Really Big Cars

I remember there was an episode of South Park where all the guys became obsessed with measuring their... uh... you know whats, and the ones who measured as small got all angry and starting driving around in big 4x4s and monster trucks 

I'll never forget the movie Shrek, where Donkey and Shrek approach Lord Farquad's tall, almost phallic looking castle. To which Shrek wisecracks "Do you think he's making up for something?".

I come to the same conclusion when I see men in 4x4s. Not so much about liking the car, more so "LOOK AT ME I OWN A BIG CAR".

I'm pretty sure the Japanese once gave out hefty tax deductions for using smaller (kei cars).

I'm happy with the safety features and the old Mini's were death traps, safety features are one thing, but the shear size of some of these cars and the ones like ford rangers and wildtrak's are huge, the sort of thing forestry workers use, I do get why some people need them, but do they belong in supermarket car parks for instance?

The silent thing is another issue, I think they ought to mandate some noise, just so as people know they're there.

Motorhomes are the bane of many peoples existance round here, I mean I know people have a right to them, but should they have the right to inconvienience every one else? Many people have a small car they tow along behind a motorhome and when they park up use the small car for normal journeys, which seems much more sensible.

The following image illustrates how the size of the mini has changed due to new regulations.

TheCatWoman said:

I know they are heavier, but they don't have to be huge

The size is a by-product of all the safety regulations that have been bought in.

All UK cars are required to have crumple zones, numerous air bags and lots of hollow structural pieces that will collapse in the event of a bad crash, absorbing the energy from the impact. This makes small cars no longer viable.

Add to this the "bigger is better" mentality that gave rise the the average Chelsea Tractor type car (Porsche Cayenne for example) and the feel that spacious = luxurious and the average buyer is looking for something big.

It will take a major change to the safety regulations to allow small cars to be viable again.

I agree. There is also the issue of these cars being so quiet. I'm getting nervous going out because of this - these things whizz about silently and people seem to drive them faster. I like Iain 's idea of a higher tax for heavier vehicles, as these will cause more damage to the tarmac. Perhaps councils should also charge them more for parking.

I think goverment's are moving towards some sort of tax for electric cars. I know they are heavier, but they don't have to be huge, there are some small ones such as a renault zoe or a nissan leaf. I've been in my friends tesla and was surprised at how cramped it felt for such a big car, I feel I have more room is my fabia, which is a golf in a different box.

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One of our supermarkets has some bigger spaces for caravans, motorhomes etc, but as they're outside the main car park they don't get used as much because everyone wants to park as close to the doors as possible. Whats worse is when they use disabled spaces because they're bigger, some car parks are trying to shame people into not using them, but these people seem to have no shame.

I'm also wondering how people can afford these huge cars, not just the electric ones, but the huge things that have a normal size car up front with a huge flat bed at the back, I don't know what they're called and they're diesil,

My household is a tall family of 4, now all adults and one of my children is 6’4” and we have a VW Golf and manage just fine, including camping holidays using a roof box. I can’t stand some of these large vehicles as they really are far more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians and other smaller vehicles. I have a rule that I never let them out in front of me when traffic is slow and they are joining the road, petty I know but it’s one small thing I do to make me feel a bit better! 

To paraphrase the last line of the song 'Big Rock Candy Mountain', "I'll see you all this coming Fall, in a big dumb Chelsea tractor."

TheCatWoman said:

I'm concerned about the size of so many of these newer vehicles, they're so huge

This is all a result of electric vehicles being the only real solution to travel being pushed by the government.

Battery technology remains very heavy and bulky due to the range needs of the average user in the UK and keeping the cars low and wide is a solution that reduces wind resistance and gives a sensation of a spacious vehicle (so long as you are not tall). Add in all the safety features that cars need now and you have a hugely expensive and bulky / heavy vehicle.

All the electric motors, batteries and general mechanical bits make the car much heavier than the petrol powered counterparts, but since petrol will soon be a legacy product then this is the future. If only electric cars were green enough across their lifecycle to merit this then it would be a good thing.

Car parks could make the spaces bigger but they stand to make a lot of profit from fine (by using more than 1 space) by keeping the spaces tiny. There is no business incentive to pay to have the spaces all re-worked since it will result in an overall loss of revenue.

I suspect there is going to be a new generation of electric vehicles to "solve" this issue soon, just as soon as everyone has one of the old, bloated ones. Making them smaller will be a great way to encourage people to buy the new ranges.

TheCatWoman said:

I'm seriously thinking it's time to have some sort of restrictions on the size of vehicles that you can have

Once the government are losing sufficient revenue from the heavily taxed petrol / diesel then they will find a way to tax electric vehicles since you won't be able to buy anything else. I suspect weight will be the avenue used here which will co-inside with a drive by the electric car industry to have smaller cars. Amazing what their lobbying and donations to the political parties can produce.

TheCatWoman said:

maybe there should be a seperate licence catagory for cars over a certain size like there is for motor bikes

That's a good idea. They just don't fit into most car parking spaces with room for normal cars to park beside them. I never see two parked beside each other, presumably for that reason - that they need more than their share of parking space. I used to live in a tourist area and our one and only supermarket would often have a massive mototrhome taking two or four spaces, or a big car and trailer doing the same. They should be confined to a specific area of any car park - prefereably the least used part.