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Alternatively we could fix the massive regulatory issues that lead to this. 1. Smaller vehicles have tighter emissions requirements and those requirements incr

Alternatively we could fix the massive regulatory issues that lead to this. 1. Smaller vehicles have tighter emissions requirements and those requirements increase every year. So manufacturers of ICE vehicles have tended towards larger and larger vehicles year after year. 2. In the wake of Japanese auto manufacturers eating US manufacturer's lunch in the US we banned entire swaths of vehicles (minitrucks, microvans, kei cars). Because of this, in practice vehicles below a certain size that are produced by some of our main non-domestic (and maybe also domestic but I'm not sure) auto manufacturers (toyota, honda, mazda, nissan, subaru, etc) are illegal in the US unless they are a model that is 25 years old. So we've made it impractical or even in some cases impossible to even build, sell, and market smaller but just as practical vehicles. If we fix that issue first, I imagine the market will eventually trend back towards smaller, cheaper, practical, and more efficient vehicles.

bloody-crow 3y ago
I suspect there's going to be a lot of cultural resistance to any attempt to introduce smaller vehicles to US marker right now. Starting from inclusivity arguments centered around smaller cars not being able to fit "people of all sizes" and ending with safety concerns where key cars would just feel unsafe on any kind of american highway sitting in a 6000+lbs lifted F-250's blindspot. I think this ship has sailed and there's no coming down in vehicle sizes in US any time soon.
- CuriousCosmic 3y ago
  I think there's an argument to be made that large vehicles should face tolls when entering the city. Small vehicles as well but not nearly as substantial. I think some cities already do this to be fair. It's a good way to incentivise that local traffic be kept in as small vehicles as is practical. > Starting from inclusivity arguments centered around smaller cars not being able to fit "people of all sizes" Idk. I don't think there's substantially different cabin sizes past a certain point. The space any given seat has in an escalade or F-150 really isn't that different to the space a significantly smaller RAV4 has. And even between say a RAV4 and a camry the amount of space isn't massively different (however the rav does have more space). This isn't to say that you should be banning normal sized vehicles but there really should be some type of disincentive for 4000+ lb vehicles and maybe an incentive for ultralight vehicles as well.
giantg2 3y ago
"In the wake of Japanese auto manufacturers eating US manufacturer's lunch in the US we banned entire swaths of vehicles" Those are safety requirement issues. That's why classics get an exemption. You can't domestically manufacturer simular vehicles because they wouldn't meet the standards either.
- CuriousCosmic 3y ago
  But that's the issue. Those cars are legal in basically every jurisdiction except the US (they have equivalent classes in the EU as well). We basically set the laws such that their niche wasn't viable despite being perfectly safe.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    "despite being perfectly safe" I think there's some background missing here on a definition and the restrictions of those classes.

bloody-crow 3y ago

I suspect there's going to be a lot of cultural resistance to any attempt to introduce smaller vehicles to US marker right now. Starting from inclusivity arguments centered around smaller cars not being able to fit "people of all sizes" and ending with safety concerns where key cars would just feel unsafe on any kind of american highway sitting in a 6000+lbs lifted F-250's blindspot. I think this ship has sailed and there's no coming down in vehicle sizes in US any time soon.

CuriousCosmic 3y ago
I think there's an argument to be made that large vehicles should face tolls when entering the city. Small vehicles as well but not nearly as substantial. I think some cities already do this to be fair. It's a good way to incentivise that local traffic be kept in as small vehicles as is practical. > Starting from inclusivity arguments centered around smaller cars not being able to fit "people of all sizes" Idk. I don't think there's substantially different cabin sizes past a certain point. The space any given seat has in an escalade or F-150 really isn't that different to the space a significantly smaller RAV4 has. And even between say a RAV4 and a camry the amount of space isn't massively different (however the rav does have more space). This isn't to say that you should be banning normal sized vehicles but there really should be some type of disincentive for 4000+ lb vehicles and maybe an incentive for ultralight vehicles as well.

giantg2 3y ago

"In the wake of Japanese auto manufacturers eating US manufacturer's lunch in the US we banned entire swaths of vehicles" Those are safety requirement issues. That's why classics get an exemption. You can't domestically manufacturer simular vehicles because they wouldn't meet the standards either.

CuriousCosmic 3y ago
But that's the issue. Those cars are legal in basically every jurisdiction except the US (they have equivalent classes in the EU as well). We basically set the laws such that their niche wasn't viable despite being perfectly safe.
- giantg2 3y ago
  "despite being perfectly safe" I think there's some background missing here on a definition and the restrictions of those classes.