"As people become larger and heavier, they could also become slower to react to situations on the road."
Is there any evidence to support this theory?
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"Is there any evidence to support this theory?"
The way they get in the way when shopping in ALDI?
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Isn't this old news? There were features in the papers about Ford designers using fat- and limited-mobility suits to help them design for oldies and bloaters. That was around the time of the Focus launch; not that one, the first, in 1998.
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This is a yank report-they are catching up with the UK.
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Surely this happens anyway. Almost every new iteration of a car model is bigger than its predecessor.
Indeed, I wonder if there's ever been a new model smaller than the one it replaced?
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>> Indeed, I wonder if there's ever been a new model smaller than the one it replaced?
I don't think the new Renault Twingo is any fatter than its predecessor, although it's no beauty. With a bit of cosmetic toning down it should be a very nice small car, one-litre three cylinder petrol turbo in the tail, scalded-cat performance with great fuel economy. Yes please.
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The corpulence tends to be in the structure of the vehicle rather than the space inside. Modern Volvo estates are nowhere near as capacious - 'cavernous' in motor-journalese - as their 1980s forebears. Similarly, my 2009 LEC has less room for passengers than either of the preceding generations, despite similar external dimensions.
The biggest cars can't really get much bigger because they still have to fit roads and parking spaces. Smaller cars have been getting bigger outside in order to leave any space inside.
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>> The corpulence tends to be in the structure of the vehicle rather than the space inside.
Yes, that's true. Original Twingo was thin-walled and capacious for its size. New one despite yee-hah! mechanical layout is cramped inside.
It occurs to me that the non-turbo version would be cheaper to own than the turbo, more economical, damn near as quick and probably just as much fun. But the 'Cor! What'll she do mister?' reflex dies hard.
Just read a car magazine if you don't believe me.
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There must be a limit as to how the interior of a car can be designed for fatties.
After all the driver still has to reach the steering wheel and reach pedals and various switches and stuff. If he or she is too fat to reach, the cockpit would have to be made to fit them.
Unless of course everything becomes voice activated and cars lose pedals and everything else is automated. Perhaps it'll open a whole new market - tailor made cars. Better still, manufacturers could make two models of the same car, i.e. the Grand Scenic and Super Humungous Grand Scenic with Fat Basket Trim in easy to wipe plastic (for wiping off the Ginsters grease).
Catering for the pie-eaters may hasten the advent of driverless cars altogehter - just a big box on wheels with everything automated.
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There are already seats and steering wheels that get out of the way to ease access.
Pedal boxes that move ? Remote operating door exist so maybe a sliding door version ? That would ease access in a carpark.
Electric steps ?
What other adaptions already exist ?
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>>
>> The biggest cars can't really get much bigger because they still have to fit roads
>> and parking spaces. Smaller cars have been getting bigger outside in order to leave any
>> space inside.
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So we have two converging factors - the people are getting bigger and the space available for them is getting smaller.
The only conclusions must be either roads and lanes are widened, or cars will cease to accommodate two seats abreast, and become narrower and very long.
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Tough nuts I say. Let them eat cake. And stay at home.
The problem is the fat people, not the cars. They'll have no incentive at all to contain their appetites when they are sliding about on their giant seats, after being loaded by automatic crane through the sun roof.
I am not inconsiderably overweight myself, but I am a long way from not fitting in a car.
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We had a hired Jeep Grand Cherokee floating about at work before Christmas - the first car I've driven with seats appreciably wider than my backside. I felt dwarfed in the driving seat and I'm 6'3 and 15 stone.
They're clearly built for our more substantial cousins over the water; even with all that room it still had the auto lifting steering column :)
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Fords for fat folks - Cliff Pope
