[edude03]

> Most Americans do not want these big cars

Based on what? Anecdotal I know, but my biggest frustration is I can't convince friends and family they should buy a small car instead of an SUV because they always say "I might need to move a couch/dresser/friends/etc one day". I'm convinced they would come out way ahead buying a small car and renting a truck the once or twice a year they need it but again, I've yet to convince anyone that's the case

[Spivak]

Because the small car is the same cost as an SUV but worse utility wise. I actually go the other way, I bet the back row of an SUV (or tall hatchback like the Honda Fit) gets more use carrying people or large items than the back row of your average sedan. During growing season I'm constantly schlepping dirt and mulch home. I can fit 5 humans and all our camping supplies no problem. Fit a whole assembled grill in the back we got from FB marketplace.

You get the utility of a truck and van with the MPG of a car, I see why they took over the world. If it weren't for pickup trucks being a cultural icon they would probably have replaced the "workman" vehicle too.

[QuercusMax]

I used to own a Fit, and a friend of mine asked me out of everybody with pickups, minivans, SUVs, etc. to borrow my car to pick up a pinball machine a few hours away. It's ridiculous how much stuff you can put in the back of that thing.

[nottorp]

It's like Honda makes them bigger on the inside than on the outside.

At some point i had a Fit and a slightly larger Suzuki SX4. I got to carry 30 folding chairs in the Fit once. I could maybe have fit 20 of them in the Suzuki.

[olyjohn]

I had a trailer hitch on my Fit, and would show up to moving parties and embarrass all the pickup trucks with how much stuff I could haul. Their trucks had tiny 6 foot beds, my trailer was 8 feet long, plus all the crap I could fit in the back of the car itself.

It's a real shame they don't make the Fit anymore here in the US. Instead we get that shitty crossover HRC in it's place that doesn't have nearly the storage space in it, because it has to look like it's higher off the ground to satisfy buyers.

[Amezarak]

The CVT Fits expressly forbid towing in the owners manual, at least for the first few model years.

[wpm]

If I ever came to power in a Stalinist dictator sort of way, and I had to choose “the car” everyone would get, it would be the Honda Fit.

Just a preposterously useful car without being conspicuous at all.

[Spivak]

Freckin' love my Fit. I don't know what Honda's engineers paid the devil for its reliability but we thank them for their sacrifice.

[tstrimple]

We had a small cheap sedan that was rear-ended and pushed into oncoming traffic while waiting to turn when my wife was driving. Since she's been hit thrice in sedans and not once in our minivan, she's come to the conclusion that she needs a bigger vehicle just to be seen. It's not an argument I buy, but I understand how she has reached that conclusion.

[evolve2k]

I’ve been sharing this video from NotJustBikes - “These SUV’s are literally killing us”.

Makes a pretty convincing case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7mSXMruEo

[mynameisnoone]

Americans "want" big SUVs because they're cheaper than mid-sized sedans. Unfortunately, they pollute more and they're less safe.

The SUV protectionism of import tariffs, safety exclusions, and pollution carve-outs must end because they're killing us on the roads, killing our health through more pollution, and killing the planet.

[dmix]

Beyond personal needs people want what others have, what they see in films, and what they see marketing for. The price and general availability impacts all of those things. Car companies will push what makes most economic sense and consumers will to, which helps create trends people hop on to.

[throwaway7ahgb]

I disagree. At least where I'm at, small cars don't serve any better purpose. We have plenty of space and gas is relatively inexpensive.

So I'd rather spend a few thousand more for a midsize or large car/suv than a mini or compact car. It has nothing to do with neighbors, or signaling. Larger cars are usually just better.

[evolve2k]

Parent is a propaganda account, comment history shows the account making the same duplicated pro car comments repeatedly in different threads.

This article is clearly on the money.