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Paris is saying ‘non’ to a US-style hellscape of supersized cars – and so should the rest of Europe
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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Biggest 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.
Yeah, 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
Best car I ever drove was a Toyota Sienna. Would have driven around the whole world with it
My primary exposure to station wagons is the organ trail, a zombie parody of the oregon trail. And that car got me to oregon!
I had a VW Passat wagon that I loved, so I won't disagree.
I was about to say that you could still buy an Outback but it looks like they morphed them into SUVs. 😒
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.
SUVs don't really try to do anything good except being tall sedans...
Minivans actually sold really well. And apparently the most searched-for car on automobile websites is still "Honda Odyssey."
My understanding is that car companies started pushing SUVs over minivans due to threading loopholes in CAFE rules or import tariffs. Minivans get classified as "big cars" while SUVs can get classified as "small trucks." It seems like these loopholes are being abused and should be closed but the car companies lobby to keep them open.