I saw a documentary on this once where they interviewed some psych guy who was advising the car industry. He said that it took him some time to convince them to make everything ridiculously big. Not just the car, but the lights etc. It was based on his theory that when we first see something we evaluate it using the bit of our brain that has been there since we were lizards. And that bit is impressed by size. His theory was that it overrides everything. Most people will pick the bigger thing. He was right.
Wouldn't that mean that most people---regardless of culture, education, etc.---would pick SUV over sedans? Is that true?
Granted there are plenty of SUVs in the US, but as far as I can see on the road and parking lots, sedans are still quite popular. I even see a lot of Minis and Beetles, which are even smaller than a regular sedan.
In my huge group of friends, I know one person who does this with his truck, and he readily admits that it involves lying to the IRS and it fraud. Everyone else with a big SUV just prefers them to minivans.
Contrast that with an SUV. No need to lean or hunch. You can see everything without trouble. You can move without trouble. It's actually possible to use the backseat.
I'm of a similar height, but oppositely proportioned, and the driver's seat in most cars doesn't go back far enough that my lower thighs rest on the seat, which makes for a lot of butt discomfort on long trips.
If the seat does go back far enough for my legs to be comfortable, it's almost unavoidable that the steering wheel is uncomfortably far away, and I put the seat pretty close to bolt upright to put my shoulders closer and reduce the impression that I'm hanging on to the wheel for dear life as it's trying to pull away from me.
Bicycles are similarly problematic: I want a shorter top tube than is common for my nominal frame size, so I ride a 59cm road bike frame with a short stem and a lot of seatpost showing. You'd be more likely to find somebody with my inseam (34" [0]) on a 61cm or 63cm frame.
[0] Sorry for the mixed units. I'm giving them in the trade sizes. Road bikes are sized in metric, and pants are sized in inches, at least in the US.
Clearly this is a situation where, quite literally, YMMV.
Considering the sales numbers of MPVs, it would seem that the argument you make is not what is pushing the disproportionate commercial success of SUVs.
On the one side you've got the tragedy of the commons that is big vehicles are less safe for other people to be around unless they two are in a big vehicle.
On the other side, Tesla, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan still all have relatively strong sales of sedans in the US. The US market decided that sedans were best from "imports" decades ago and GM/Ford just gave up trying to compete. Then there's of course Tesla telling GM/Ford exactly where the hockey puck was going if they wanted to compete with "imports".
99% of the "SUVs" you see today are CUVs, which in turn are barely more than a lifted sedan.
So the difference is gas milage is miniscule, to the point gas prices will no longer affect the sales of the most successful SUVs
One thing I really like about the van (Honda Odyssey) is that you step slightly up to enter and step down to exit. Very comfortable. And this is on a car that's so low to the ground (good for little kids and old dogs) that it's like a snow plow if there's more than a few inches of snow.
I want something lifted more than a sedan so I step up to enter and also has more ground clearance for snow, potholes, rough roads, etc. But that doesn't mean 44" tires with a lift kit.
Now, it's true that someone dropping all of the extra cash for one is less price sensitive but we're still talking a pretty big difference going from mileage in the teens to the 40+mpg a decent car gets. High gas prices would get at least some people to reconsider, especially since you have to pay a fair premium as well.
None of those physics issues are specific to SUVs. Even full size SUVs end up on shared platforms with full size sedans, with "reasonably close" weights (essentially take a well optioned sedan and it weighs around what the base SUV version does)
With the focus on all of these automakers on modular platforms, we've reached the point where even the largest SUVs could meet the exact same standards their sedan counterparts do and not really change at all.
?? Cars are available for sale in the US.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/199981/us-car-and-truck-...