I hate when car manufacturers take a nice small car and make it bigger till it loses its charm

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110719/ANE/307199983/1193

Saw an ad a while back about the little audi being the biggest in its class. Wonder if that's like being the tallest midget in the room?

I saw the new MINI yesterday... not so mini anymore. The central mounted speedo is HUGE!

Pretty soon BMWs will be like women's fashion sizing: they'll need a 0 to seem small.

Everyone from car manufacturers to porn producers have bought into the "bigger is better" mantra.

They are wrong.

Say what you will about the Citroen 2CV, it kept on doing what it did and looking like what it was when it started.

So, really, did the original Mini.

BMW has always grown with each gen, I've always thought. 3 becomes 5, 5 becomes 7.

Joey

I was thinking the same thing yesterday driving home from work.

Remember when the Focus was a sporty hatchback? Now it is the size of the last Taurus. The current Taurus, which I assume is supposed to be a family car rather than a limo, is so big that my wife and her friends feel like its too big for them to feel comfortable driving.

I just don't get it....

The new Taurus is hilariously tall. It's like a car-shaped SUV.

amg_rx7 wrote: Remember when the Focus was a sporty hatchback?

Take a look at one of those. They're HUGE compared to a normal hatchback.

Zomby woof wrote: Take a look at one of those. They're HUGE compared to a normal hatchback.

Compared to the sedan, the ZX3 seems to have had the trunk lopped off. The new Focus sedan doesn't seem to be any larger than the old ZTS.

To the op, I really don't understand it. I thought the whole point of buying a 1 series is because you want something small.

WilberM3 and I have always talked about this. It is ridiculous that every generation (with a few exceptions) get bigger. It then results in them having to build a new car to take the slot of the small car segment. Hence the 1-series because the 3 got way too damn big! Now in a couple generations they will have to come out with the -1 series, then -3 series....

Have you seen how big the Altima is now?!

The new Focus sedan is very, very close to my old 1983 Pontiac STE in every dimension, and that car was a mid-size in that era.

MitchellC wrote: The new Taurus is hilariously tall. It's like a car-shaped SUV.

Ya but try the SHO version of it. Me liked very much!!!!!!

I will admit that I do not understand the need of the 1 series. It always seemed to me that if you wanted a bigger BMW than a 3er.. you buy a 5er.. if you wanted a bigger two door..you get a 6?

maybe I am biased..but I think the size of the E36 was just perfect..

And why are the cars in America getting bigger and bigger? Have you seen all of the McDonalds out there? It's our fault I suppose.

It is comical to park the MR2 next to an Excursion though.

Isn't saying "we make the biggest small car on the market" like saying "we don't know how to make a small car"?

I think the only cars that have gotten smaller/lighter across a generational jump (without being utterly replaced in all but name) were the 350Z-370Z, and maybe the C5->C6 Corvette.

I think it's patently ridiculous. If I want a larger car, I have options already to buy a larger car.

well.. maybe buying a bigger car is the same as admitting you need sansabelt slacks?

ReverendDexter wrote: I think the only cars that have gotten smaller/lighter across a generational jump (without being utterly replaced in all but name) were the 350Z-370Z, and *maybe* the C5->C6 Corvette.

There's a couple others I can think of, some of which actually have some GRM appeal.

The NC Miata and second generation Probe / MX6 were a little bit lighter than the generation they replaced.

3rd generation Camaro and Firebird were significantly smaller and lighter than the previous generation. Same goes for the jump from the C3 Corvette to the C4.

Some luxury cars did this in the late '70s / early '80s; the '80s Thunderbirds were a lot smaller than their '70s counterparts. The '77 Cadillac Fleetwood was a lot smaller than the '76, but managed to keep a lot of its Cadillac-nes.

'73 to '74 Mustang may be "being utterly replaced in all but name."

While I'm not one to disclude the II as a proper Mustang (I'd love me a Cobra II with an Ecoboost swap and the suspension to make that not a death trap), I'd say that going from the '73 to the '74 was replaced in all but name.

".....going from the '73 to the '74 was replaced in all but name."

And THAT'S the problem. When a car company produces a model that is successful, they feel they MUST hang on to the name, even when the following generations no longer stand for what the original car stood for. Notice that when a new car name surfaces, the car that was replaced had a really bad rep. Example? Cavalier to Cobalt to Cruse. Escort to Focus.

Amazingly, the first Civics were under 150 inches long and weighed LESS than 2000 lbs, now a "small" Civic is more than 175 inches long and weighs 3,000 lbs.

since when did an escort have a bad name.... one of the best selling cars of all time.

KATYB wrote: since when did an escort have a bad name.... one of the best selling cars of all time.

Are you from the UK by any chance? They got most of the good versions that never showed up in the US.

Also the Escort was often rated at the top for reliability.

On subject. My ZX2SR was listed as a compact. My 2011 Fiesta has almost the same measuremnts and weight yet is listed as a sub-compact.