this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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The negative impact on the climate from passenger vehicles, which is considerable, could have dropped by more than 30% over the past decade if not for the world's appetite for large cars, a new report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative suggests.

Sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, now account for more than half of all new car sales across the globe, the group said, and it's not alone. The International Energy Agency, using a narrower definition of SUV, estimates they make up nearly half.

Over the years these cars have gotten bigger and so has their cost to the climate, as carbon dioxide emissions “are almost directly proportional to fuel use” for gas-powered cars. The carbon that goes in at the pump comes out the tailpipe.

Transportation is responsible for around one-quarter of all the climate-warming gases that come from energy, and much of that is attributable to passenger transport, according to the International Energy Agency.

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[–] yenahmik@lemmy.world 63 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I prefer smaller cars. Every once in a while I browse what's available in new cars. Every time there are fewer and fewer options in the compact/sub compact category. I guess I'm just going to hope nothing ever happens to my Civic (which is honestly larger than I'd wish) because I don't know what I'd replace it with.

Of course giant vehicles as a share of sales is going to increase, when that's 75%+ of what is available to buy.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago (7 children)

There are almost no truly small cars available in the U.S. The only recent one I can think of is the Smart, and they're pieces of shit.

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

I was going to say the Ford Fiesta but then I saw it was apparently axed in 2019? And took the Mazda 3 with it (same platform). I think you can still get the Honda Fit.

Uh, as your attorney I advise you to buy a Miata. I guess.

[–] popcap200@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

Honda Fit is gone too. The VW golf and Toyota Corolla are still around!

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Are they even selling Miatas anymore?

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[–] yenahmik@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I drove a rental Chevy Spark around on one trip. The size was fantastic. The engine was crap.

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[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

I drive a mid-size sedan, and I feel like a minnow swimming with whales when I drive. I'm not planning on buying a bigger vehicle myself. But I really hate how SUVs and stupid-big pickup trucks are 80% of what I see on American roads.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Civics ain't small cars anymore.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I know, crying shame. I have a 2008 and can't just get another one when it dies. I just need 4 seats, so already I have more than I need.

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[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I used to love mini coopers because they're tiny. Apparently not even that's true any more :(

[–] yenahmik@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Yep, Mini Coopers are quite popular in my neighborhood. They used to be a dream car for me, but now they are just as big as everything else.

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 39 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Bullshit! Auto makers are not offering small vehicles anymore.

This is because it's harder to pass new emission standards if the vehicles are smaller. So they take the easy way and build larger vehicles. This is nothing new and blaming customers or the market for this trend is short sighted.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My wife used to drive a Smart Car for work in Boston. Smart is owned by Mercedes, and they shuttered their Boston Smart dealership a few years ago. There was virtually zero demand for them in the area, despite being perfect city vehicles.

My wife and I would regularly drive it in the city and never had an issue finding parking. I couldn’t tell you how many times we encountered SUVs trying to squeeze into a tight parking spot and eventually giving up, only for us to pull in and park with no problem.

[–] natebluehooves@pawb.social 2 points 1 year ago

As the owner of a 2016 smart fortwo, they are too expensive, and servicing can be expensive due to mercedes benz. Cute cars, but the price sucks.

[–] MahnaMahna@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Automakers also just aren't making enough small EVs, and we can't afford/don't want a bigger one. We want a small, efficient about-town car that we can use for doing groceries and going downtown. We both work mostly from home, and the only reason we were even considering another car is because we have a kid on the way and might sometimes need 2 cars to split between errands and kid duties. We'll just stick to our current, fully paid off car for now and wait either until the prices for new cars drop or the battery technology improves so I feel better about buying a used EV.

[–] SharkyPants@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I think this is a double edged sword; It is easier for auto makes to make a profit on larger vehicles. Example of Ford discontinuing all cars in US except mustang in 2019 because of profitability. Americans feel they must compete in the road arms race because they do not feel safe with larger and larger vehicles. There is more demand for bigger vehicles and bigger vehicles make more profit, naturally this will explode into every manufacturer making larger things.

Next up: Caterpillar will release their ASV (armored security vehicle) to the civilian market and it sells like hotcakes!

[–] TechAnon@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I agree, but most customers are still buying. I haven't liked any of the new offerings so I'm driving my old car and fixing it. If I had to buy, I'd go straight to the used market.

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[–] catch22@startrek.website 32 points 1 year ago

Yes, it's all individuals fault... Nothing to do with lack of regulation via political corruption...

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 1 year ago (4 children)

It's been shown through statistics: People who drive Trucks and SUVs mostly use them to pick up the kids from soccer practice and haul groceries. Only a sliver of them actually use their trucks for hauling anything.

They really need to start owning it and just driving fucking minivans, they drive the "big truck" to make up for their flaccid, basic lives.

[–] bricklove@midwest.social 10 points 1 year ago

Meanwhile I'm hauling big chunks of wood I found on the side of the road in the trunk of my Corolla

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People decided that minivans were "wimpy" and "for soccer moms," so now they're a stigma around them. I dunno, I wound up being foisted a rental Nissan Quest at one point for about a week and it was pretty alright by me.

I do own one of those massive trucks everyone hates (but not really, it's a 90's Silverado that's well before the stupid trend of putting the hood line nine feet in the air for no reason) but I only ever drive it when I need to move a Big Dumb Object. The rest of the time it lives in my driveway, which is most of the time. When I need it, it's clutch. The rest of the time, it's a stupid vehicle to use as a daily driver.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If its parked, its not contributing to pollution.

I think your way is the best way to approach owning a truck. Not a daily driver, mostly kept to move big objects.

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

That's exactly my rationale. I have other more fuel efficient vehicles if I just need to move myself, which is most of what I do on a daily basis. My Honda Metropolitan gets 117 MPG... I have an electric bicycle as well.

Someone from the fuckcars contingent will inevitably jump down my throat about this eventually, like always, and say "jUst rEnT a TrUcK!!!!!" But that's a huge pain in the ass, requires driving something to the truck rental place anyway, is full of terms and conditions and provisos, and my truck is so old and worthless that it literally costs me less per year to register and insure than renting a small U-Haul twice. So they can fuck right off in my case.

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[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People commonly overlook that safety standards for SUVs and light trucks are less stringent than they are for cars. That's one reason they are marketed so hard to the public. They are cheaper to make and they can charge more.

[–] doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago

And yet people believe they are safer.

SUVs also have easier emissions restrictions than small cars. Regulatory bodies have been really dropping the ball.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Huge cars are a problem enough in the U.S., which has fairly modern, and thus wide, streets. I don't know how people can even drive around on narrow medieval European roads with those.

[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.de 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Too many. In Europa it’s the same. Around 30% of new cars are SUV‘s. And it’s not the people, it’s the corporations that drive this trend. They earn more on this huge cars. (And silently killed all small cheap cars. Only China is building small cheap cars) And guess what the industry whisperers say, what the solution to this is?

Buy even more SUV‘s. That is the solution!!! Ahem, of course they’re electric. But keep buying big costly cars!

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[–] rab@lemmy.ca 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] distractionfactory@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Literally having smaller cars available to buy would help. There are very few cheaper aka smaller car options, and even fewer that are marketed well. They have no reason to make small cars when they have spent decades cultivating the market for SUVs and trucks.

[–] rab@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Agree also. I wish we could buy a 1.2L engine car with a 5 speed transmission and manual windows. No iPad on the dash. That is all anyone needs, extremely simple to repair, low impact, but alas...

And as someone who needs a truck, why can't we just buy a simple body on frame pickup with a single cab and an 8ft bed anymore? It is so hard to buy a truck these days that can actually do work. I don't need an entertainment system or heated leather seats in my truck lol.

[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

My parents have a '93 Ford ranger, single cab, 7ft bed, 4cylinder engine, manual locks and windows. It's been plenty of truck for just about anything we've ever needed a truck for, and for a 30 year old vehicle it manages to get around 20mpg, which is not to shabby even for a lot of modern trucks or SUVs.

I would love to be able to buy pretty much exactly that truck with a roughly equivalent modern engine that gets as good or better MPG and maybe a small horsepower boost. I don't need it to be a towing/hauling monster, or go faster or anything, I just need it to carry some lumber from the hardware store to my house, some camping gear a few times a year, the occasional couch or refrigerator, and maybe once in a blue moon a small load of firewood.

I also would not mind 4wd/AWD, because that truck is kind of shit in any kind of bad weather or gravel, but I don't exactly plant to go off-roading with it or anything, the worst it would ever be likely to see is some shitty gravel roads or parking lots in national parks, so that's negotiable, I just have to not drive like a moron.

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[–] doingthestuff@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Anything would help. No buses, trains, sidewalks, bike lanes. You can't even ride an escooter or the like.

[–] Akasazh@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Tax by weight, because heavier cars mean more wear on the roads.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

California already does this through registration fees. My 2010 Wrangler was $280 to renew the past October, my new work truck will probably be close to $900/year.

[–] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

It could work! Although, if you're already getting a $50,000++ SUV it's going to take a pretty big number to make you rethink your purchase.

Some other regulation to dissuade companies from selling bigger vehicles would help.

Maybe do something to raise the price of gas so filling up a 20-40 gallon SUV looks a lot less affordable than an economy car. (Of course that would also fuck the economy silly but so will climate change).

I kind of miss the small 2000-2400 lb cars of the 90s. My little 2 door Sentra SE-R got 25 mpg city and 35 mpg hwy and always fast passed the emissions dyno test.

I was comparing the Corolla, 2000 and 2023 model years. While the new one gets slightly better mileage, it is 600 lb heavier. I'm assuming the weight is in part due to the reinforced cabin and doors and a bazillion miles of wiring for all the additional computers and electronics. I wonder what kind of mileage a 2500 lb car would get with a modern drivetrain.

[–] BombOmOm@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

We already do. Gas taxes are incredibly common and bigger cars use more gas (thus pay more tax).

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[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Restrictions on bigger cars would also help.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Our US legislation actually incentivizes large SUVs and trucks because they have weaker emissions requirements.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Are we so confident this change is due to consumer preference rather than manufacturer availability?

Small cars are less profitable.

[–] BombOmOm@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Small cars are also regulated away. The bigger the car the easier it is in the US to make it pass emissions standards. Literally the law designed to push for more gas efficient cars results in larger, less gas efficient cars.

[–] SharkyPants@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

What happened to the emission credits auto manufacturers had to buy and trade? Seems like this would help the problem.

[–] Reality_Suit@lemmy.one 7 points 1 year ago

The first step is reduce. Reuse and recycle do not matter if we don't reduce.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

My old Mazda Protege was the perfect size. (Think Honda Fit but a foot longer trunk.)

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