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Comment by m463 | Hacker News Reader

It could be that their customers are growing up with their platform.

Kind of like how the Honda Civic has gotten bigger with more features over the years, to where it surpasses the original Accord. I'll bet the Honda Fit from now will grow in the same way and they'll have to invent a new "budget honda" for the next generation of young people.

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A reason cars keep getting larger is fuel-economy laws.

> Expanding a car's footprint — the wheelbase multiplied by the track width — gives it a lower fuel-economy target to meet under the CAFE standards negotiated by automakers and regulators.

https://www.autonews.com/article/20160814/OEM11/308159946/is...

Huh, so why do cars in Europe tend to be smaller, where I was under the impression that emission laws are stricter?

Because the CAFE standards are a US thing

During diesel gate I did a lot of research, none of which I still have sadly. Diesel emissions regulations were generally slightly stricter in the U.S. I found that pretty surprising at the time.

That may explain why diesel is so rare for consumer cars and SUVs in the US compared to Europe.

The cars are smaller than in the US but they are getting bigger. For example, the VW Golf is 0.6m longer between the first model and the last one.

The obvious answer is buyer preference and cheaper gas.

https://www.theonion.com/a-statement-followed-by-a-question-...

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