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| Any excuse for a Scirocco picture |
What may not be more obvious is that cars are getting bigger and heavier as well. An example the Mk1 VW Scirocco is 1625mm wide and 3880mm long, theMk3 VW Scirocco is 1810mm wide and 4256mm long.
Certainly, some of this can be attributed to how much space you need to house all the electrical gadgets from ABS to Air Con and everything in between. The public now demand safety and luxury features in their cars in the bucket load so, they have to go somewhere.
The other reason for this is people. Yeah that’s right, people are getting bigger too, and therefore the amount of space they require in their cars will have to be bigger as well.
So what are car manufacturers doing about this?
Well, BMW for example have now got some 800 volunteers helping them work out how to design cars for obese people. Mercedes are planning to strengthen grab handles, Honda have widened their seats by approx 50mm and Porsches now have steering columns that retract and lift when the car is switched off, much like the top of the range Japanese cars.
It’s the small things that make all the difference, from the size of the doors to how far apart the pedals are. Reverse cameras and blind spot warning systems have all been added too which are designed to help the larger person manoeuvre their vehicle.
Is this really such a good idea? Or should we as a society not be concentrating on improving people’s health instead?
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