Jetta, Corolla, 3-series, C-class, etc are all compact sedans in the US. The step up (5-series, E-class) is mid-size, and the step after (7-series, S-class) is full-size.

Things like the Yaris, Polo, Fit, 1-series, etc are all subcompacts.

North American cities are largely planned around cars as opposed to having bricks thrown down wherever horses used to walk, gas isn't nearly as heavily taxed, and historically steel was never anywhere near as expensive as it was in post-war Europe. So there's no need for small cars like there is in Europe, and people like the comfort and practicality of larger vehicles.

"people like the comfort and practicality of larger vehicles."

Well, people who ride bikes like me detest larger vehicles, but your point is true.

Also, let's not pretend that America being incredibly obese has nothing to do with it.

>Well, people who ride bikes like me detest larger vehicles, but your point is true.

Non-consumers' preferences don't count.

>let's not pretend that America being incredibly obese has nothing to do with it.

America's preference for larger vehicles long predates the rise of obesity.

As an aside, you're really not doing much for the "self-righteous cyclist" stereotype.

Everything is bigger in Texas. I mean, America.

Jetta is a compact car around here. Its just how it is. Personally speaking, I like the size of American compact cars (ie: what Europeans call mid-size). But everyone around me has a larger car than I do.

Thats quite a fascinating difference in culture/preference. Most people I know think Jettas are "too big" unless you have a family of 5 and need the extra space. Don't people find cars even bigger than that awkward to park in crowded parking lots?

Again, I like compact cars (erm... "normal cars" for you Europeans) because they've got much better handling, lower MPG, cheaper, etc. etc.

But take my Mom: she needs a larger car because she's tired of other drivers "looking down" on her (physically. Like, if you drive a Jetta around in the USA, well over 60% of cars are taller / bigger than yours and look down on you). She was also worried about getting in a collision: the Jetta's safety record may be good for a compact... but there's only so much that design can do when other cars are typically 1000+ lbs heavier than a Jetta.

Jeep Grand Cherokee is 4600 lbs. Toyota Rav4 is 3600 lbs. My boss drives a GMC Suburban at 5,586 lbs. Ford F150 (Pickup truck, which is a surprisingly common commuter vehicle) is 4000lbs curb weight.

The Jetta's 2900lbs curb weight will be a severe disadvantage against the "typical" car around here. There's a legitimate safety reason to go for a bigger car in America. Even if you're into "smaller cars", you typically choose like a Ford Fusion (3400lbs) which has the weight to keep up with everyone else on the road in the case of a collision.

I bet our parking lots and roadways are larger than yours to compensate for the difference in culture. But cars really are just bigger in America.

Thanks for the insight. I never really thought of that aspect. Over here I'm far more likely to collide with a corolla or vw polo than a giant Jeep etc.

I can almost fit a Jetta in the bed of my regular-sized pickup truck...

It's definitely a cultural difference - I always feel like I'm in a death trap, skimming along on the ground with no visibility, getting into a sedan or compact car.

I also grew up in an area with a high rate of moose collisions, and you do not want to see what happens when you hit one of those in a vehicle that's lower than their center of mass.

Dunno why you're getting downvoted for sharing American culture. Your opinion seems to be the mainstream as far as I can tell "in the real world".

I'll +1 you to counteract the downvotes.

To serve as some counter-balance to your post, the bigger SUVs (which are more typical in America) feel unbalanced with abnormally high center-of-balance. When taking a corner at any decent speed, I feel like the car is ready to flip over. Also, big cars guzzle more gas and are inefficient.

Also, I live in an area without Moose. Those things are scary, and I'd definitely get a bigger car if I lived around them.

When I'm in a large SUV or pickup I'm worried about the far greater chance of killing someone else than when I'm in a smaller vehicle.

This concern, however, doesn't seem to bother many of the people in said vehicles.

A jetta would barely fit into my garage. If a "regular" pickup can swallow a jetta does that mean I can expect a "large" pickup to be bigger than my entire 5 bedroom house?

I dunno, what do you think?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6964996815_1f626fdbe5_b.j...

That's a large pickup: F-450

Here's another shot of the F-450:

http://www.tfltruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/car_trans...

I see a good number of F350 or larger trucks used to tow a bunch of other cars around.

That's a bit misleading though, since above F350 isn't really considered "consumer" level but commercial work trucks.

If you want a big truck while still technically being a pickup, you might as well go for the F750:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/600x315/71/c4/11/71c411...

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/f-650-750/2016/homepage/c...

That said, I wish the US had a better selection of small cars. They're either absolute bottom of the line crap or extremely expensive sports cars, there's no mid range small coupe anymore.

Wow. I've never seen anything that size on the roads here.

Granted. There aren't many moose in central european cities, which are VW's main market.

I would agree with that. It's not easy in a city like Chicago to get it in and out of places. (When parallel parking)