I bought a petite Prius due to network effects.

It's nigh on impossible to do parallel parking in most of Boston (especially if you suck at p.parking), but with my Prius it's tolerable.

If you're following the SUV ahead of you at a safe distance, why would you need or want to see through its windshield?

One of the reasons SUVs and pickup trucks are popular here in America is that they're easy to get in and out of. About 1/3 of Americans are obese (far more overweight), and from my observations, many have weak legs and cores. SUVs are part of the same phenomenon that has popularized single-story suburban homes, bottom-freezer refrigerators, etc. I see it as less of a network effect and more of a feedback loop.

Cuz some of us are safe drivers and want to see what is up ahead instead of blindly (literally) following the car in front like a lemming

As someone who drives a bunch of low 90s sedans and wagons I disagree. It's not the crossover SUVs that most people are buying that are hard to see around, it's the pickups, Jeep Wranglers and everything else that has a rectangular cross section that's a pain to see around.

The smaller class of SUVs are still smaller than the station wagons and large sedans they replaced. And the larger SUVs have mostly replaced minivans, which have curiously disappeared from the roads. It's kind of a wash, if you look a little closer.

This. That’s the sole reason I bought an SUV.

And sometimes is due to obnoxiously aggressive marketing.