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I think that SUV appeal to residents of suburbia has its roots in two things: - Perceived safety (the idea that e.g. a Suburban would fare better in a wreck in

I think that SUV appeal to residents of suburbia has its roots in two things: - Perceived safety (the idea that e.g. a Suburban would fare better in a wreck involving a full size truck than a sedan, hatchback, etc) - Keeping up with the Jonses gone vehicular. A gigantic SUV sitting out front looks impressive similar to the way a truck would while being better suited for residential usage than a truck. All it takes is one residence buying one for the rest of the block to suddenly not be satisfied with the Accord in their garage. Personally I’m a bit frustrated with how huge cars have gotten. My house was built in 2005, with a garage made to fit the cars at the time, and with ~177” of usable length (some space is taken up by HVAC + water heater), a lot of modern cars won’t fit in it and even fewer fit comfortably (e.g. being able to open its back hatch while the garage door is closed). I’m looking to lease an EV some time in the next year or so and only a tiny handful can be considered due to this.

notacoward 4y ago
> Keeping up with the Jonses [sic] I think it's even more toxic than that: it's an arms race. I have known people who have told me in so many words that they bought SUVs primarily so they could see around/over all the other SUVs already out there. Though they didn't say so, I'd guess they also feel like their odds of survival in a crash with one of those other SUVs when they're in one themselves vs. being in a regular car. (Maybe that's what you were getting at with your "perceived safety" point but "full size truck" is ambiguous.) Many people buy SUVs out of fear or its cousin insecurity, not because of any practical value it has over a sedan etc. In fact, just about every SUV owner I've known complains about terrible mileage, sometimes about difficulty getting in/out or poor ride characteristics as well. They feel they have to make those tradeoffs, mostly because others already did.
NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
>Personally I’m a bit frustrated with how huge cars have gotten. My house was built in 2005, with a garage made to fit the cars at the time, and with ~177” of usable length Hmm, even in 2005 that was small. The 2006 model year BMW 3-series, which would've been the one on the market in the year your home was built, was ~178" long, and the 3-series has always been considered a relatively compact sports sedan. You would've had no chance of fitting the contemporary Honda Accord, and even some of the Civic models would've been an incredibly tight squeeze. So I somewhat dispute the assertion that your garage was made to fit the cars of the time; it was small even then.
- ben7799 4y ago
  The 3 series had already been supersized by 2006. They were compact and then they started going back for a 2nd helping. There was a period where the 3-series gained about 1000lb of curb weight. A 3-series today is more like the size and weight of a 5-series from the 1990s.
  - NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
    Even the E46 series BMW 3-Series would have barely fit (like 0.5" to spare) into that garage; and that was introduced for the 1998 model year with development work starting in 1993. A 1989 Honda Accord would not fit in that garage. It's a small garage.
- taylodl 4y ago
  > So I somewhat dispute the assertion that your garage was made to fit the cars of the time; it was small even then. I agree. My house was built in 1958 and its garage easily accommodates today's cars.
dragonwriter 4y ago
> My house was built in 2005, with a garage made to fit the cars at the time, and with ~177” of usable length (some space is taken up by HVAC + water heater), 20-24 feet length has been common garage size for about a century, as long as there have been garages, well before HVAC or water heaters were common in garages. 177 inches is less than 14.75 ft; even with that being net of HVAC and water heater, you just had a small (and/or poorly designed in terms of HVAC/water heater placement) garage, not a garage "made to fit cars of the time".

notacoward 4y ago

> Keeping up with the Jonses [sic] I think it's even more toxic than that: it's an arms race. I have known people who have told me in so many words that they bought SUVs primarily so they could see around/over all the other SUVs already out there. Though they didn't say so, I'd guess they also feel like their odds of survival in a crash with one of those other SUVs when they're in one themselves vs. being in a regular car. (Maybe that's what you were getting at with your "perceived safety" point but "full size truck" is ambiguous.) Many people buy SUVs out of fear or its cousin insecurity, not because of any practical value it has over a sedan etc. In fact, just about every SUV owner I've known complains about terrible mileage, sometimes about difficulty getting in/out or poor ride characteristics as well. They feel they have to make those tradeoffs, mostly because others already did.

NovemberWhiskey 4y ago

>Personally I’m a bit frustrated with how huge cars have gotten. My house was built in 2005, with a garage made to fit the cars at the time, and with ~177” of usable length Hmm, even in 2005 that was small. The 2006 model year BMW 3-series, which would've been the one on the market in the year your home was built, was ~178" long, and the 3-series has always been considered a relatively compact sports sedan. You would've had no chance of fitting the contemporary Honda Accord, and even some of the Civic models would've been an incredibly tight squeeze. So I somewhat dispute the assertion that your garage was made to fit the cars of the time; it was small even then.

ben7799 4y ago
The 3 series had already been supersized by 2006. They were compact and then they started going back for a 2nd helping. There was a period where the 3-series gained about 1000lb of curb weight. A 3-series today is more like the size and weight of a 5-series from the 1990s.
- NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
  Even the E46 series BMW 3-Series would have barely fit (like 0.5" to spare) into that garage; and that was introduced for the 1998 model year with development work starting in 1993. A 1989 Honda Accord would not fit in that garage. It's a small garage.
taylodl 4y ago
> So I somewhat dispute the assertion that your garage was made to fit the cars of the time; it was small even then. I agree. My house was built in 1958 and its garage easily accommodates today's cars.

dragonwriter 4y ago

> My house was built in 2005, with a garage made to fit the cars at the time, and with ~177” of usable length (some space is taken up by HVAC + water heater), 20-24 feet length has been common garage size for about a century, as long as there have been garages, well before HVAC or water heaters were common in garages. 177 inches is less than 14.75 ft; even with that being net of HVAC and water heater, you just had a small (and/or poorly designed in terms of HVAC/water heater placement) garage, not a garage "made to fit cars of the time".