Hacker News Reader

Comment by jonknee | Hacker News Reader

I think cheaper gas and long commutes has way more of an effect for Americans preferring larger vehicles than fewer foreign trucks being available.

View on HN

Correct, Americans have preferred larger cars for a long time. American cars in the 50' and 60's were quite large, especially luxury brands. For families, the large station wagon with a huge engine to tow a boat on the weekend and weighing over 2 tons were not uncommon[1]. Americans preferred cars over trucks and I image would have continued to do so if a huge amount of marketing over decades was not used to convince people to buy vehicles that were protected from foreign competition with a 25% import tax.

[1]https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1965/787220/ford_coun...

Also for a very long time trucks got to skate on emissions and safety regulations.

I think trucks were also exempted from fuel economy regulations.

This all combined to kill off the station wagon.

Americans being larger physically and more likely to be overweight probably also has a pretty large effect.

Just look at Tom Selleck in Magnum PI trying to drive the Ferrari. They had to take the seat bottom out, and even then he always drove it with the roof off. His knees flanked the steering wheel.

They had a scene once where he drove a jag, and the top bezel around the windshield was right at eye level.

Not sure why you are getting downvoted. 6’5” here and I was disappointed that I wasn’t replacing my 1997 Accord with a 2018.

Safety regulations make cars heavier and efficiency requirements make them more aerodynamic. End result is that I cannot physically fit in an Accord without reclining the seat.

How do taller European countries manage with their smaller cars then?

Germans, Dutch, even the Spaniards are taller on average than Americans.

The average US male weighs 195.8lb and is 5'9" tall. The average German male weighs 181.7lb and is also 5'9" tall.

So Americans are either more muscular or more fat than Germans, either of which would make them larger.

Personal anecdote, my 6'3" friends have no problem fitting in my Porsche Cayman with several inches of headroom to spare, and that's about as short as German cars go. I think the Germans just prioritize vertical space in their cabins more than the Japanese.

I'm 5'9" (average height in the US) and normal weight/healthy. I own a Honda Accord and while I love the car, I have to adjust the seat as far back as it will go because I have long legs.

I... what? I fit just fine in my recent accord at 6’5” 240lbs. The seat is far back but not even maxed, I think, and people still fit behind me. It’s a large sedan...

Many of those small cars are boxier. In a Honda example, I fit fine in a Honda Fit.

I don't believe that's the problem. Popular US market cars like the Accord have a few things in common: 1. They have a sunroof/moonroof, which makes the ceiling lower. 2. The larger sedans tend to have very slanted windshields to help with gas mileage. 3. The seats, annoyingly, tend to have a high minimum height "for a more commanding seating position".

Reply on news.ycombinator.com