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Why did cars become less boxy?
It turns out it was largely due to three interrelated factors: European style trends, a government-mandated push for fuel economy, and new technologies that allowed manufacturers to more easily design and create curved shapes.
When did cars get wider?
“Lower, longer, wider” was the domestic automakers’ dominant design approach until they were forced to downsize their fleet in the late-1970s due to federal fuel-economy standards. Since that time automakers have at least partly reverted to taller, shorter and narrower vehicles, but the damage was done.
Why are US cars bigger?
But Kennedy also believes Americans buy larger cars because the nation’s roads and highway system have grown large enough to accommodate them, which isn’t always the case overseas. “In Europe and other areas there are very old infrastructure and small streets in five- to seven-hundred-year-old cities,” said Kennedy.
Why cars are getting bigger?
Safety regulations, crumple zones and the demand for increased interior space and comfort now mean that cars are bigger than they ever have been. It’s not until you see a car next to its ancestor, however, that you realise just how bloated modern carshave become.
Why are vehicles getting larger?
Just like all of us, car models tend to get bigger as they age. If a car had a cramped back seat or a small trunk, the new model may have more rear legroom and a larger cargo capacity. As a result, this leads a vehicle model to physically grow in size to accommodate these changes and improvements.
Are cars wider than they used to be?
Why are cars getting bigger?
To comply with today’s stringent crash regulations – by passing offset, side and roof impact tests, as well as those evaluating pedestrian protection performance – cars require considerable cubic metres of controllably crushable bodywork. Another reason why cars have become bigger is diet, whether good or bad.
Are roads getting wider or longer?
And, of course, if you make a car longer for crashing and taller for its occupants, it will look a little odd if it doesn’t get any wider. But there are some cars – most cars, arguably – that have become needlessly wide. Roads, on the other hand, are not getting any wider.
Why are big wheels bad for a car?
Designers fight for the big wheels that give a car the right stance, and if you don’t increase the width of that wheel too, you end up with the tyres of a motorcycle. So big wheels mean bigger wheelhousings, inevitably pushing apart the car’s track if it’s to have a decent turning circle.
Are Volkswagen Golfs getting bigger?
We all know they’re getting bigger and heavier – the Volkswagen Polo is now a bigger car than the original 1974 VW Golf. Most of us know why they are getting bigger, too.