Been a while since I saw one of these sedans myself:
this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2026
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I'm guessing this is from the US perspective, since that's not at all the European experience.
Like 1/3 of new registrations in Germany are SUVs, making them the largest market segment. While not as rampant as in the US it's very much an increasingly European experience too.
I think that's likely; I am American and what I think of when I think "car" is basically the Ford Taurus. It was hugely popular when I first got to car-driving age, and I think it sort of became the reference for "basic car" for a generation. Not sure how well that generalizes to the under 40 crowd.
I'm nearing 30. The Civic is more or less the "standard car" that comes to mind nowadays (not like a brand new one, maybe somewhere in the mid-late 2000s?)
Indeed, I should have affixed that context. North American Showerthoughts.
I still think of a Ford Mondeo, but the most common vehicles in Europe are more likely the Ford Fiesta, VW Golf, Renault Clio, Peugeot 208, Fiat Panda etc.
Ford Mondeo and Ford Prefect were never sold in the US, so I, and I'm sure most Americans, don't really know what those even are.
I believe a Mondeo was sold as a Taurus with minor tweaks
I love how Euros think they avoided SUVs 🤣
The difference in sales was like 15 points iirc.
I don't think you are aware of the huge difference in size between massive US SUVs and the models sold in the rest of the world.
The biggest US market SUVs are huge, yes, but the SUV market as a whole is skewed heavily towards small SUV "crossovers," basically as a replacement for sedans that are disappearing (probably due to a complex set of fuel efficiency regulations that perversely incentivize making bigger vehicles to get away with less fuel efficiency).
Our most popular models are the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Chevy Equinox, Tesla Model Y, and Chevy Trax. 4 out of the 5 are smaller and lighter than, say, a BMW X3, and the Model Y (which is also a somewhat popular model in Europe) is about the same size as the BMW. So if X3s and Model Ys are representative of the typical SUV in Europe, then the most popular American SUVs are smaller.
Even driving up next to our most popular sedan, the Toyota Camry, shows that these crossover SUVs aren't actually longer or even taller at the highest point, just tend to be taller in the back to have a rear tailgate instead of a separate trunk compartment.
No, you just assuming everyone is driving a 3 row or truck.
An x5 is a fucking x5 minus some engine configurations and minor details.
Ummm, cross-overs, trucks and SUVs aren't cars. That's probably why we think of sedans. You probably mean when someone references the vehicle they drive as a car, we think of a sedan and that would be because that someone should not have said "car" when referencing what they drive.
definitely not true of Japan. I think it depends a lot on where (and probably when) you're looking.
Hello, american citizen, how are things lately? Have a nice day! :D
Ah yes, hello American citizen indeed :D
(That's an incredibly good YouTube video by Climate Town, explaining your experience xoggy (OP), about how American car manufacturers, market and sell SUVs instead of cars, because they've made a tax loophole for them, so everyone pays the price, literally (shitty gas consumption), and metaphorically (lethal crashes and Toxic Climate Diarrhea Emissions)
Thanks for sharing. Watching this on my lunch break now.
But sedans are the vast majority of cars?
In North America we're being conditioned to accept ever-larger vehicles as normal, and it's working beautifully (for car makers, much less so society or the environment).
My mom drives a Mazda something-or-other crossover, and gets annoyed when I call it her truck. She insists it's a "car" and "not that big", both arguments made foolish when I roll up in my Nissan Micra.
A while back I was comparing the 1987 Ford Ranger (what I learned on) with a more recent Ford Maverick, out of curiosity. The Maverick is nearly the same size as the Ranger (the box is a bit longer) but thirty five hundred pounds heavier. No doubt a lot of that is battery, but holy shit.
Nice to know Toyota still has a hatch. Nissan stopped selling the Micra in Canada and almost nobody has anything that small in their offerings now.
I picture a box with 4 wheels.
Making vroom vroom sounds
And leaving behind a dark cloud of smoke
Luckily, this distribution is primarily an American problem.
I have a project vehicle, and I struggle to figure out what "type" of vehicle it is.
It's a Suzuki Samurai. What is that? Jeep guys get offended if you call it that, its a solid-axle body on frame vehicle so "car" doesnt seem right, and its not a truck.
I just say its a car. Sometimes its a "Weeaboo Jeep".
I don't know that I've ever seen one of these... Looks like it has gotten tossed around between being classified as a kei-car, compact SUV, and truck. Even the Wikipedia article isn't sure what to do with it.
A car is a corolla to me. The platonic ideal.
There have been hatchback Corollas as far back as 1983. There have been hatchbacks, lift backs, or wagons in various generations since the Corolla was first made. Granted, they may not have been sold in your market.
I picture a 2003 Toyota Corolla
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO8QVjBMhvcEI43-b29QgshEZHofr_Z-7
Hatchback, sedan, coupe, crossover, and SUV are all equally “car” to me.