Small and light could be trendy after all ...
Most cars are designed to transport a maximum of four to five people and perhaps some luggage. Whereas 50 years ago (e.g. Renault 5) a footprint of 3.52 x 1.53 meters with a height of 1.41 meters was sufficient, today (e.g. Mercedes-Benz EQC) dimensions of 4.76 meters long, 1.88 meters wide and 1.62 meters high are required. The Mercedes-Benz is not even excessively large, but at 2.4 tons it is still quite bulky. The Renault 5 weighed around 750 kg and still offered enough payload to carry the four people mentioned.
Nowadays, everything seems to have to get bigger and heavier, which is certainly partly due to safety and technology, but is also partly due to marketing and customer demands.
What would have to happen for "small" and "light" to become the trend again? This already happened with cell phones not so long ago.
In the nineties, if you had a small cell phone and not a giant bone, you were cool. Device manufacturers outdid themselves with ever smaller devices and consumers wanted them because they fitted in every pocket and were not bulky. Until Apple came along and the smartphone became a trend. Now pockets are bulging again because of the max versions of the smart phones. After all, buyers are reluctant to buy overweight cell phones, because otherwise their pants might fall down because of the weight.
Which car manufacturer dares to take the plunge into the niche and bring out a really light and stylish electric everyday car that can also cover longer distances and offer four people reasonably comfortable seats? After all, if these things were a bit more compact, there would still be room in the garage for an MG TC or a Lotus Elan ...
_RM.jpg)
