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Comment by thorwasdfasdf | Hacker News Reader

This! sometimes I think it would be nice if they produced a low cost small car like the 1960s mini. with today's productivity they could build a simple version for quite cost effective. But, regulations mean it's completely impossible and so the cost of cars and their size keeps going up.

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My personal perspective is that if I'm allowed to sign myself up for danger on two wheels - a motorcycle - and danger on four lackluster wheels - an older car - then I should also be allowed to sign myself up for danger on four satisfying wheels - a new but small and light car. Cutting-edge impact protection be damned; make me sign a waiver if you must.

I've come to realize that laws aren't generally about fairness. They're about whole-systems thinking. Lots of rules seem unfair if you're an individual in a system.

The popcorn kernel that doesn't pop may feel slighted, but that doesn't mean my popper is broken, or the kernel is.

Allowing car companies to make new cars which are less safe would cause more injuries and deaths. We allow older cars and motorcycles for political and economic reasons. Banning them would be even worse.

Here's a political and economic reason: modern cars, new and used, are painfully expensive for large portions of our society. Most of these price increases come from modern requirements for impact protection and other safety provisions. Allowing companies to pump out <$10k econoboxes would be a boon to low-income individuals.

I will not be riding in your Uber.

dude have you been in a classic mini? its literally a coffin. that being said i like trying to drag race mustangs in my buddies one. Check out Kei Cars in Japan.

A coffin that fits 4 adults and a German Shepherd in the estate bit. That's quite snug, but no worse than a Polo, Beetle, Fiesta or 2CV of similar era.

But like most cars it spends most of its time carrying just one or two adults, maybe a bit of shopping, when it has ample room.

I personally know of someone that suffered permanent short-term memory loss from a terrible crash in an original mini. A woman pulled out in front of him without looking properly, his car was pretty much completely destroyed, and he was lucky to survive. It's all well and good to praise their size and practicality, but they come at a heavy price.

In the same era few cars would see you better off. A Polo or Escort would be similarly totalled, a big Merc or Volvo would often happily demount the engine and punch it back into the cabin taking your legs with it...

I don't disagree.

"Snug" tends to mean "limited crumple zones and side airbags", which tends to mean "death trap" in a significant accident.

There are recent cars like that, you just can't buy them in places like the US or Europe because they're deathtraps. The Tata Nano was produced until 2018 and cost about 3000USD. BYD makes a tiny electric car (e1) for about 9000USD.

A used but modern Mini Cooper is not that expensive. In 2012 I bought a 2008 with 20K miles on it for $15K, and it's been a super reliable car, real joy to drive.

I also have a 1967 Pontiac, and THAT thing is enormous. There were a lot of big family cars back then.

How about the Fiat 500 ?

I love my Fiat 500e! I could fit two of them into most American parking spaces.

getting warmer =)

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