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In the absence of a flair system on lemmy yet, let’s try to make it easier to scan through posts by type in here by using tags:
We continue to make cars larger to make them safer for the people inside of them, but this is a race to the bottom that makes everyone less safe overall
When they modelled the outcome of crashes that only differed in vehicle size, they found that every 100kg of vehicle weight increased fatality odds by 6 per cent, and for every 10cm of vehicle height, the odds of a pedestrian death rose by 11 per cent.
Funniest shit is that in the picture, the smallest car is a fucking SUV
I feel like it's more of a crossover but yeah that's basically the smallest car they sell nowadays, at least here in the USA.
Well crossover is an SUV, the most popular type of "stupid size car" in Europe at least
A crossover is a hatchback on stilts, they have zero off road ability.
A crossover, crossover SUV, or crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is a type of automobile with an increased ride height that is built on unibody chassis construction shared with passenger cars, as opposed to traditional sport utility vehicles (SUVs), which are built on a body-on-frame chassis construction similar to pickup trucks.[1]
So Lada Niva, Subaru Outback a d many others are still technically crossovers despite being very capable outside the pavement
Yeah so a hatchback on stilts. Both of those cars predate the industry term "crossover" by decades. Sometimes their height is enabled by being RWD, you can only lift a FWD car so high before the CV axle angle is too extreme.
The funny bit about this is, my Subaru appears lowered in stock height, as my CV axles angle upwards to reach the wheels.
I always thought of them as a distinct category but maybe you're right I don't actually know.
I had to double-check, but the difference seems to be that traditionally SUV has a frame separate from the body construction, and crossover has the body form frame
But also, that definition is not always followed and people just call the stupidest size cars SUVs, and the less-stupid-but-still-stupid-size crossover
But for example, by that definition this lada niva is a crossover, not an SUV
Yeah I also looked it up and it doesn't really seem like there's a consensus on whether they count as SUVs. So I guess we're both kinda right.
Either way fuck cars that are bigger than they need to be. That's the ultimate point.
Fuck cars in general, but especially the stupid sized ones
The smallest car you can get in Victoria is a Kia Picanto or a Suzuki Ignis. We're talking under 900kg. They're usually driven by the very young or very old.
I get around Melbourne in an old Ignis. The government frames us like we're the unsafe ones. The road blimps are getting out of hand.
Fun story: I annoyed a guy in a Silverado last month by (gasp) getting in front of it so I could see. He pulls up next to me and starts yelling at my roof. I couldn't even see the dickhead's face.
I drive a Swift and a motorbike in Melbourne. I'm convinced 2 out of three drivers in Melbourne have zero ability to recognise they are part of an ecosystem and that the road doesn't uniquely belong to them.
And tell me about being blamed for our own safety. Can't even go for a decent ride any more because I've seen potholes that can swallow a man. And now they have.
The potholes were definitely not caused by motorcycles and Swifts. I can't believe the hypocricy of people who buy a 3 tonne rolling whale and complain about the prevalence of potholes.
Wait are you saying they don't sell sedans in the US? I feel like every 4th car I see is the Toyota corolla
At this point my Jeep is a compact car compared to the whales on the road, sure it maybe taller but I need the square trunk area and height for my back and work.
You do realize you can still get 3 door hatchbacks too, right? You're comparing very different vehicles there.
Your jeep is also horrendous for pedestrians in a crash compared to that Honda.
Also the one with a lower, clearly sloped hood and the biggest windows, not only relative to it's size but in total. Yes size matters, but those stupid modern city tanks also bring a lot of additional "features" making them more dangerous for pedestrians alongside their ridiculous size.
"Local physicists, engineers overheard saying, 'well, duh.'"
Are you saying there’s some kind of relationship between mass and force? Huh. Weird.
This just in: scientists discovered momentum.
No shit? How do I get a research job like that?
Bigger cars cause more damage in crashes. How are these cars consumer cars again?
Bro, it hauls groceries so well for me. I thought I ran over a squirrel the other day, turns out it was a 99 Civic. Ooopsies.
"...but remember that one time you had to transport a whole fridge home because you didn't want to pay an extra $20 to have them deliver it in a big truck?"
Most people need a little electric city car for 99% of their usage. The entire car industry spends billions of dollars to convince them otherwise.
Heck an electric scooter could handle 70% of their needs
There should be a word for things like this where my first reaction is, “Well, duh! What are you, some kind of idjit to need a study to tell you that?” But then I think about it for a second and I’m glad they studied it because we should be making policy decisions based on data.
Now if we could just start actually doing that…
I think the word is 'doy' pronounced condescendingly.
I hate that I walk through a parking lot and half the trucks there have hoods that are above my head height at 6 ft and well above the roofline of my car. They are just driving a brick wall at this point.
Pushing them soon enough
I am quite happy with the state of gas prices especially diesel. Everyone should be driving less
I remember looking up which cars are safest to drive. I remember the article saying, unsurprisingly, the expensive luxury vehicles being the safest, with bigger vehicles being on the safer side too (for the driver and passengers). It also said that it's only recently that people have been testing the question of vehicle safety as it relates to the vehicles impact on other's safety, and corroborating this piece here, the answer is pretty obvious.
My job has a drive-thru that seems to have been built before vehicles started ballooning. I take a lot of satisfaction in seeing people struggle to squeeze their monstrosities through it. Especially when they damage their hunks of junk on the protective barriers.
Fuck cars.
All the more reason to get one of these bad boys.
https://www.motor1.com/news/615702/2023-rezvani-vengence-suv-pepper-spray/
Of course armored body panels and bulletproof glass are on the list, but how about armor for the passengers? Vests and helmets are available, along with gas masks, magnetic deadbolts for the doors, run-flat tires, sirens, ultra-bright lights, a thermal night vision system, and we aren't joking about shooting pepper spray. It's also an option, and if you need to find cover for a quick escape, it even has a smoke screen feature.
meh. in the 90s south africa had cars that shot flames from the sides to ‘discourage’ carjacking.
Normal shit for a society obsessed with colonial racial subjugation. Tells you a bit about where Musk's head is at with the Cybertruck. It's childhood fantasy wish fulfillment.
valid
Also swingblades to take out legs
lol I missed that. like, scissors?
No shit sherlock
It's true, size matters, my hot wheels never killed anyone! (I know of)
And smoking isn't good for your health! Yeah, I know. Shocking.
Like with smoking, there is a lot of effort going on to deny the obvious though and a lot of people are in denial.
A lot of money behind that denial too.
These U.S. states have no restrictions on lift kits for vehicles:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Kansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Texas
Vermont
Wyoming
Land of the free home of the Whopper 😭🫡
