good write-up but all of that ignores computer controlled adaptive suspensions, which can far outperform traditional 'dumb' suspensions.

i think those are all false strawmen as i don't think anyone said any category of vehicle was 'better' than another.

this thread is about the buying trends changing to more and more cuv/suv's in recent years. doesn't mean they're 'better', it means they're more appreciated (and bought) by more people than in the past. to those buyers they obviously felt cuv/suvs were 'better' for their purchasing choice.

yes and no one said otherwise as far as i know.

 

That's why I did a more recent post, relating the rise in obesity, to the rise in house sizes, and consequently the rise in motor vehicle sizes - ie crossovers/SUV's.

We're getting bigger.
Our homes are getting bigger.
And our motor vehicles are getting bigger too.

Is this all a coincidence, or is it all related to our current times?
Good or bad, we're just getting bigger...
.

 

the article says homes getting bigger on average because many expect to have to house parents or kids longer (or again).
i'm sure the uber-liberal usa today views this as a negative, but i think people should have all the space they want and can afford.
as for obesity, yup a huge problem and being made worse by tech which is making people even more sedentary. of course the article touts how it's now being considered a 'disease'. i do place a lot of blame restaurants and processed food providers though who push bigger portions and greater 'addictiveness' into many foods and consumers just can't say no.

 

The obesity is bad.

Families getting smaller, while immigration & overpopulation getting larger - which is bad too.

Land size getting smaller, while homes getting larger - which is probably just as well.

Motor vehicles getting larger, like the movement from sedans to crossovers too I guess...

 

overpopulation? please... britain is the size of florida and has 1/5th the u.s. population. it doesn't seem even remotely overpopulated. the u.s. is basically empty. well except for new jersey.

anyway, i agree with you that obesity may well be a factor in why cuv's/suv's have become so popular. also, with all the obesity comes less flexibility / bad knees, etc., so the higher seating position of cuv's/suv's is also appealing over sedans.

 

It also occurred to me that while land size diminishes, actual home size is increasing - meaning greater efficiency.

In the same way, perhaps motor vehicles are increasing in height via crossovers for greater efficiency too, rather than increasing in length/width via sedans?

Apart from obesity, could this be the key to why crossovers are overtaking sedans?
Or maybe it's just luxury? People simply want bigger houses & bigger cars.
But then they'd buy longer wider cars like Camry & Avalon.

So perhaps efficiency through vertical height, eg more hi rise buildings & taller crossovers/SUV's is what the community is after?

On further analysis, sedans are getting taller & taller over the decades - sedans will be effectively as tall as SUV's if trends continue - then the two formats will essentially merge...

.

 

If I could only afford one vehicle, it would absolutely be an SUV. When I only had a sedan/coupe, I had to borrow my parents SUV on very many occasions. I don't like the driving dynamics of SUVs, but most of these so called "family sedans" also don't have much going for them in terms of driving dynamics and have zero character - so might as well go for an SUV.

 

One thing I like about CUV. You can have a nice amount of ground clearance and cargo space. It is pretty much a raised station wagon. I guess you can say the same thing for a SUV.

 

I agree with your sentiments. If I had to pick between a boring family sedan and a boring small SUV, it would be the latter 100% of the time. However, when comparing a fun-to-drive sedan with an SUV, it would be very difficult for me to opt for the SUV. I just love good driving dynamics too much.