Should Americans and Their Cars Go On a Diet?

Hitting the late-afternoon lull at work, I browsed around online and checked my personal E-mail, which returned me to the main portal page. On it, I saw the following headline: "Expanding waistlines add to pain at the pump".

I admit my morbid curiosity prompted me to click on the link and read the story. Now, I must preface this by saying that I myself am part of the American epidemic of the expanding waistline. Not that I'm 1,000-pound Maury or Dr. Phil material, but definitely a little chunkier than I'd like to be. So I was initially hesitant to tackle this controversial, yet inescapably apparent reality.

But I'll go a step further than the article. I would like to posit that the growth in the girth and poundage of automobiles has increased correspondingly along with the girth and poundage of Americans. "But," you say, "foreign cars have gotten bigger too." And right you would be. But let us not forget what the single largest automobile market in the world is. That's right: the good ol' U.S. of A. So even though Hans, Franz, and Koji may not be part of this epidemic, their paychecks are in large part dependent on catering to our corpulent, self-indulgent tastes and buying habits.



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EL34i - 10/30/2006 12:18:22 PM

-2 Boost

As a 5'9" 350+ pound American, I find that the authentic luxury of American Buick and German Mercedes-Benz better comforts my corpulence than any of Japan's offerings.

XYZZ - 10/30/2006 3:33:57 PM

+2 Boost

then you should buy "The best damn Buick made anywhere: the toyota Avalon!"

XYZZ - 10/30/2006 3:35:36 PM

+2 Boost

and it's made in the U.S.A. too.

(for american tastes and sizes.)

beken - 10/30/2006 6:40:14 PM

+1 Boost

I'm 5'9" and 150lbs. I also have Buick to haul my family and vacation gear around and I absolutely fill the trunk. I think the midsize imports are too small. If I wanted smaller, I would buy a "compact" car. But the seats on the Buick are definitely too big...and I do seat 6 in my car.

Chock this down to my resistance to wanting to drive around in a truck.

If Americans are getting too big, then yes, by all means go on a diet. But I like my midsized cars to be midsized cars. Not subcompacts calling themselves midsized.

lewissalem - 10/30/2006 1:20:00 PM

+2 Boost

I grow tired of these blog posts lamenting the enormous size of today's vehicles. Historically, US vehicles have always been larger. Only during the 80's and 90's did vehicle size shrink. The Ford F-150 has been the best selling vehicle for roughly 16 years. Obviously this product meets a need that we have in this country.

The automobile is our primary mode of transportation and somehow it is our fault that we need to buy an SUV to get that plywood home. Not everybody lives in a large city, and the attitude that suburbanites should change to fit the "big city" version of reality is absurd, and out of touch with reality.

We will continue to expand and spread out because technology will make it possible. We have the space, we have the resources, and we have the third largest population in the World.

UPshift - 10/30/2006 1:28:56 PM

+1 Boost

I'm not as affected by girth (although I am slightly heavy) as I am height at 6'5". That puts most fun or exotic sports cars out of my reach.

The girth of American cars is up not only by the current safety regulations (that peace-of-mind adds structure and weight)but also by our tastes in equipment. Nowadays, we expect cars to be fully loaded with every posiible electronic convience we can think of and some we didn't. Nowadays, it seems any car without power everything is a "stripper". Do you really need power seats?

Contrasting my tall stature, I used to have a 1987 Civic Si (the shoebox) and absolutely loved it! Tons o' room inside for such a small package. Direct, unassisted steering, 5 speed and lightweight - it was like driving a go-kart everyday. What fun that car was!

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 10/30/2006 3:47:15 PM

+1 Boost

SIMPLE ANSWER *********YES*************

Vehicle Sizes are increasing worldwide simply because if the manufacturer wishes to sell vehicles in the NA market, they will have to design vehicles to haul those Extremely Overweight People around.
Thing is, because it is not Economical to Design Two Different Vehicles (One for the rest of the world & other for North America) most manufacturers are having to compromise and design something that they could push to all the markets. (Final Product is only as good as its Weakest Part)

Typical Example
Over here people do not really buy S-Classes & 7-Series unless they have a family and really need one, While in NA I have many Friends/Clients with LWB S-Classes/7-Series & A8s just because of the Status Thing (Over Here you would be considered a Chauffeur if you drove one of those without having a large family)

Its the Most Stupid Thing I Have Ever Seen (Blatant Waste & Gluttony)
And all it does is make the Already Obese Vehicle Owner feel Less Obese.
Now all they need is Wider Doorways to their homes Super King Size Beds that are Rated for 800kgs and Toilets that can cope with 40+kgs of Turd and Life Is A OKAY.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 10/30/2006 3:48:47 PM

+1 Boost

And I am 6'5 & 220lbs

njshift - 10/30/2006 4:27:03 PM

+2 Boost

In the north-east tiny women account for 90% of large suv sales. At least it sure as hell looks like it.

Rupert - 10/30/2006 5:45:00 PM

+1 Boost

i'm 6'1 and 163, so i guess i'm pretty light by american standards.

and i don't fit very well in the volvo xc90 front seat. the dash is in the wrong place for my knees (economy airplane seats are a pain too).

I95 is right about the s class/7 chauffeur thing, no one under 40 really buys them unless they get driven everywhere. saloons aren't cool here anyway, so under 40s rich people buy porsches and bmws and convertibles and stuff.

Rupert - 10/30/2006 5:45:55 PM

+1 Boost

i'd like to add that only 15% of obese people (obese being having a BMI of over 30) think that they are obese.

JCF110 - 10/30/2006 6:54:24 PM

+2 Boost

I'm 5'8 and I'm 140 lbs... thats not over weight for a 13 year old though right?

bigslick83 - 10/30/2006 6:56:11 PM

+3 Boost

a quote(sort of) from dreamworks "over the hedge"

"that is an SUV. Its what humans drive around in because they are slowly losing their ability to walk"

"gosh it sure is big, how many humans fit in one of these"

"normally just one"

this is a funny movie and really makes you look at how much food plays a part in our culture.

njshift - 10/31/2006 8:29:41 AM

+1 Boost

Go back under your rock.

njshift - 10/31/2006 11:05:17 AM

0 Boost

Is there a way a can block/ignore people on here? Anyone?