My, how you've grown...

[Station]

[chaseracer]

Old multi level car parks are the worst with battle scarred concrete supports where you dont expect them and height restrictions from an era when 4x4s were not expected to be in city centres! Holiday inn plymouth im looking at you

I managed to park Domestic Management's C3 under the Barbican Centre a couple of weeks back. It would have been easier had we taken the Mercedes...

[Junkman]

 

not so much difference. the 607 is wider though

 

Note how much more headroom the 604 provides.

 

On a different note, with the growth in size, there came the growth in weight. I am flabbergasted how heavy that newfangled shit is.

I wonder how efficient a lithe and lissom old car fitted with a modern drivetrain would be, especially in that speed limited world of ours,

where aerodynamics are the least of your concerns.

[dugong]

Note how much more headroom the 604 provides.

 

On a different note, with the growth in size, there came the growth in weight. I am flabbergasted how heavy that newfangled shit is.

I wonder how efficient a lithe and lissom old car fitted with a modern drivetrain would be, especially in that speed limited world of ours,

where aerodynamics are the least of your concerns.

 

My C4 has been described as 'lightweight' by a mechanic. 

 

It weighs 1270kg with an empty tank. 

 

Amazon is 1070 brimmed, 460 around the 1080 mark dry. 

[chaseracer]

In 2004, I acquired my first XM at around the same time my mate bought a new VW Polo. The Citroen was 100kg lighter...

[Ratdat]

My 1.8 Nissan Prairie is 1060kg which is about the same as a new Nissan Note, which is on a 1.2L.  A modern equivent such as the Renault Scenic is aound 1500kg. Mind you, it's probably a tad stronger!

[vulgalour]

Some small cars make the Princess look smaller than it is.

 

Looks quite large next to a Maxi, but quite small next to the Toyota whatever-it-is.

 

Parked next to this Mondeo it looks about the size I'd expect it to be.

 

Some of the difference in visual size is undoubtedly down to the actual size but I think some of it is down to comparative styling too.  I do wonder just how big a car the Princess would be if it had all the modern exterior and interior padding but retained the cabin space and whether there's anything on the market that is this sort of size.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Not that I've got nothing to do or owt...But

 

1974 Mini l.120 in. w.55in. h.53.

1974 Maxi l.159in. w.64in. h54in.

1974 Princess l.175in. w.68in. h55in.

2014 MINI Cuntryman l.161in. w70in. h61in.

 

 

MklV Zodiac l.185in. W.71in. h58in.

MklV Mondeo l.190in. w74in. h59in.

 

The Yanks on the other hand are going the opposite way

1970 Chrysler 300 l.224in. w.80in. h.55in.

2010 Chrysler 300 l.198in. w74in. h58 in.

 

No doubt this game could be played with any manufacturer.

[Squire_Dawson]

I can't really add much to what you've all said, viz. modern cars are fat. Many are over 6ft wide now. A particular bugbear of mine is the ridiculous 'MINI', a complete misnomer and shit of a car. But then I wouldn't like it, what with its BMW origins and quasi-British credentials. Pah.

 

Most of this crap that makes them so big is safety rubbish and computers, yet it is really hard to see out of them. This is one of the reasons I only drive old cars.

 

I really enjoy squeezing through gaps in my medium-sized old car and then some chump in an SUV comes up behind and can't get through. The SUV is a truly ridiculous and hideous concept, plumbing new depths in the BMW X6. All that to cart one person around. Knobs.

[overrun]

I only have one.

 

[Mr Livered]

That^ is the best one yet: basically two versions of the same car from the same manufacturer but just look at the fattyboomboom on the left!

[Squire_Dawson]

Wheels are bigger too. Tyres make a hell of a racket through road-roar now, even at 30 MPH.

[Jim Bell]

Why are wheels bigger now? Just because cars are generally bigger?

13s were the norm at one point. Sure even Fix It Again 500s have 15 and 16 inch rims.

[Lacquer Peel]

http://imgur.com/PvknDiY

[Spiny Norman]

That^ is the best one yet: basically two versions of the same car from the same manufacturer but just look at the fattyboomboom on the left!

And yet...and yet..

The new fatso is not only safer, but faster too, and probably does about the same mpg. The main difference is that the new one will die long before its body or any of the major mechanical bits wear out. In 10-12 years time the 6th owner who paid £1500 for it will get a bill for £3k for new tyres, an exhaust and a new ABS pump to turn off the warning light on the dash and that'll be the end of it.

 

The problem at the moment is the huge imbalance in wear and failure rates of the various parts of the car. Bodies and engines are well up to lasting 20+ years without much difficulty, but there are loads of other bits that seem to be 'lifed' at 5 or 6 years, and while they might get replaced the first time round when the car is still relatively new, the second time a DMF goes, the bill is more than the car's worth so a basically sound car gets binned.

 

Make the whole thing fall apart at 10 years old like they used to and we'll have nothing to moan about.

[scooters]

I think wheels are bigger because 'designers' think the customers want bigger wheels - utter cock nonsense - horrible bloated ghastly euroboxes...

 

just been driving across Edinburgh in the old Series 88 - had a good sneer at a Range Rover sport with the stupidest thin tyres on huge wheels I have ever seen. fucking pimps car

[Spiny Norman]

Big wheels are god for ride comfort but only when fitted with decent tyres. My Volvo has 14" rims as opposed to the 16" ones on my old Merc, but has 70 section tyres rather than 50s and the ride in the Volvo is actually better than in the Merc.

It's the stupid 40 section tyres on normal family saloons these days that destroys any potential for a decent ride.

[Junkman]

And yet...and yet..

The new fatso is not only safer, but faster too...

 

So it does 70mph faster than an old car did 70mph on a motorway?

[oman5]

It's the "world car" design though, isn't it? In these lean times of the motor industry one size simply has to fit all, at least in the large volume sector. BMW wanted to sell the Bini stateside so it had to be larger to accommodate national tastes there whilst not being too large for Europe. same goes for Mondeo,focus,fiesta which are all sold in the US too. Its downsizing for the yanks but upsizing for us.

(I still maintain the volvo 240 is an ideal size-and shape for that matter-and it has 14" rims with huge 80 section tyres for comfort- but then I'm biased)

[fordperv]

Guys don't forget one major aspect to consider on the thought of wheels getting bigger is they need to be to house bigger brakes

[Lukas]

We are bigger! People get taller and fatter too, not only the cars they drive.

[Bobthebeard]

If the internet had been invented in the 1950's we would all back then be comparing the 'shite 'modern' cars with those made in the 1930's. Bemoaning the lack of wooden chassis, coach paint, carriage wheels and suicide doors etc...

Mind you, I bet French cars would get a bit of a pasting back then too...

[Jim Bell]

I'll take suicidey doors any day. On anything.

[Micrashed]

 

 

Most of this crap that makes them so big is safety rubbish and computers, yet it is really hard to see out of them. This is one of the reasons I only drive old cars.

THIS

I cant remember the reason we were at Evans Halshaw now, but I deceided to have a sit in the new Ka (bear in mind this is at least as big as the Mk1 / 2 Fiesta.

 

I felt squidged in when the door was shut and felt like i had sealed myself into a small tin of sardines without taking any of the sardines out first. Rearward visibility was shite.

Horrible. New Fiesta wasnt a lot better - only the B max felt OK to sit in (to me).

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I'll take suicidey doors any day. On anything.

These days they'd be known as Upskirt Doors.

[Squire_Dawson]

The modern car is designed to last for 7 years. Anything longer and it's a bonus, or living on borrowed time. Ridiculous, but there you go.

[Bobthebeard]

The modern car is designed to last for 7 years. Anything longer and it's a bonus, or living on borrowed time. Ridiculous, but there you go.

Is that modern as in new? My modern Honda is now 14 years old and 190,000 miles....

Guess I am lucky!

[Pillock]

Bigger wheels make for more relaxed cruising. If you were popping down to the shops on your bike is it easiest to ride a BMX or a road bike? Going any great distance on a BMX is horrible If you go from 13" to 16" wheels, all else being equal you've now got 50" circumference rather than 40" (plus whatever the tyres give you), so your wheel will go round less, so you get less wear on stuff. Also as FP says, bigger brakes are equally more efficient. If you're also taking the opportunity to go even bigger and drop the sidewall height, that's better for handling although there is a limit to where it becomes too hard.

 

The Mk2 Focus is 4.3m and the Mk3 Escort is 4m long. That's not a massive amount compared to some updates. What probably matters more is interior space, legroom and whatnot. 

[Bobthebeard]

Bigger wheels make for more relaxed cruising. If you were popping down to the shops on your bike is it easiest to ride a BMX or a road bike? Going any great distance on a BMX is horrible If you go from 13" to 16" wheels, all else being equal you've now got 50" circumference rather than 40" (plus whatever the tyres give you), so your wheel will go round less, so you get less wear on stuff. Also as FP says, bigger brakes are equally more efficient. If you're also taking the opportunity to go even bigger and drop the sidewall height, that's better for handling although there is a limit to where it becomes too hard.

 

The Mk2 Focus is 4.3m and the Mk3 Escort is 4m long. That's not a massive amount compared to some updates. What probably matters more is interior space, legroom and whatnot.

 

Good point and good answer! Please stop giving good answers as this is Autoshite... We like to live in the past!

[Jim Bell]

So tractors should offer great economy and ride comfort.

If you don't get the type with the tiny front wheels.