4 ms·

I agree that the United States should rework the tax incentives that make large cars cheaper than they ought to be. That said... Vehicle size is a classic pris

I agree that the United States should rework the tax incentives that make large cars cheaper than they ought to be. That said... Vehicle size is a classic prisoner's dilemma. In a two-car accident, the larger car is likely to fare better. So I totally understand why folks are buying crossover SUVs when they could just as easily fit in a car. Trying to guilt people into buying smaller cars than reason dictates is a losing strategy. The only solution here is to stop subsidizing cheap oil and get rid of the weird emissions and tax loopholes that make trucks more attractive than they ought to be.

r00fus 3y ago
> In a two-car accident, the larger car is likely to fare better If you've ever heard about the numerous SUV rollovers in the 90s - especially on poorly designed roads (see: reduced-turning-radius cloverleaf intersections) - you would realize that collisions with other vehicles are a mere fraction of the accidents you can have. People buy big because they can afford it - guess what, economy sucks and the used market is crazy so there is incentive for new smaller cars.
- lesuorac 3y ago
  > If you've ever heard about the numerous SUV rollovers in the 90s Did you only hear about them in the 90s? because in the 00s sway bars [1] became very popular so perhaps the rollovers stopped happening. I also don't think people really consider accidents when purchasing cars or Volvo wouldn't've had such a hard time growing. [1]: https://www.tirereview.com/sway-bar-technology/ https://www.tirereview.com/sway-bar-technology/
  - r00fus 3y ago
    Interesting - looks like the auto industry has really improved SUV safety for rollovers in the past 2 decades. I wonder how much is sway-bars and how much is simply lowering the height (ie, most crossovers are still SUVs). Part of this may also align with the fact that SUVs are so varied a category that now there are 5+ size categories of SUV [1] as opposed to maybe two from the 90s - dilution of the brand in a marketable way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_(automobile)#Size_categories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_(automobile)#Size_ca...
  - nikau 3y ago
    Sway bars have been around eons before the 00s - its widespread adoption of electronic stability control that reduced suv rollovers.

r00fus 3y ago

> In a two-car accident, the larger car is likely to fare better If you've ever heard about the numerous SUV rollovers in the 90s - especially on poorly designed roads (see: reduced-turning-radius cloverleaf intersections) - you would realize that collisions with other vehicles are a mere fraction of the accidents you can have. People buy big because they can afford it - guess what, economy sucks and the used market is crazy so there is incentive for new smaller cars.

lesuorac 3y ago
> If you've ever heard about the numerous SUV rollovers in the 90s Did you only hear about them in the 90s? because in the 00s sway bars [1] became very popular so perhaps the rollovers stopped happening. I also don't think people really consider accidents when purchasing cars or Volvo wouldn't've had such a hard time growing. [1]: https://www.tirereview.com/sway-bar-technology/ https://www.tirereview.com/sway-bar-technology/
- r00fus 3y ago
  Interesting - looks like the auto industry has really improved SUV safety for rollovers in the past 2 decades. I wonder how much is sway-bars and how much is simply lowering the height (ie, most crossovers are still SUVs). Part of this may also align with the fact that SUVs are so varied a category that now there are 5+ size categories of SUV [1] as opposed to maybe two from the 90s - dilution of the brand in a marketable way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_(automobile)#Size_categories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_(automobile)#Size_ca...
- nikau 3y ago
  Sway bars have been around eons before the 00s - its widespread adoption of electronic stability control that reduced suv rollovers.