That explains why it appears sedans have been dying out and crossovers have become the de facto base size. Car related injuries from pedestrians have gone down, but coincidentally fatalities have...
That explains why it appears sedans have been dying out and crossovers have become the de facto base size. Car related injuries from pedestrians have gone down, but coincidentally fatalities have increased. For a machine that weighs tonnes - with an s, that explains it clearly. Relatively, anyone can drive as the barrier to entry is low and that is scary in itself with the increasing size and weight.
I wouldn't really say it's the explanation, or sole explanation (maybe like 5%?). In the end, the fact that SUV sales dominate, is because people want SUVs. The EPA "loophole" eases the supply...
I wouldn't really say it's the explanation, or sole explanation (maybe like 5%?). In the end, the fact that SUV sales dominate, is because people want SUVs. The EPA "loophole" eases the supply side of the equation for manufacturers, but that is nothing without sufficient demand, of which there is plenty (and all across the world, too - SUVs are now half of new European car sales, for instance, which distinctly does not have the same EPA "loophole", and also half of the Chinese car market).
Personally, I'd say that people just generally like big cars and that plummeting gas prices after the OPEC oil crisis enabled them to do what they want. Before that, American "sedans" were ginormous. Many were larger in width and length than CUVs today, although not in height. It was only after gas price crisis that Japanese economy sedans became popular in the US. I don't think it should be surprising that the largeness came back as that abided.
I'd also say that at this point I don't even care about CUVs (which are the plurality of the SUV market). They basically full size sedans with a lift. A Rav4 or CRV weighs about ~300lbs more than the full size sedan equivalent (an accord or camry), and gets about 2 less MPG. I find it strange the source article even talks about them because a) most of them don't qualify as trucks and b) most of them wouldn't have trouble meeting EPA emission regulations anyway.
That's part of the problem that @Shahriar is calling out, the lift changes the height of the bumper and changes the outcomes for pedestrian strikes. Instead of ending up on the hood, people end up...
I'd also say that at this point I don't even care about CUVs. They basically full size sedans with a lift.
That's part of the problem that @Shahriar is calling out, the lift changes the height of the bumper and changes the outcomes for pedestrian strikes. Instead of ending up on the hood, people end up under the tires. I'm with you that on emissions there is can be a parody between CUVs and sedans, but for pedestrian safety they aren't close.
To be fair, the RAV4 is on the small side of SUVs. I like mine, and they fit the more traditional 'smaller 4WD towing-capable' niche thats been around forever. It reminds me of a 90s Jeep in a...
To be fair, the RAV4 is on the small side of SUVs. I like mine, and they fit the more traditional 'smaller 4WD towing-capable' niche thats been around forever. It reminds me of a 90s Jeep in a good way.
A lot of SUVs have 3rd row seating, and make the RAV4 seem miniscule. The Highlander is a better example for comparison.
There's a very informative video on this topic by Not Just Bikes on YouTube from a few weeks ago that talks about this issue. Seems like this is starting to tackle the problem that is being talked...
There's a very informative video on this topic by Not Just Bikes on YouTube from a few weeks ago that talks about this issue. Seems like this is starting to tackle the problem that is being talked about in the video. Good!
That explains why it appears sedans have been dying out and crossovers have become the de facto base size. Car related injuries from pedestrians have gone down, but coincidentally fatalities have increased. For a machine that weighs tonnes - with an s, that explains it clearly. Relatively, anyone can drive as the barrier to entry is low and that is scary in itself with the increasing size and weight.
I wouldn't really say it's the explanation, or sole explanation (maybe like 5%?). In the end, the fact that SUV sales dominate, is because people want SUVs. The EPA "loophole" eases the supply side of the equation for manufacturers, but that is nothing without sufficient demand, of which there is plenty (and all across the world, too - SUVs are now half of new European car sales, for instance, which distinctly does not have the same EPA "loophole", and also half of the Chinese car market).
Personally, I'd say that people just generally like big cars and that plummeting gas prices after the OPEC oil crisis enabled them to do what they want. Before that, American "sedans" were ginormous. Many were larger in width and length than CUVs today, although not in height. It was only after gas price crisis that Japanese economy sedans became popular in the US. I don't think it should be surprising that the largeness came back as that abided.
I'd also say that at this point I don't even care about CUVs (which are the plurality of the SUV market). They basically full size sedans with a lift. A Rav4 or CRV weighs about ~300lbs more than the full size sedan equivalent (an accord or camry), and gets about 2 less MPG. I find it strange the source article even talks about them because a) most of them don't qualify as trucks and b) most of them wouldn't have trouble meeting EPA emission regulations anyway.
That's part of the problem that @Shahriar is calling out, the lift changes the height of the bumper and changes the outcomes for pedestrian strikes. Instead of ending up on the hood, people end up under the tires. I'm with you that on emissions there is can be a parody between CUVs and sedans, but for pedestrian safety they aren't close.
Indeed, it's scary how much the size of the hood dictates survivability.
To be fair, the RAV4 is on the small side of SUVs. I like mine, and they fit the more traditional 'smaller 4WD towing-capable' niche thats been around forever. It reminds me of a 90s Jeep in a good way.
A lot of SUVs have 3rd row seating, and make the RAV4 seem miniscule. The Highlander is a better example for comparison.
There's a very informative video on this topic by Not Just Bikes on YouTube from a few weeks ago that talks about this issue. Seems like this is starting to tackle the problem that is being talked about in the video. Good!