I want a small car, but i was looking around recently and it seems like sub-compact just isnt really a class that most manufactures produce/sell here anymore

Maybe if they stopped fucking up the tax incentives on bigger vehicles vs smaller:

https://mileiq.com/blog-en-us/section-179-vehicles-deduction

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Heavier vehicles also wear out roads faster, though the difference between a small sedan and a large electric SUV amounts to very little when compared to the effect of a garbage truck rolling by each morning.

Just this week, Automotive News reported that the Mitsubishi Mirage is on the way out, joining the choir invisible alongside cars like the Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris, all of which were once sold in the US.

The Bolt’s biggest problem, from a bean counter’s point of view at least, was a battery that cost a lot more per kWh than one made with General Motors’ new Ultium cells.

News of the Bolt’s cancellation was met with much dismay, and GM recently decided to bring the nameplate back at some unspecified time on a new Ultium-based platform.

But GM CEO Mary Barra has also warned that even with the lower cost of Ultium cells, the company won’t make any profit on sub-$40,000 EVs until late in the decade.

In addition to the ever-escalating safety arms race that entices American car buyers, a misplaced obsession with having as much range as possible also factors in here.

The original article contains 493 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

What’s missing from this discussion is that car interiors count, too, and shrinking car interior space is driven by safety systems.

We drove a Toyota echo for years. That car had a surprising amount of interior space. But it was at the end of its life about the time we had our first kid, so we leased a new Honda CRV.

The old CRV was a compact but capable family hauler. The new one is massive compared to the original version, but the interior space is still pretty minimal. We have 2 kids in car seats and strollers, and a dog.

The CRV, as big as it is, couldn’t fit 3 car seats when we wanted to carpool with another family to day camp. It couldn’t hold all 4 of our family plus luggage and stroller and still have room for our medium sized dog on a trip to my in laws. It can barely hold a week’s worth of groceries and a stroller at the same time. And this is largely because of safety features. Huge pillars, crumple zones, oversized carseats, airbags, etc. A secondary consideration is body shape driven by wind tunnel testing that massively improves efficiency but cuts down on interior space. I’m all for safer, more efficient cars but they are not without tradeoffs.

So now our lease is up. We’re shopping for a car I consider ridiculously big, with three rows of seating. But it will have room for us to car pool with friends kids. It will allow us to take our dog on vacation with us. And that’s what’s driving our decision to get a larger car, not some “love affair “ with big cars or a misguided government policy. When the kids are grown I look forward to getting a small cat again. Until then, we’re buying based on interior space.

Not one mention of the Fiat 500e coming to the US next year (and hopefully the 600e after that!) I’m glad Stellantis is bringing it over, but I don’t know why they don’t just captive import some of their other European electric vehicles from Peugeot, Opel, or Citroen for the US market and rebrand them as Chryslers and Dodges.

I mean…it’s crazy that Peugeot already has a full electric lineup from small cars to SUVs and not one of them has made it over to the US!

Build trains. Railroads, tunnels, bridges, switching stations - the good stuff, you know. Stuff that works.

I had a small car by American standards (Chevy Volt) and it felt unsafe to drive sometimes. Everyone had massive trucks and SUVS and could barely see me. I had to drive super defensively. I wouldn’t want to get into a crash in one when the other vehicles are like 3x the size and weight.

I like smaller cars and wish we could see the average size start to drop here, but I think we’re past the point of no return. I recently bought a larger vehicle so I can actually fit my kids in the back and people seem to actually see me.

I’m 6’7. The only people who make vehicles that fit me comfortably has been gm. I drove a small GMC Pontiac for 12 years, then a small GMC compact SUV for 11 years. Now, granted its for work and I need it, but I now drive a large ass GMC Sierra around. Only foreign manufacturers even make cars anymore, and they make the interiors small. My Pontiac was small, and it had tons of interior space. So it is possible.

Gtfo with this trash.

AMERICANS NEED TO BUY HOVER CARS

Until then … hops in Righteous Redeemer

Main problem with small cars is safety. Even with all these new safety features, a small car is going to lose in a collision with a big car. With the way Americans drive, you’re going to need all the safety you can get.