Classics dwarfed by moderns
Discussion
The things that are making new cars look larger are the wheels, the rounded fronts, and the higher beltline.
Back in the 70s/80s 15" wheels were seen as huge, ironically if you go far enough back they start getting big again. 21" wires were not uncommon, and they go substantially bigger besides.
The rounded fronts mean that you have way more real estate at the front of the car by virtue of curvature. The grill can be bigger, the lights now wrap around the sides and/or up onto the bonnet. Before, with the square fronts, the lights were resided to the front flatter surfaces, with a grill squeezed between them.
The biggest impact is probably the beltline height. This means that cars have way more body colour, making them look a lot bigger. The door sides in new saloons come up to your shoulder, cacooning you. The bonnets and boots have naturally got higher along with the beltline, partly as a result of taller engines, impact safety, bigger wheels etc. Making the impressions that cars have got bigger. They absolutely have, but not nearly as much as it looks.
The biggest genuine growth area for cars is width. You can immediately tell this simply by looking at the interior. The doors are probably 10" wide, the centre console is probably 12" wide and the seats are wider too. You hop in a late 70s family car and the doors are wafer thin and theres little or no centre console, just a handbrake and a gear lever.
Back in the 70s/80s 15" wheels were seen as huge, ironically if you go far enough back they start getting big again. 21" wires were not uncommon, and they go substantially bigger besides.
The rounded fronts mean that you have way more real estate at the front of the car by virtue of curvature. The grill can be bigger, the lights now wrap around the sides and/or up onto the bonnet. Before, with the square fronts, the lights were resided to the front flatter surfaces, with a grill squeezed between them.
The biggest impact is probably the beltline height. This means that cars have way more body colour, making them look a lot bigger. The door sides in new saloons come up to your shoulder, cacooning you. The bonnets and boots have naturally got higher along with the beltline, partly as a result of taller engines, impact safety, bigger wheels etc. Making the impressions that cars have got bigger. They absolutely have, but not nearly as much as it looks.
The biggest genuine growth area for cars is width. You can immediately tell this simply by looking at the interior. The doors are probably 10" wide, the centre console is probably 12" wide and the seats are wider too. You hop in a late 70s family car and the doors are wafer thin and theres little or no centre console, just a handbrake and a gear lever.
robemcdonald said:
Gompo said:
I’m just shocked at how much bigger the Sierra is than the white BMW 4 series. I would have thought a new BM would have been a lot bigger.RichB said:
robemcdonald said:
Is there a BMW in that picture? Admittedly there's a lot of white cars that look similar so there may be. Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff