Actually, there is: if you get in a collision with a large vehicle in a really tiny one, you're going to die. So you need a larger vehicle that can make a crash survivable. Basically, it's an arms race.

Clearly fewer folks are buying into that. The day of the 1970's 25-foot land cruiser are waning. The Ford Focus is now king.

The Ford Focus is still a 3000-pound car these days. Even "economy" cars these days are rather heavy, and you'd be surprised how little those 70s cars weighed. Old Mustangs are positively lightweight. While the land boats are mostly gone, cars in general have gotten larger and especially heavier, even with lightweight technologies and materials used to offset the increase.

The way I read it, the OP was talking about people needing to drive micro-cars (e.g., ones that can only hold 2 people, like the micro-cars that are only sold in Japan). Those cars would fare very poorly in a crash against just about any typical car (let alone SUV) on an American road.

Just like a bicycle. Which are also booming. And which are also dangerous to ride on the road with any car.

The argument I was addressing was, if its really an arms race, then no way we would go from the 4800lb Ford Thunderbird to the 2600lb Ford Focus in a generation.

Folks have by and large opted out of the arms race. For better and for worse.

The only problem with your argument here is the fact that Ford doesn't sell cars, including the Focus, in the USA any more. So I'm not sure what locale you're talking about, but it doesn't reflect reality in America right now.

The 4800lb Thunderbird buyers aren't buying cars; they're buying SUVs and crossovers these days.

Ford still sells the Focus; I chose it for exactly that reason. Its the only sedan they kept.

Ah now I see they're renaming it the 'Active'. My mistake.

But bicycles offer zero protection in contrast to lightweight cars which at least provide some.

Ford isn't making the Focus, Fiesta or the Taurus for North America anymore. The only passenger vehicles people are buying are pickups, SUVs and crossovers.

That's not quite true. What is true is that the only Fords people in North America were buying were pickups, SUVs, and crossovers, so Ford stopped bothering with cars in North America.

However, there's still people buying cars, but usually they're foreign makes. The American carmakers have spent decades trying to prove to people that they suck at making cars and only put their effort into trucks/SUVs, and American car buyers are finally getting the message.

> The Ford Focus is now king.

The Ford F150 wishes to disagree.

I have one of each!

Right but I am replying to the guy who is advocating bicycles.