The Extent

In my first post, I used a specific example to show the problem. But, in this post, I want to show that this disturbing trend is widespread in the automotive industry by sharing with you some interesting statistics.

I was reading this article the other day, and I thought it brought up one important point. The idea of the "safety curve" seems very relevant.

As safety regulations get stricter, cars get heavier. Side-impact regulations especially, which have come about in the past few years, mean that the essential structure of the car unibody must be strengthened to meet the new regulations. For cars to be stronger, they must weigh more.

However, the author of this article says, "we're betting the safety curve will eventually level out." This makes sense. I think that, at a certain point, cars are hit a wall past which they cannot get any safer. At the very least, manufacturers will eventually run out places to put airbags.

Back to those statistics though. It's not just certain models that are growing, it's entire segments of the automotive market. According to Edmunds.com, "small" cars of today, compared with small cars of 1990, weight 549 pounds more, have a 6.4 inch longer wheelbase, and have 61 more horsepower. And that's an average. Small is a relative term in this case.

If fuel economy had dramatically increased in this same time period, this wouldn't be a big enough issue to write a blog about. But here I am, writing away. But, also compared to 1990, small cars get on average only 2.5 miles per gallon higher than their predecessors.

Labels are becoming an issue. Car and Driver magazine ran a comparison test a few years ago with the headline "Full-Sized Minivans." Have you stood next to a current-generation minivan lately? It's anything but mini.

This article also had three ironic images showing the "bloat" of three different cars. So, in contrast to my 3 good examples last week, here's three images showing some bad examples. The sad thing is that these three cars are some of the best-selling models on the market.

The Toyota Corolla is actually the best-selling car worldwide of all time. And, apparently, by 2020, it will have become a blimp.

The Honda Accord, too, has been among the 10 best-selling cars in the US for a couple decades now. I used as it as an example in my very first post.

Obviously, trucks are always big. But they're getting even bigger! I wonder if it will ever stop. Maybe when our roads are filled with Jabba the Huts, someone will make a change. But who knows?