5 ms·

Much of the extra weight in the modern car is due to safety and environmental mitigation equipment. All of those crash cages, crumple zones, airbags and the lik

by stmw 6y ago

Much of the extra weight in the modern car is due to safety and environmental mitigation equipment. All of those crash cages, crumple zones, airbags and the like add weight and size. So do things like complex fuel management systems and catalytic converters. Of course, these are well worth it in added safety and cleaner emissions, but they do limit the minimum size and weight. And that's before one gets to all the "extra options", that are often not optional any more.

geofft 6y ago
Yeah, that was my first thought on seeing the picture - does it have a crumple zone? Since the door is in the front and you're expected to climb out through the sunroof in case of a crash, I imagine it's not the sort of thing you want to ride anywhere you wouldn't ride a bicycle. That said, city streets that only had dense electric vehicles that don't go past 20 mph (maybe a mix of things like this and buses/streetcars) would be delightful.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  I wonder how much of vehicle usage is "I want to carry big things around that don't fit on an electric bicycle" and how much is "I want to get somewhere fast".
nabilhat 6y ago
Weight is optional. A new Miata weighs exactly as much as a 1998, only 200lb more than a 1989. An entire 2020 Honda Fit weighs 200lb more than a 2020 Miata. Those are death traps and outliers, some might say. Consider that a 2020 F150 starts at 4,000lb while a 2000 F150 started at 4,000lb. Cars don't weigh substantially more than they did 20 years ago. Specific models do tend to gain weight over time, but that's not relevant if comparing the cars themselves. A 2000 Honda Civic is an entirely different car than a 2020 Honda Civic. The 20 year old Civic is more similar to the Fit. The 2020 Fit weighs as much as the 2000 Civic, despite being larger, roomier, quieter, and safer. It's not that cars have gained weight in the last 20 years, simply that massive vehicles boasting extravagantly obvious externalized safety problems are grossly irresponsible and popular. What hasn't changed is a regulatory neglect of vehicle safety to non-participants. When a lifted Dodge Ram decapitates everyone in a Honda Fit, the statistical penalty is scored against the Fit. We don't measure safety like this in other regulatory domains. NHTSA used to provide crash injury and fatality data separated by occupants and non-occupants. I haven't seen that detail provided since 2008, but I'd be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong: https://cdan.dot.gov/query https://cdan.dot.gov/query

by stmw 6y ago

geofft 6y ago

Yeah, that was my first thought on seeing the picture - does it have a crumple zone? Since the door is in the front and you're expected to climb out through the sunroof in case of a crash, I imagine it's not the sort of thing you want to ride anywhere you wouldn't ride a bicycle. That said, city streets that only had dense electric vehicles that don't go past 20 mph (maybe a mix of things like this and buses/streetcars) would be delightful.

saagarjha 6y ago
I wonder how much of vehicle usage is "I want to carry big things around that don't fit on an electric bicycle" and how much is "I want to get somewhere fast".

nabilhat 6y ago

Weight is optional. A new Miata weighs exactly as much as a 1998, only 200lb more than a 1989. An entire 2020 Honda Fit weighs 200lb more than a 2020 Miata. Those are death traps and outliers, some might say. Consider that a 2020 F150 starts at 4,000lb while a 2000 F150 started at 4,000lb. Cars don't weigh substantially more than they did 20 years ago. Specific models do tend to gain weight over time, but that's not relevant if comparing the cars themselves. A 2000 Honda Civic is an entirely different car than a 2020 Honda Civic. The 20 year old Civic is more similar to the Fit. The 2020 Fit weighs as much as the 2000 Civic, despite being larger, roomier, quieter, and safer. It's not that cars have gained weight in the last 20 years, simply that massive vehicles boasting extravagantly obvious externalized safety problems are grossly irresponsible and popular. What hasn't changed is a regulatory neglect of vehicle safety to non-participants. When a lifted Dodge Ram decapitates everyone in a Honda Fit, the statistical penalty is scored against the Fit. We don't measure safety like this in other regulatory domains. NHTSA used to provide crash injury and fatality data separated by occupants and non-occupants. I haven't seen that detail provided since 2008, but I'd be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong: https://cdan.dot.gov/query https://cdan.dot.gov/query