American Cars

[JMF]

Being from England i've always wondered, why is it that American cars were made so big in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's? Is there a reason for it? I know the roads are bigger in the USA so is that the reason?

[Rocky]

Being from England i've always wondered, why is it that American cars were made so big in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's? Is there a reason for it? I know the roads are bigger in the USA so is that the reason?

Big country + wide roads + Cheap fuel = Big Cars.  The same is true today, but people are buying SUV's instead of big cars.

[bull]

Lots of room, unlike you poor blokes across the pond. But now that gas cost too much we think about conserving fuel more. Notice I didn't say we actually conserve fuel but rather think about it.

[Old Moparz]

Cars were made bigger because we have bigger people. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4183086.stm

[Chargen69]

Because we could.  Just like flying was more first class travel orginally in the beginning, building cars in the 40s,50s & 60s was the big change over from physically getting down the road to getting down the road in style.

[Lowprofile]

Cars were made bigger because we have bigger people. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4183086.stm

Hey, I might resemble that remark old man! 

[NHCharger]

it's part of the American way of life. Bigger is alway better. The car manufacturer's during those years were always trying to outdo each other with bigger cars, more horsepower. Fuel economy or reliability were never part of the equation. Part of the planned obsolescence idea back then, use a car for four or five years, then throw it away.

[Silver R/T]

bigger = people think that they look richer, which in fact is true to some point as those Escalades are almost 50k

[BronzeOnSteelies]

The Irony is I fit in most Japanese cars because they make the seats go back plenty far but fit in few American cars.  I have a 99 Bonneville for a daily driver and in 2000 they shortened them up. The new Chargers are a good interior design, the seats go back plenty far and I don't hit my head on the roof even with a sun roof. They won me over for that reason.

The legs don't fit in an H3 Hummer, that ain't right.

[Brock Samson]

Lower, Longer, Wider. was a industry credo from the end of the war intill the gas crisis of 1974...
things haven't changed all that much if ya' look at the Caddilac Escalade or one of the streached 300s..
America's always been about spread out room..
notice how narrow the japanese cars are...
one reason i like b-bodies so much is because they are larger inside then a compact yet smaller then full size...
(even if not by much) 

[JMF]

Cheers guys that's pretty much what I thought the reason was, so do you guys consider a 1968 - 1970 Charger a big car? Because the local people here in England when they've seen mine say it's the biggest thing they've ever seen I think : )

[Old Moparz]

Cheers guys that's pretty much what I thought the reason was, so do you guys consider a 1968 - 1970 Charger a big car? Because the local people here in England when they've seen mine say it's the biggest thing they've ever seen I think : )

By comparing them to cars built now, yes, but compared to cars back when they were built, no. I've had bigger cars than Chargers, like a 1966 Sport Fury, a 1969 Cadillac Hearse, a 1971 Lincoln, & a 1973 New Yorker. These things were cheap when I got them, & also land yachts that drove nicely. I currently have a 1995 Ford F-150 with an extended cab, & a 2004 Dodge Ram Quad cab with an 8 foot bed. Both are huge & the Dodge is about 2 feet longer than the Ford. I have them for towing & need the room inside, so it's not about anything else like impressing anyone. Before these trucks, & before I had to tow anything, I had a compact, regular cab, Nissan truck that I drove everywhere.

[Blown70]

The legs don't fit in an H3 Hummer, that ain't right.

UMMMM well I make fun of guys drving H3's sorry those are for the women.  H2 is more for the men.... well H1 really.

[Steve P.]

To add to what Bull was saying about conservation, there is 2 sides to that coin.

We are making engines that get much better fuel economy these days. They also are lasting longer and have more power per weight. The problem that exists now is that we want to continue with our big ass cars and trucks. I am one of them..

In Florida you have 2 problems with vehicles.

1) If you have more than 3 in your family you need something fairly large to travel anywhere. I sometimes take the family along when going out of state to pick up cars.

2) Again, in Florida the insurance companies don't care that you are only one person and you CANNOT drive more than one car at a time. In other words, I own a big ass super crew cab to haul my family around and be able to tow AND not be TOO worried about getting into a wreck..  Did I mension that in this area of Florida there is a wreck every 27 seconds?? Ok, I am exaggerating a bit. EVERY 35 SECONDS!!!

I for one would love to help out the world by driving something very economical. I just don't sit well in little cars and I am too scared of being clobbered in a match box....

[BronzeOnSteelies]

Blown 70 said

UMMMM well I make fun of guys drving H3's sorry those are for the women.  H2 is more for the men.... well H1 really.

Blown70, I screwed up with the name again. It was a  H2 Hummer I sat in at the Chicago Auto show.

[69charger2002]

good save   

[Steve P.]

Hahahahahahahahahaha...............

[bull]

Cheers guys that's pretty much what I thought the reason was, so do you guys consider a 1968 - 1970 Charger a big car? Because the local people here in England when they've seen mine say it's the biggest thing they've ever seen I think : )

By comparing them to cars built now, yes, but compared to cars back when they were built, no. I've had bigger cars than Chargers, like a 1966 Sport Fury, a 1969 Cadillac Hearse, a 1971 Lincoln, & a 1973 New Yorker. These things were cheap when I got them, & also land yachts that drove nicely. I currently have a 1995 Ford F-150 with an extended cab, & a 2004 Dodge Ram Quad cab with an 8 foot bed. Both are huge & the Dodge is about 2 feet longer than the Ford. I have them for towing & need the room inside, so it's not about anything else like impressing anyone. Before these trucks, & before I had to tow anything, I had a compact, regular cab, Nissan truck that I drove everywhere.

Not exactly. I contend that classic Chargers only look bigger than many modern cars because I compared the size of my '68 to my two drivers and found it to be shorter than my '94 Dakota extra cab and narrower but just a hair longer than my wife's '94 Chrysler T&C. And those vehicles are not considered big by today's standards. I've compared the '68 to many other cars too including my brother's '75 Corvette (which is only about 8 or so inches shorter) and a former co-worker's mid-'70s Camaro which was roughly three inches shorter. Take a tape measure out someday and compare the size of your Charger to some new mid-size cars. I bet you'll be surprised.

[Old Moparz]

Not exactly. I contend that classic Chargers only look bigger than many modern cars because I compared the size of my '68 to my two drivers and found it to be shorter than my '94 Dakota extra cab and narrower but just a hair longer than my wife's '94 Chrysler T&C. And those vehicles are not considered big by today's standards. I've compared the '68 to many other cars too including my brother's '75 Corvette (which is only about 8 or so inches shorter) and a former co-worker's mid-'70s Camaro which was roughly three inches shorter. Take a tape measure out someday and compare the size of your Charger to some new mid-size cars. I bet you'll be surprised.

Hey Bull,

I think there's more to the term "bigger" than just using a tape measure. If you were to compare the weights of the cars, the cubic feet of the interior & trunk, as well as overall length & width, the cars on average were larger. Maybe not by several feet, but by an overall average. Even by your own comparison, a mid sized Dakota pick up, & a T&C minivan, they aren't the same thing.

The modern mid sized cars, not vans & trucks, are smaller. The Charger, like all B-Bodies, was a mid sized car in '68. Cars like Darts & Dusters were considered compacts, & are a lot bigger than today's compacts. They're more like today's full sized cars, the Ford Crown Vics, Chevy Impalas, Chrysler 300's, which are smaller than the same ones that are from the '60's.

You're right, a side by side comparison will truly show minimal differences in size, but that's because you can only make something so much smaller before it becomes impractical, or totally different from it's intended use. I have my '71 Scamp parked next to my '69 Satellite, & they aren't "drastically" different in size. I physically measured all my vehicles before I built the garage.

The overall length between the Scamp & Satellite only differs by about 1 foot, & the width is only about 6 inches. There is a big difference though, with the '90 Dodge Dynasty my Mother drives. I've had that car inside, & although I didn't measure it, there is a lot more room around it than my Satellite, & it too is considered a mid sized car.

[Steve P.]

I agree. I remember when I was a kid, my mother sold her 62' Dart and bought a 68' Montego MX. The insurance was cheaper as the Dart , (then),  was considered a mid-size and the Montego was a compact. The strange thing was that the montego took up just as much room in the garage. Mom still had to put the nose of the car into a square of carpet hung on the front wall to be able to close the garage door....

As I remember it, that apartment was pretty small too!!

[Nacho-RT74]

Being from England i've always wondered, why is it that American cars were made so big in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's? Is there a reason for it? I know the roads are bigger in the USA so is that the reason?

maybe small dicks ?

[Steve P.]

    Nacho,, what would make you think of that??

[SirNik73]

American isn't the only country with big cars. I drive a Big German car! And I love it. In fact now that I think of it all my cars are big... maybe because I'm big. I mean I own a Toyota... but I don't drive it often, because it's not as comfortable as my other cars.
Big car doesn't mean poor fuel economy ether. I mean yeah my Charger gets horrible fuel economy. But I don't think any of us expect to get good fuel economy out of our Chargers. But my Mercedes witch is only 2 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower then the Charger gets 28 MPG on average... in fact it gets better fuel mileage then the Toyota, and its a nice ride. The only thing that makes me thing about going back to the Toyota is the fact that gas is a good $.50 cheaper then diesel.
I was riding with my sister this weekend in her Saturn; she was complaining that it was uncomfortable with me in the car because I was invading her driving space. When I'm in her car my left arm is on the center arm rest. Later that day we were in the Mercedes and she was questioning me owning such a big car. And I asked her if she was comfortable, and she said "yeah", and then I asked her if the 1 foot of space between us was nice, and she said "yeah", and I said, "Well there you go."

[bull]

Not exactly. I contend that classic Chargers only look bigger than many modern cars because I compared the size of my '68 to my two drivers and found it to be shorter than my '94 Dakota extra cab and narrower but just a hair longer than my wife's '94 Chrysler T&C. And those vehicles are not considered big by today's standards. I've compared the '68 to many other cars too including my brother's '75 Corvette (which is only about 8 or so inches shorter) and a former co-worker's mid-'70s Camaro which was roughly three inches shorter. Take a tape measure out someday and compare the size of your Charger to some new mid-size cars. I bet you'll be surprised.

Hey Bull,

I think there's more to the term "bigger" than just using a tape measure. If you were to compare the weights of the cars, the cubic feet of the interior & trunk, as well as overall length & width, the cars on average were larger. Maybe not by several feet, but by an overall average. Even by your own comparison, a mid sized Dakota pick up, & a T&C minivan, they aren't the same thing.

The modern mid sized cars, not vans & trucks, are smaller. The Charger, like all B-Bodies, was a mid sized car in '68. Cars like Darts & Dusters were considered compacts, & are a lot bigger than today's compacts. They're more like today's full sized cars, the Ford Crown Vics, Chevy Impalas, Chrysler 300's, which are smaller than the same ones that are from the '60's.

You're right, a side by side comparison will truly show minimal differences in size, but that's because you can only make something so much smaller before it becomes impractical, or totally different from it's intended use. I have my '71 Scamp parked next to my '69 Satellite, & they aren't "drastically" different in size. I physically measured all my vehicles before I built the garage.

The overall length between the Scamp & Satellite only differs by about 1 foot, & the width is only about 6 inches. There is a big difference though, with the '90 Dodge Dynasty my Mother drives. I've had that car inside, & although I didn't measure it, there is a lot more room around it than my Satellite, & it too is considered a mid sized car.

The weight of new cars is also an oddity. By most accounts the '06 "Charger" weighs a good 400 lbs. more dry than any 2nd gen. Charger and I'm pretty sure my '68 weighs less than my pickup and minivan. All that carbon fiber and plastic is supposed to keep new cars light but they still can't seem to make them all that light without making them very small. One other thing about 2nd gen Chargers is how short they are. Many muscle cars are very short which could acocunt for today's cars being more roomy inside but not half as good-looking.

[Steve P.]

Keep in mind that today's cars have about 486 thousand miles of wire in them. Our old mopars have about 10 pounds of wire. We also don't carry 3 computers, 7 air bags, Girders in the doors or smog converters!!

On the other hand, today most cars use allot of aluminum in place of steel.. AND plastic.