Wide Cars

[soup@lemmy.world]

Good thing comedy isn’t mandatory. Also fuck car-centric societies that enable the nonsense this strip is parodying.

[hello_there@fedia.io]

Simpsons did it.
Canyon Aarow

[rivalarrival@lemmy.today]

Yeah, nobody wants wide cars. Manufacturers are making them wider to make it easier for them to meet NHTSA's CAFE standards.

The standards require year-on-year MPG improvements. The problem is that they require proportionally more improvement on the smallest, highest economy cars, and less improvement on the largest, lowest economy vehicles.

The standards are based on the "footprint" of the vehicle: the rectangle between the contact patches of the tires. The larger the area of that footprint, the larger the vehicle, and the less MPG increase it needs to have.

So, they are pushing the wheels toward the corners, and widening the wheelbase, approaching a square footprint to maximize their footprints. They are making cars bigger and boxier so they don't have to make them more efficient.

Fuel economy of the cars on the road is actually falling, because manufacturers are effectively prohibited from continuing to make their smallest, most efficient vehicles. They are compelled to either discontinue those vehicles, or embiggen them to fall in a larger class.

[mothra@mander.xyz]

I hate this about newer car models. Many are unnecessarily wide. Lanes don't get wider though.

[jewbacca117@lemmy.world]

Smells like a steak and seats 35!

[someamateur@sh.itjust.works]

It's crazy to think that Humvees were designed with war in Europe in mind. They are pretty wide and may have been wider if they didn't have to worry about train tunnels

[semi_hemi_demigod@lemmy.world]

They’re wider and longer because the EPA uses the area under the tires to determine fuel economy requirements.

[rivalarrival@lemmy.today]

It is "necessary" for them to be that wide.

CAFE standards are based on "footprint" which is basically the rectangle of the tire contact patches. If you're a car manufacturer who can't meet the NHTSA's MPG requirements for the size of car you produce, you can increase the size of your cars, so they fit in a larger class that requires less of an MPG improvement.

The most effective way to increase the footprint is to widen a narrow car, increasing its footprint toward square.

[tomkatt@lemmy.world]

That explains so much…

[carbonicedragon@pawb.social]

Pff, car users dont need society to get around, everyone knows road and bridge and fuel infrastructure are natural parts of the word that are just there on their own already! /s

[jqubed@lemmy.world]

In real life, with video links

[ininewcrow@lemmy.ca]

American culture in general:

"Remember: There is no society - only YOU and the freedom to do whatever you want!"

.... the chef's kiss was in parking your monstrosity next to a Big Sad Box .... a beautiful summary of the general North American society we've created. Millions of years of evolution to get to the point of selfish ignorantly following a life style to park next to a big sad box and buy an overpriced couch you can't afford made by Vietnamese children.

[henfredemars@infosec.pub]

I wonder if dissolving the EPA would lead to smaller cars in a roundabout sort of way.

[gluwu@lemm.ee]

I can tell this is a old meme because $119k is "a lot". Lol

[seathru@lemmy.sdf.org]

E aho laula

[bluelinebae@midwest.social]

12 yards long, 2 lanes wide, 65 tons of American pride, Canyonero!

[ilovethebomb@lemm.ee]

Not a cheap vehicle, but that's a medium truck with presumably a pretty incredible tow rating. Not really a passenger vehicle.

[gluwu@lemm.ee]

To be fair that is the largest consumer model and essentially the most expensive OEM package you can get. And it is very powerful and capable tow vehicle, but the majority of people just use them as passenger vehicles and maybe tow their rv a few times a year(which can be done with was less of a truck).

If you know modded trucks, whether that's purpose built towing or just mall crawler, there are way more trucks over $200k than you would realize. If you ever see a welding truck, big 4x4 lifted trucks with custom beds, those are an easy $250k. But they are being used. Those guys make a easy 6 figures while living in hotels with nothing else to spend it on.

[ephera@lemmy.ml]

Yeah, I was expecting it to be a joke like:

• Introducing Longtrucks.
• Impress even more strangers of the superior person-hauling capabilities with 32 seats.
• Includes a light-up sign so you can proudly show to strangers where you're headed.
• Access a world-wide network of pick-up bays for you to pick up strangers from.

[fishos@lemmy.world]

It's also literally the motto for the Pontiac Grand Prix.

"Wider is better"