but were incredibly practical. So they rebranded them to SUVs, raising the height, reducing cargo space, increasing blind spots, and over all making them less functional, but they sell much better.
Yeah, it’s “mom car creep.” First sedans were mom cars, then station wagons, followed by minivans. Somehow the stupid huge SUVs are avoiding the stigma so far.
Also, the Tesla model X is literally a minivan, not an SUV. I know that’s off topic but I had to say it. :-)
Unpopular opinion, but I want station wagons to come back. They were a super useful car that didn't look too bad.
Seconded. Wagons were the shit
I had a VW Passat wagon that I loved, so I won't disagree.
I was about to say that you could still buy an Outback but it looks like they morphed them into SUVs. 😒
Best car I ever drove was a Toyota Sienna. Would have driven around the whole world with it
Except minivans are at least good at the one thing they're made for, hauling people and their stuff. SUVs try to do everything, so they do everything badly.
They have, but it's still nothing compared to the US. I drive a Nissan Qashqai. It's quite a big car in The Netherlands. There are bigger of course (like the big Volvo XC 70 and 90) but I'm definitely on the bigher size on the road. But my car would be tiny in the US. It would be like driving an old Fiat 500 over here.
Oh, I am sure American cars are even bigger, but that does not mean we should like the trend.
They just stripped the light freight classification for trucks for private persons over here. Sales dropped by half.
Depends on what you mean by used to. When I was a child in the 70's American cars were awesome compared to European IMO.
It kind of depicted the American dream, freedom and excessive wealth by European standards. Which was probably truer then than it is now, where the American dream and freedom appear to be merely illusions.