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On topic, imagine how big a 2,500 lb car is and what options it will have. My Civic weighs 2,400 lbs and it "only" has power locks and windows. No power seats or heated anything. No cameras, no subwoofer, no anything. So, the new non-hybrid cars are going to stay pretty small. I don't mind, but selling them to the public might be a different story. I know people like their room in cars, plus, with our society of people who, ummm, well, can be bigger (trying to be PC!!), not everyone can fit in a Civic comfortably. With me at 160 pounds, put a 200 lb person in the passenger seat and unless we both keep our arms close to our bodies, we are touching. I know more than a few guys who weigh more than 200 lbs. They usually don't want to drive a little Civic. Maybe an Accord (just sticking with Honda here...), but you aren't going to get close to 54.5 mpg in a regular Accord. Just a thought.
Off topic, while I would not want to get hit by a truck, or a bicycle for that matter, I don't mind lifted trucks. They are ALL OVER the place where I live. Yet, I don't hear anything on the news about lifted trucks killing and destroying cars and people. If those people want to throw money away in the form of gas, lift kits, tires, wheels, etc, they have the right to.
While adding a big steel bumper to a truck changes the way the truck crumples when it hits something, there are still crumple zones on the frame. On a Dodge Ram, there are dimples in the four corners of the front steel frame for about 8", if my memory serves me correct. With that steel bumper, the frame will still absorb some of the impact. It's not like people are cutting their truck frames and adding in steel plates to make the frame not absorb the impact.
Truthfully, I am more much worried about getting hit by a drunk driver or a distracted driver that has no clue (and therefore cannot react at all) that a collision is coming.
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