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Comment by paustint | Hacker News Reader

We have had big cars for a really long time. Look back to the 70s, the cars then were called "boats" because they were huge and they had a lot more steel than current cars. Yes, I agree, more people are favoring SUVs and trucks than prior generations, but huge cars have been around for decades.

I recently purchased a 79 Lincoln Continental Mark V and it is that same length as my 2020 F150 - 40 year spread, same size vehicle.

People need to drive safe and not be stupid behind the wheel. I would guess that cell phone use while driving kills way more people than "big vehicles" do (most of us are guilty of this). I feel it is a technology+cultural issue.

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We've had large cars for a long time, but the macro trend is still there: cars are getting larger over time.

There are plenty of other things we can do to increase driver safety, as you've said. But large cars simply do kill and maim people more frequently, and there are many more of them now.

Sedans and coupes have gotten larger as SUV’s and 18 wheelers have become more and more common on the roads. They get bigger in part to fit safety features into the areas you can’t see. These cars get heavier because of government required (in the US and EU, anyways) safety systems like airbags, backup cameras and all of the wiring and other parts such systems require.

I don't believe for one moment that the HUD on a modern SUV requires all that space for its wires. It's a commodity computer connected to a commodity touchscreen. The airbag hasn't meaningfully changed in the last 25 years, either.

Cars have gotten larger for two primary reasons: larger crumple zones (a legitimate safety change!), and to circumvent emissions regulations. Of those, the latter has been a much stronger pressure.

Side air bags have increased in popularity in the last 25 years. Although it looks like they reached 100% in 2012, so presence of side air bags doesn't explain changes in the last 10 years.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/688636/penetration-rate-...

Commodity computers and touchscreens weren’t in many cars 15-20 years ago. Cars with features like seat cooling and heating were premium trim level versions, now those are more widespread. Wiring for cameras? Wiring for lidar, radar, and all sorts of other sensors? The sensors (and presumably their required computer system) themselves? All add weight. Also, using steel as opposed to advanced, lighter and more expensive materials, the larger crumple zones (safety features) weigh more.

Those old boats might be big, but they're not exactly safe or even that heavy. Here's an interesting crash test comparing one to a modern vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_r5UJrxcck

Both of those cars weigh about 3,500lbs. Now swap in a 5,000lbs Tesla, or that new 9,000lbs Hummer EV. That big old car will be nothing but a pile of twisted metal. In short, I don't think you can compare large cars of the past to ones that exist today.

"Boat" was a derogatory term. There was significant social pressure not to buy a large car. I wish such social pressure existed today.

My Dad owned a "boat" without any shame. I don't think it was entirely derogatory. Or even if it were, that social pressure obviously wasn't very effective.

Among young people there does seem to be such pressure - I hear plenty of folks around my age (late teens, early 20s) talking about a car being a boat as a downside.

Not growing up in the US and only seeing cars like that on TV, I always assumed "boat" was referring to the handling more than the size.

It was called boat because they didn't handle very well, and were tricky in tight situations. It was derogatory, though it was said in that tone of voice for sarcastic reasons.

>People just need to drive safe and not be stupid behind the wheel.

Hmm, let's see how that's going

>2 million people are killed on roads yearly, and many more are injured

Not so well.

Jokes aside, we need to move to safer and more efficient forms of transportation, rather than wishing that everybody operates their 2 ton death machine in a safe way.

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