HenriVolneyParis is saying ‘non’ to a US-style hellscape of supersized cars – and so should the rest of Europe
nicetriangleYeah the shit's out of control in the US. People don't need goddamn huge cars.
Europe used to laugh at American big cars, but recently the cars on our roads get bigger and bigger too :-(
Yeah I am glad at least that a number of countries are taking measures to de-car city centers. They're a blight. Especially these big stupid SUVs.
Pat_RiotBiggest misnomer in the Auto industry. They are neither sporty nor utilitarian.
They are essentially a rebranding of minivans. Minivans were seen as soccer mom vehicles, but were incredibly practical. So they rebranded them to SUVs, raising the height, reducing cargo space, increasing blind spots, and over all making them less functional, but they sell much better.
robolemmyYeah, it’s “mom car creep.” First sedans were mom cars, then station wagons, followed by minivans. Somehow the stupid huge SUVs are avoiding the stigma so far.
Also, the Tesla model X is literally a minivan, not an SUV. I know that’s off topic but I had to say it. :-)
Unpopular opinion, but I want station wagons to come back. They were a super useful car that didn’t look too bad.
Seconded. Wagons were the shit
I had a VW Passat wagon that I loved, so I won’t disagree.
rebranding of minivans
Except minivans are at least good at the one thing they’re made for, hauling people and their stuff. SUVs try to do everything, so they do everything badly.
MaestroThey have, but it's still nothing compared to the US. I drive a Nissan Qashqai. It's quite a big car in The Netherlands. There are bigger of course (like the big Volvo XC 70 and 90) but I'm definitely on the bigher size on the road. But my car would be tiny in the US. It would be like driving an old Fiat 500 over here.
Oh, I am sure American cars are even bigger, but that does not mean we should like the trend.
They just stripped the light freight classification for trucks for private persons over here. Sales dropped by half.
They’re not huge, only when compared to the little clown cars of Europe. We have the room, the road size and can accommodate cars that are actually comfortable to be in.it also makes no different what you think somebody else “needs”. You don’t “need” the internet either, so should you not have it?
They're huge compared to pedestrians, cyclists, and regular cars - and therefore way more dangerous. Let alone the environmental and infrastructural costs to society.
It'd be fine if they didn't negatively affect other people, but... They do 🤷
People will look me dead in the face and tell me they need the SUV because the kids have hockey practice, I wouldn’t understand. As if my dad didn’t take me to hockey practice in a Toyota Terecel.
PsychadelligoatMy leaf and my neighbors 90s pickup are more than enough for all of the rural farm shit we need them for so city folk really got no fuckin excuse
iterableWorse is those who don’t know how to drive them. I hear all the time ohh that massive vehicle is like any other car. New money seems most of all to buy huge vehicles in US. Got show off in front of the poor people…
There’s a lot of Americans that have been bamboozled by the auto industry. Canadians and Mexicans too. Big American trucks are a status symbol in a lot of Mexico. It just shows how effective advertising can be. Basically they are selling a kind of identity.
Lev_AstovUnfortunately, the US Environmental Protection Agency (emphasis on mental) has rules in place regarding emissions per unit length of vehicle which effectively penalize manufacturers who make small vehicles.
Well we cant be bothered with actually changing rules and laws to change things and potentially make rich people change how they make money so we just have to keep pandering to fascists and swift fans for votes
OpticalMooseThis should be an easy fix for France (or any country). Don’t make dumb laws.
Dumb laws or laws smartly written by the automobile industry themselves?
But ma big ride!
Le big ride
Royale with Wheels
BassaForte“Mah ride”
I mean, i agree. The amount of American sized cars i see in the netherlands nowadays is a lot.
But they are pretty awesome cars so i get why someone would want one.
JomnI really have a hard time understanding what is “awesome” in these cars ? They are clearly not built to be efficient to drive in old European cities, and (even though that is very subjective) they aren’t nice to look at either.
InternationalBastardEspecially SUV… The space for your stuff ist often less than in a station wagon.
I don’t understand that part. I’ve got a 20-year-old f150, and it’s roomier than my parents’ new Highlander. That thing’s fuckin’ cramped compared to other stuff. Hell, the legroom in our 1991 Previa van is enormous compared to nearer Toyota shit.
I am 6’ in freedom units and I was fine in 98 of 100 cars legroom wise, especially for distances within the city.
And having a f150 because of legroom in a European city would really be antisocial behavior. You’re a handyman, ok…but as a private person?
My point is that people have a BMW SUV because I need the space for my kids soccer training , but a VW Passat station wagon would give the same space, steal less space from other people, an accident would be less likely be deadly for others involved and less gas consumption.
There are people needing big cars, but most ppl do not.
Prolog could’ve put it better. Nit that I didn’t understand your point, but I don’t understand how fuckin’ cramped the new shit is now, despite being so goddamned chunky.
And I didn’t want to sound rude to you
Oh, you didn’t! 's’all good.
They have PDD and they either get a massive truck or a motorcycle that is as noisy as possible.
radixPiddly Dick Disease?
And those are usually still small versions of the ones they actually sell in the US
Cycle to work every day, 3 miles one way, I know in my bones from repeated experiences that the bigger the vehicle, the less likely they see you
That one picture of even front-end visibility always stuck with me. It’s something stupid like 15 kids in a line and the driver can’t see them. You could drive into a classroom worth of children and not see it.
If it’s the same one I’m thinking of, a couple/few of the biggest trucks have less visibility than an M1-A1 Abrams TANK…
To be fair I’m pretty sure the Abrams (and most other modern western tanks) have really good driver’s/commander’s sights compared to any vehicle at all
I’m talking the old version that didn’t have the fancy helmets to see through the tank
Oh, gotcha
czardestructoI had a guy in a pickup drive right into my 8ft long trailer when I as stopped at a light. He pulled up to me while I was stopped fine, but then he couldn’t see my trailer and 30 seconds later started rolling forward while the light was still red and hit it. I was very annoyed and when I talked to him he said he forgot it was there and couldn’t see it. I was speechless.
Can confirm, for me about 10 miles one way and the bigger the car the more likely they don’t see you or don’t care.
ChrisLichtThe front ends on the newest full-size SUVs and pick-ups look like 18-wheeler front-ends from the ‘70s.
Little weirdos are obsessed with the US. Buy whatever you want, why they gotta try to make this about America when this is just about European buying habits?
Wen love many great trends from youe coumtry: your music, your TV shows,…
Some of us also love some not so great trends like your oversized cars.
You don’t have to get on your high horse to spite us, we can do it ourselves.
Do you honestly think they care about the US? They are just saying no to big cars. That’s it.
Not many people know the US even has a habit of buying bigger cars than in Europe.
It’s in the article, isn’t it? If they weren’t writing American flame bait, it would just be about European buying trends. You don’t have to say they are rejecting anything.
Neither of the SUVs I’ve owned were American. The Germans were happy enough to make and sell one of them while the Koreans made the other.
I’m just tired of articles being written like it’s a rejection of American ideals when it probably isn’t a factor on anyone’s mind at the time of purchase. Rage bait, pure and simple.
Peoples reaction to my post kinda demonstrates why it works, though. They are so anti-american that being called on the unnecessary inclusion of us in the headline gets people upset. Don’t let your media turn us into boogiemen for the cars that some people buy. We do enough real shit to get mad about without making up stuff.
As an American living in Europe that travels back and forth every year, I can assure you that this trend is absolutely led by the Americans.
flyosThe Guardian is making this about the American… The Paris vote was framed around big cars (“SUV”).
Are we not discussing the article? We are using this website differently, I guess.
Yes we are, the rest of us are cognizant of more than just the article. You should try it some time.
Rude and wrong.
pewgar_seemsimandroidestonia is slowly
It needs to absolutely be regulated. I don’t really want to get an SUV, but I might for my own safety when 3/4 of other cars on the road are monsters.
How about a Sports Utility Bicycle?
I mean, parking would be more of a nightmare than it is already.