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/
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.