Why are new cars so TALL ?

[NeilBlanchard]

Length of cars matters more than length in sailplanes. There are not many cars under 13 feet long that can fit four people ~6'-4" tall, in relative comfort. My Scion xA does.

Sure frontal area matters, but if the Cd is lowered from X to Y, then that matters about 3 times more.

As for weight, a sphere encloses the most volume inside of the least surface area, and a cube encloses the next most volume for a given surface area. Less surface area means less metal, glass, and plastic. Elongated rectangles have more surface area for a given interior volume.

So, a longer length, lower height car with the same interior volume as another car that is shorter length and greater height; the longer, lower car will weigh more, all else being equal.

I fit much better in a Honda Fit than a Civic, and the legroom / headroom dimensions reflect this. Their interior passenger volume is virtually identical -- within 0.1 cu ft. The cargo volume is much larger on the Fit -- 8.6 cu ft more.

The height difference is only ~4" anyway; and the Fit is a little more than 2" narrower. That's about 1.8 sq ft greater frontal area for the Fit; a tenth or two in Cd would offset this (though I don't know what their relative Cd's are?). The Fit weighs about 140 pounds less (base models with manual shift), and it is ~10" shorter length.

So the Honda Fit is case in point.

[mnmarcus]

Sure frontal area matters, but if the Cd is lowered from X to Y, then that matters about 3 times more.

Cd times A...

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Not really, these rarely fall over.

Well, they won't if every turn they take is at a very low speed.

I think its more to do with weight distribution and height.

Center of gravity is also a major factor. You might find this link interesting: The Physics of Sports Utility Vehicle Rollover Accidents

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Thymeclock

Well, they won't if every turn they take is at a very low speed.

Center of gravity is also a major factor. You might find this link interesting: The Physics of Sports Utility Vehicle Rollover Accidents

I sense we are destined to disagree forever, so apart from the videos showing the buses not taking the corners at low speeds, I will stay out of this.

An example of how this taller vs other ploy failed is the European version of the Ford Fusion.

Yes, I know those you are thinking of the US version of the Ford Fusion - a mid sized, 4 door car designed to fight the Accord / Camry with a home made, good product.

Meanwhile in the 'old world' Ford used the same name for this :



Which was sold specifically on the basis that it was taller than other hatchbacks, including their own Fiesta of the time



Not surprisingly the only Fusions sold were those discounted at dealers, not any ordered by real punters. And the current Fiesta is quite a sleek vehicle...

[Cd]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Tango yet.

Neil - so you fit better in a Fit ? Nice use of a pun :-)

[gascort]

What about the true safety factors involved, not just perceived?
A tall car is safer IF you are hit by a tall car or truck - bumper heights, etc.

A longer, wider car is safer in all kinds of crashes, all else being equal.

I don't want to be in the fit/versa if I'm rear-ended. Maybe with a hefty structural Kammback!

I purposefully added 8" to the front of my car with my front bumper/air dam I made from (crumplable) metal conduit. My Kammback also elongates my car's crumple zone by almost 2 feet beyond the bumper. (it's exactly 1 meter from the top of the hatch).
Looking at safercar.gov can give you a good look at general trends, and longer cars tend to outscore shorter cars from the same vintage and technology era. The very long camaros and firebirds always score well in frontal crashes; their noses are LONG!

[max_frontal_area]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

A seating position that is nearly bolt-upright is far more comfortable than a semi-reclined seating position.

that is subject to conjecture

[max_frontal_area]

Originally Posted by Cd

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Tango yet.
Neil - so you fit better in a Fit ? Nice use of a pun :-)

my brother has a fit. it is orange, it looks like a basketball and bounces just like one - even if filled with full size americans.
wonder if the computers were down the day Honda designed it?

[CapriRacer]

This talk about airplanes is very interesting, but I wonder which takes more energy: To lift a heavy plane to 10,000 feet or to lift a light weight plane to 10,000 feet. If the engine off glides are the same, then the only critical phase is what happens when the airplane is climbing.

And wouldn't this apply to taking a vehicle at rest and accellerating it to a speed? More weight would take more energy. And of course, if you use the brakes, all that energy is lost.

[Frank Lee]

We know weight penalizes fe if the trip has a lot of stop and go... but not much at all otherwise.