Title text:
'They really shouldn't let those small cars drive in traffic. I worry I'm going to kill someone if I hit one! They should have to drive on the sidewalk, safely out of the way.'
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3167/
May Skeletor suggest: Regulation
Regulation is in cahoots with big car and big oil.
regulation is why cars in the USA are so large. all the safety requirements pushed them larger and larger and heavier.
also the chicken tax is why our trucks must be large.
not USanian but afaik cars got so big over there because trucks (being work vehicles) have less (environmental, safety, ...) regulations than cars, that's why SUVs got so popular, manufacturers pushed them onto public. as long as the base for the vehicle is that of a truck they are legally exempt from many limits.
source: probably "Not Just Bikes" on y*utube idk
EDIT: just read about the chicken tax, interesting...
cars are way bigger than they were 10-20 years ago. My 2017 civic is larger than my 1995 Camry, and not much smaller than my 1989 4Runner. Mostly because of safety features. My 1995 didn't have massive crumple zones and 20 air bags. it had 1 airbag.
Smaller modern cars still have the same safety features, marketing has found the best way to make consumers want new and more expensive cars through the idea of big car=safe, which only becomes true if the other car involved in a crash is also big, but just like the comic shows, it becomes an arms race where it only increases the danger, as a bigger car also has bigger inertia, so a crash at the same speed has drastic different energy transference.
people like bigger cars for many other reasons.
they are more comfortable. they are safer, they fit more stuff. they have more features than smaller cars. they are often quieter.
and if you have a family you need a larger vehicle to fit kids and pets.
that's true, but from what i've seen these gigantic cars really don't offer that much more space; if space/capacity was really a concern family buses/vans whatever would be much more popular. where i live most people i see on SUVs are alone on their car, bigger families just get a Citroen Berlingo <3
but yeah people do like big cars
We regulated the safety of the driver with little regard for pedestrians. The solution is regulating what your car does to others in a crash
I think Europe might prove you wrong
Will it? Modern small cars are huge compared to old small cars in Europe too. Because of crumple zones and safety equipment. You used to be able to get a VW Golf that was 3.7 meters long and weighed like 800 kilos. Same car now starts at nearly 4.3 meters and over 1.2 tons.
But still, the biggest SUV in europe is merely average by US standards
Sure, but my point was that Europe doesn't prove the "cars got bigger and heavier because of safety regulations" statement wrong. Obviously cars in the US got even more bigger and heavier than needed for safety, but safety regulations in the EU have also made EU cars bigger and heavier.
the cars they have in europe/asia are illegal here.
hence why you can only import them when they are 20+ years old.
You can't sell/make Kei size vehicles here.
those cars are large compared to what japan/europe drives. and huge compared to a compact car from the 90s.
The Honda fit hasn't been sold for several years anyway. The fit was ended in 2020. A 2026 corolla is 3000lbs, and the same size as Camry was 10 years ago.