Well, that doesn't really matter, does it? Vehicles provide transportation from A to B for occupants and cargo. If a small vehicle suffices, then larger ones shouldn't be necessary. Of course, this is also a challenge for planning infrastructure in a way that large vehicles are not necessary in population centers (which should, by definition, be built for people, not large cars).

The US has a very distorted view of what a "normal car" is by size.

Many gas cars in China aren't much bigger.

Your average SUV in the US is what much of the world would consider a cargo truck.

And? As long it gets the job done, problem solved.

Using a 2.5tons F150 guzzling 12l/100km to buy grocery or commute should not be seen as the ultimate goal.

Just for fun: most sold cart in the US (F150) vs. most sold car in France (208) https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/peugeot-208-2019-5-...

I would guess GP was talking about safety, not trying to promote oversized cars.

To be fair, smaller cars are safer.

Depends on what you mean by safer. If you are hitting an F-150 you will be safer in a F-150 yourself than a smartcar. If you are a pedestrian you would rather be hit by a smartcar.

Many of these Chinese vehicles have the safety features of a 1950's era vehicle, so without airbags, good construction techniques for absorbing force, etc. I imagine they would all get horrible safety ratings by Consumer Reports.

A lot of Chinese golf carts would not pass US or EU crash test standards.

That's a fair point.

However, if energy scarcity pushes us globally toward a situation where we need more essential cars for slower, shorter routes, then it would make sense to downgrade a bit those tests, as the typical use would be closer to a Topolino driving 70km/h on a country road than an M8 dashing at 170km/h on the highway.

The F-150 has gone EV for 2023 https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/

It's still a huge heavy vehicle that is everything but aerodynamic. Having it as the average Joe's car is aberrant.

The electric F-150 is a niche vehicle and Ford is only pretending it is for the mass market. Their massive Tennessee factory, currently under construction, will be producing their mass market truck:

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2023...

It'll still weigh well over 2 tons, if not 3.

You’re are wrong it is not the F150 it is that F series which includes all the work truck models like 250, 350, fleet vehicles etc.

Technically you're right, practically #2 and #3 are the Ram and the Silverado, so it does not really change my argument.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g39628015/best-selling-car...

I’ve been in China recently, one of the most popular forms of transport is the electric scooter. They outnumber cars around me. Many people just don’t bother with cars.

The list of top cars by model is quite interesting. Some of the Chinese cars are golf carts but most would decently sized and attractive by US standards.

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/02/01/plugin-electric-vehicle...

We could use a lot more Kei cars in the US.

The BYD seagull is an ~$8000 car that meets Euro safety specs.