How fat cars have become...

VWSpeed

VWSpeed

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Direct relationship with how FAT western society has become and how much more we consume...

The Ford Explorer add is the best

"While LARGER than previous generations, the current model Ford Explorer is No Longer classified as an SUV but instead as a CUV (crossover utility vehicle). This is due to its passenger car-like ride and unbibody construction."
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Car Marketing 1 - Consumers 0

And then everyone complains how the cost of living is rising. We all saw it yesterday how US consumers reacted to Black Friday.

Jeremy Clarkson proved it that you don't need a powerful heavy car to have fun, the GT-86 does the job and so does the M135i.

http://f20.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771782

car-size-getting-bigger.jpg
 
I keep on saying the same thing! But bigger doesn't even have more space my 89 corrolla had way more space tjen my moms 2011 rolla... my fairlady Z has more space then a 350z!!!!!
 
Cars getting wider over time because there are alot of stuff added onto like Air Bags, More trunk space, technology add ons, etc
 
I can add technolol to my z without having to make it fatter... even airbags could fit! Their is no excuses.
 
Same applies to homes. The irony in all of this is that families are smaller but consumers are compelled to buy 3000 square foot homes because we need the space and then we need to pay for storage lockers because we need more space...

Remember, too big too fail.
 
Cars didn't really get bigger or heavier. There have always been huge and heavy cars, and there have always been small light ones.

It looks like cars get bigger because the successful models grow and move upscale every time a new generation comes out. As soon as a nameplate such as the name ''Golf'' grows in popularity, reputation and becomes notorious, the value of that name increases and the manufacturers have no choice but to move it upscale, make it bigger, better and more luxurious.

For example the MK7 Golf is much bigger and heavier than the MK1 Golf. But in 1976, the MK1 Golf was the smallest FWD offering from VW. Now it's a mid-market model, but you can get (at least in Europe), the Polo, Lupo and VW Up, which aren't that big or heavy in comparison to the MK1.

The Civic got bigger too, but now you can buy a Honda Fit.

The 90's Altima used to be as big as a current Sentra. The current Versa is as big as the older Sentras.

The 911 used to be Porsche entry level model for a long time for the first 20 years of it's life, but as it grew to become a flagship model, smaller models were created to replace it, such as the 924, 944, the Cayman, the Boxster.

So I disagree, when you look at a car manufacturers line-up as a whole, rather than specific models, cars have not become that much bigger. If anything, American cars have shrunk significantly and become smaller and lighter than they used to be.
 
^^^^ I think that is the truth, most cars do grow over time but like you said they often move up in class as they are replaced by newer models in those smaller categories. On the hand there are many cars that have stayed the same size over the years or actually become smaller. I think it is safe to say that cars like the impala or the chrysler 300 are the smaller and lighter that the 60's models of the same car.
 
Il faut préciser quelques petites chose. Les américaines étaient bien plus grosses avant, les normes de sécurité ajoutent du poids, une Civic 1975 était sensiblement moins spacieuse qu'une 2012. Une Fit est passablement plus spacieuse qu'une civic pré 1996, d'ailleurs elle fait exactement la même taille que ma Civic wagon 1987 (qui avait une habitabilité très proche de la fit). Et les voitures sont aussi bon/meilleur marché qu'il y a 5-20 ans.

La meilleure catégorie c'est les kei car, le maximum de taille et puissance permit a pas bougé depuis plus de 20 ans.

Smokey514 said:
Cars getting wider over time because there are alot of stuff added onto like Air Bags, More trunk space, technology add ons, etc
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Heavier yes, but bigger? The Smart has all the security and technology of bigger cars and it's less than 3 meter long.
 
Dubweiser said:
The 90's Altima used to be as big as a current Sentra. The current Versa is as big as the older Sentras.

The 911 used to be Porsche entry level model for a long time for the first 20 years of it's life, but as it grew to become a flagship model, smaller models were created to replace it, such as the 924, 944, the Cayman, the Boxster.
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The 911 was always the "real" Porsche and the flagship. The rest were created to satisfy the need at the time...

Cars have reached their weight limit and finally we are seeing manufacturers invest in weight reduction. For example, the MKVII will weigh 200 lbs less than the MKVI.
 
I have no problem with cars getting bigger as long as they become safer, faster, more powerful, and more fuel efficient at the same time. If there's demand for smaller, more nimble cars, someone will make them. I'm 6'1" and I really like the fact that I can comfortably sit in the back of my Lancer. I couldn't say the same about my 2002 Sentra, although it was classified as a compact car.
 
allroad said:
The 911 was always the "real" Porsche and the flagship. The rest were created to satisfy the need at the time...

Cars have reached their weight limit and finally we are seeing manufacturers invest in weight reduction. For example, the MKVII will weigh 200 lbs less than the MKVI.
Click to expand...

There isn't such a thing as the "real" Porsche, and it's not like the 911 was the first Porsche ever, there was the 356 and other porsches before.

ToxicBug said:
I have no problem with cars getting bigger as long as they become safer, faster, more powerful, and more fuel efficient at the same time. If there's demand for smaller, more nimble cars, someone will make them. I'm 6'1" and I really like the fact that I can comfortably sit in the back of my Lancer. I couldn't say the same about my 2002 Sentra, although it was classified as a compact car.
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The Versa has more rear room than 75% of the midsize sedans, the category or size of the car doesn't have much to do with room, it really depends of the car's height, driving position (high or low), size of the engine bay, trunk, etc.
 
Broody said:
There isn't such a thing as the "real" Porsche, and it's not like the 911 was the first Porsche ever, there was the 356 and other porsches before.
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Well, whe you speak with Porsche enthusiast they tell you the 911 is the only true Porsche. And yes I'm fully aware of he 356, that was my wedding car, a nice 356 Coupe.
 
what baffle me the most is that the weakly made unibody aluminium everything, rack and pinion gay SUV are heavier than the 4x4 of the past that are body on frame, solid axle and leaf springs all around ( the heaviest type of suspension by far ), cast iron everything ( block,head,intake , transmission and transfer case housing ) and steering box direction.
 
22REpower said:
what baffle me the most is that the weakly made unibody aluminium everything, rack and pinion gay SUV are heavier than the 4x4 of the past that are body on frame, solid axle and leaf springs all around ( the heaviest type of suspension by far ), cast iron everything ( block,head,intake , transmission and transfer case housing ) and steering box direction.
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That's because old body on frame SUV were deathtraps and they had to engineer some kind of structural integrity on the roof, side impact protection, and had to engineer suspensions that wouldn't cause the SUV to roll over thirty times at 20mph when you tried to avoid an obstacle.

The real work trucks are still body on frame, and the body on frame SUVs that people bought in the 90's to haul their families are now unibody.

One of my friends rolled at 1999 Ford Explorer at 50kmh when he tried to avoid a kid running accross a boulevard. He was alone and lucky to be alive. Had there been any passenger, they wouldn't have survived, the roof caved in down to the bottom of the seats everywhere except on the drivers seats. That wouldn't have happened to a unibody SUV. Had it rolled it would have fared much better to begin with, but most importantly, it wouldn't have rolled in the first place...
 
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