Reflections on small cars, sustainability and technology

Register Cartytechnica weekly subpord for in -depth analyzes of Zach and Scott and high -level summariesregister Our daily newsletterand / or Follow us on Google News!

I subscribe to Bloombergwhich brings a host of new and new ideas every day to my computer screen. Sometimes I receive an update of Hyperdrivewhich focuses on cars. Today’s edition began with this declaration: “Smaller cars are an obvious solution for overcrowded cities, limited resources and a warming planet. However, they have become an endangered species, because more difficult regulations have made them not profitable to produce and we have gravity towards muscle SUVs. ”

I could not agree more. I always preferred smaller cars more efficient. I admitted that I formerly owned a Ford Country Squire Ltd, who had room for an entire basketball team and all their equipment. With the back of the seat of the folded background, a person could stretch and sleep on the back while someone else was driving, which made long trips on the way child’s play. But the mileage of petrol was at low teenagers most of the time.

Ford has broadcast once an announcement saying that its large sedans and the wagons could get 18 MPG during a trip from Phoenix to Los Angeles. In fact, I traveled the exact route once and I got 18 MPG. It was the only time the car reached this level of fuel economy during the four years that I had it. I later discovered that he was slightly downhill from Phoenix to. This is the reason why Ford did not choose to deceive on the mileage of gases between New York and Chicago, apparently.

After the LTD, I mainly driven smaller cars – sometimes much smaller, as was the case with the first generation Honda Civic that I bought used. My friends laughed at its small size, but when the first gas crisis struck in the 1970s, I was the only one who could lead to Canada – where there were no lines in service stations – without having to stop for gas. I graduated from this car to a first generation Honda Agreement, which would be considered small today but was a medium -sized car at the time. It was the three -door tailgate par excellence and he could do everything – lead to Disney World or the Cabot Trail while serving as a coach and rally car. He has always obtained 32 MPG or more and I really missed it when I exchanged it.

After several years with a Colt Dodge, I “passed” to four -door sedans – a succession of Saturn SL2 and Honda Civics, which were all comfortable and reliable but considerably smaller than the “small cars” sold in America today. Manufacturers always tell us that they only build what customers want and maybe they believe it. But each year, their cars become a little larger and they spend millions for advertising to tell us how the last Belchfire 5000 has a little more leg room, a skosh head room and a more trendy room more hip than the model from last year.

The first time I visited Europe, I was struck by the way in which the average car was approximately 2/3 the size of an average car in the United States. People were as thin and mowing, which, I guess, meant that they were not as concerned about the hip room as the Americans. But in recent years, European cars have gradually become more important as the SUV-Itis have swept the continent. Today, sales of smaller cars – once a pillar of European automotive activity – have dropped considerably.

As Hyperdrive Explains that security regulations have a lot to do with the reasons why European cars enlarged. Smaller cars and crumpled areas are not close friends. The crumpled areas in new cars today are larger than the original Fiat Cinquecento, the diminutive car which has handed over the Italian drivers on the road after the Second World War.

A call for new regulations for small cars

Bloomberg’s Albertina torsoli reports that in a joint interview with a French newspaper Le Figaro Last week, the president of Stellantis John Elkhorn and Fox The CEO, Luca de Meo, said that excessive European Union regulation inflates the cost of manufacturing small cars because they promote the manufacture of larger and heavier premium models. This in turn makes the manufacture of smaller cars not profitable, which could lead to layoffs and factories. Sales of passenger cars in Europe fell by 3 million vehicles in 2024, which emphasizes their warnings.

“Between 2015 and 2030, the cost of a Clio will have increased by 40%,” said Meo. “European rules mean that our cars are becoming more complex, heavier, more expensive.” The Renault Clio was one of the best -selling cars in the company, but it is definitely a small car. As prices increase, the gap between IT and the largest cars becomes smaller, which encourages some buyers to switch to a larger vehicle, because the difference in monthly payment is relatively modest.

“There are too many rules designed for larger and more expensive cars, which does not allow us to make small cars in acceptable profitability conditions,” said Meo. “Is the starting warning of track absolutely necessary in cars that spend 95% of their time in the city?” This technology becomes standard equipment on many new cars, but is mainly intended to help drivers during road driving. But it requires sensors and cameras on board that increase the cost of building a car.

Accident test standards must also be examined in order to make a separate category for small cars. As part of current test procedures, these small cars must do the same as the biggest cars with caps that are three times longer, said from Meo. Europe already has separate regulations for quadricycles such as Citroën Friend and Fiat Topolino. These cars are limited to 45 km / h (28 MPH) and cost less than € 10,000.

The craze of the Kei car

Japan has its own class for small vehicles with low power of less than 3.4 meters (11 feet) long with small internal combustion engines. Known as kei Cars, they generally weigh less than 1000 pounds, but their security file is quite good. They are also an explosion to drive. They represent almost 40% of all new car sales in a country where urban congestion is a lifestyle. Kei Class trucks can be imported into the United States if they are over 25 and have become very popular in states where they are legal.

The establishment of another category of regulation in Europe would probably be long, but “there is no reason why Europe does not take into account similar financial incentives for buyers of small cars, or penalizes those who opt for a large SUV, or both,” Bloomberg said. “France has introduced taxes on cars adjusted by weight and parking costs”, while “changes in existing carbon pollution targets could take into account the lower life cycle emissions associated with the construction of smaller cars.”

HAS CleantechnicaWe are solid defenders of electric vehicles, but if smaller and lighter cars should become one thing, it would be good too. A new company called SlateSupported by Jeff Bezos, says he will present a small electric van which starts at $ 25,000 at the start of next year. It is a bet, given that most vans in the United States today are closer 20 feet long and switch the balance to 2½ tonnes.

If the popularity of kei Trucks are any indication that Gamble could bear fruit. By the way, the name of the company is supposed to be an anagram of “Tesla”, so it is sure to say that the slate truck is supposed to be the “anti-cybertruck. “He can’t really sell worse than this Elon Musk brain pet, right?