Average passenger car weight has steadily increased in the last 25 years or so. From 1987's 2805 lb curb weight to today's 3239. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rul

Average passenger car weight has steadily increased in the last 25 years or so. From 1987's 2805 lb curb weight to today's 3239. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/NewPassengerCarFleet.htm http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/CAFE/NewPassengerCarFleet.ht... Some of that is due to the addition of steel safety cages, airbags, ABS, and other safety equipment, some of which is mandated in new cars. A small increase is related to emissions equipment like catalytic converters (they only weigh like 8-10 lbs, though). Not nearly all the increases in weight come from safety and emissions requirements, though. Part of the increases are due to manufacturers adding more bells and whistles to even their standard models. In 1987 there were more cars with standard transmissions (autos weigh more), AC wasn't always standard, cars tend to have nicer seats that are heavier, and even things like power windows and power locks weren't always standard. Also cars have tended towards more powerful and heavier engines. Also Americans for whatever reasons like big cars, gas prices were cheap enough for a long time, and car makers were happy to keep bloating them up since people liked buying big fat cars. There's another factor - the government did play an unfortunate role in the bloating of vehicles due to CAFE regulation loopholes that give businesses tax breaks to buy SUVs and other bloated vehicles that classify as trucks, and the ways automakers have abused the standards to keep bloating up their lines: http://jalopnik.com/5948172/how-the-government-killed-fuel-efficient-cars-and-trucks http://jalopnik.com/5948172/how-the-government-killed-fuel-e...