Have you noticed recently how cramped things are becoming? Parking in a supermarket or cinema parking bay is a lot tighter than it used to be and the eternal nadir that is the car park dink caused by over exuberant opening of doors into those of the adjacent vehicle is becoming more common. Squeezing a trolley through gaps between cars is no longer possible either and multi-stories are difficult not just in terms of slot size but also pillar placement and the agility necessitated by tight access ramps and high kerbing. Even motorway lanes were not measured up to accommodate three leviathan new Discoverys side by side, never mind the average B-road or country lane.
The root cause is the continued growth of our cars. Market demands in terms of interior space allied with safety and packaging needs has led to the swelling of virtually every dimension, not to mention mass, but one has to wonder where it will stop. Are cars now becoming too big for their buyers? This growth looks set to perpetuate with each further life cycle of product, or does it?
Sooner or later some brave soul in product planning is going to have to stamp out the continual expansion of their models. It would appear that this may be forced upon them by the market's migration to smaller models. It can be no coincidence that the Mondeo class size is no longer the biggest selling market sector as they are now bigger than most people need, or can accommodate, on their driveway. The Focus-sized cars are as big as the larger cars were a generation ago.
If this trend isn't stopped then ultimately I fear we're going to run out of space. Our infrastructure was never designed for some of the monoliths people drive and something will have to give at some point; practicality and safety will demand as such. As it stands, manufacturers will be forced to slot more models into the bottom of their ranges to cater for those who don't want a car the size of a Chieftain. Until then, breathe in everyone!
Dave Jenkins - 25 Apr 2006
