When oil prices rallied last year I saw an increase of gas-guzzlers on parking lots with a large FOR SALE sticker, but I'm not entirely sure the converse is true.
The number one driver of size in cars has been safety - either mandated or just perceived.
I suspect that, if anything, with abundant energy cars might become cheaper or made using more exotic materials like CFRP or anything borrowed from Formula 1.
> The number one driver of size in cars has been safety - either mandated or just perceived.
Yeah, and what will change about this trend? Do you think all of a sudden people will want cars perceived as unsafe? If bigger is perceived as safer, bigger is what we'll get. People will just get bigger and bigger cars, up to the limit of lane widths, parking spot lengths, etc.
> I suspect that, if anything, with abundant energy cars might become cheaper or made using more exotic materials like CFRP or anything borrowed from Formula 1.
Ok, bigger and lighter up to a point. But guess what, car engineers will just use the weight budget to add seat heaters and coolers, 20 subwoofers, etc.
> When oil prices rallied last year I saw an increase of gas-guzzlers on parking lots with a large FOR SALE sticker, but I'm not entirely sure the converse is true.
We've seen this before with the 70s oil crisis. Car sizes went down, then as soon as times were perceived as good or prosperous, car sizes went up.
The VW Golf of 2023 (compact European hatchback) is bigger than the VW Passat of 1973 (mid-sized sedan).
When oil prices rallied last year I saw an increase of gas-guzzlers on parking lots with a large FOR SALE sticker, but I'm not entirely sure the converse is true.
The number one driver of size in cars has been safety - either mandated or just perceived.
I suspect that, if anything, with abundant energy cars might become cheaper or made using more exotic materials like CFRP or anything borrowed from Formula 1.