YACT: Do cars get bigger as they go through successive model revamps? Just like American cars, Japanese cars do too...

[C'DaleRider]

I remember reading a thread about someone lamenting how portly some Japanese cars have become over time and someone rebutted with the last 3 years of interior dimensions of possibly an Accord or Camry or some such nonsense. (Nonsense because 2001-2003 are all the same body so the interior, while it may have grown incrementally, didn't show a darned thing about the growth of the car.)

So, I did some looking around (I remember the original 1973 Civic.....cute, small, and not terribly reliable) and found some numbers to show that indeed the Corollas, Civics, Accords, Camrys have all gotten a wee bit larger.

Civic........introduced in 1973 with an 86.6" wheelbase and an overall length of 139.8". Now in 2003, we have a Civic that has a wheelbase of 103.1" and length of 175.4". That's a 36" increase in the overall length of the car........3 feet. The wheelbase, an increase of 17" over its introduction model, is longer than the Accord was when it was introduced.

Accord.......1976 introduction with a 93.7" wheelbase, 163.2" length. 2003 we have an Accord that has a 107.9" wheelbase and has a 189.5" length.

Corolla......on its introduction in 1968, the Corolla has a wheelbase of 90" and length of 151.4" In 2003, it's up to a 102.4" wheelbase and an overall length of 178.3" (Interestingly, the Corolla is 2.7" longer than the Camry was when it was introduced in 1983.)

Camry.....on its introduction it had a wheelbase of 102.4" and length of 175.6". In 2003, its wheelbase is 107.1" and length of 189.2" Seems this car grew the least out of the four listed, which are probably the four most popular Japanese cars in the U.S.

This is not to slam the Japanese cars, heck...ALL cars tend to grow here in the U.S., American, Japanese, European. The American driving consumer just seems to prefer larger cars, so the Japanese are happy to oblige. Note the increases were with model revamps and were just a few inches each time, but 2" here and 2" there adds up to feet in the end.

 

[StageLeft]

Yep, cars seem to be getting larger and more powerful over time.

 

[Imdmn04]

by this rate, they wont even fit in a standard parking spot anymore in 2020:Q

 

[vi edit]

The new Malibu is about half the car that it once was, and the Impala is quite a bit smaller than it used to be.

 

[RU482]

what you are wintessing with the enlargement of Japanese cars is know as "Americanization". They started out as niche market econoboxes to become top selling market ruling midsize models.

 

[geno]

I've noticed japanese cars are getting more and more bloated with each iteration:
Maxima
Sentra
Altima
Accord
Civic
The Camry is huge compared to what it used to be
Corolla

That're all much larger than they were in the early/mid 90s

 

[Parrotheader]

I'm just amazed at how much power the average car has now. We've got basic family sedans from mainstream brands (not just your premium manufacturers) that'll flat out fly and have gobs of horsepower standard. It seems like at the rate engine power is growing in about 10 years people will be driving 500hp Accords capable of bombing down the highway at 200mph.

It's going to be interesting to see what impact the slow conversion to electric and/or other alternative power cars has over the next decade. I'm personally waiting for an autopilot option to become mainstream. I know that sounds like blasphemy for the auto lovers in here, but on boring drives like my commute I'd just as soon use that time to take a nap or watch tv.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
The new Malibu is about half the car that it once was, and the Impala is quite a bit smaller than it used to be.

Those aren't successional models. They are completely different cars with old model names tacked on.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: Imdmn04
by this rate, they wont even fit in a standard parking spot anymore in 2020:Q

Eh, perhaps. In my opinion, they'll continue to grow for another few generations, then level off for a decade or so. Eventually we'll see them shrink like a cold weiner as oil prices go up and people's interests change.

I believe it was I that posted the dimensions of the Camry, and it sure as hell wasn't just 3 years. I posted the specs for the last 4 generations of the Camry stretching back to the mid 80's and the difference in most dimensions was definitely noticeable, but not drastic. Link

 

[NFS4]

The Camry is huge compared to what it used to be

No it's not, it grew the least of the cars mentioned. The optical illusion being played on your brain is b/c of the vehicle height of the newest model.

 

[0roo0roo]

its the size of the american posterior. car makers have widened seats and everything else to accomadate

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: NFS4

The Camry is huge compared to what it used to be

No it's not, it grew the least of the cars mentioned. The optical illusion being played on your brain is b/c of the vehicle height of the newest model.

Yep it grew the most during the 80's generations. The last 3 Camry's were all very similar in size.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
its the size of the american posterior. car makers have widened seats and everything else to accomadate

Also, safety regulations. Japanese cars back then were little more than rolling gas tanks ready to explode

 

[Zenmervolt]

The cars are also safer and more efficient than they were before.

ZV

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Originally posted by: Imdmn04
by this rate, they wont even fit in a standard parking spot anymore in 2020:Q

Eh, perhaps. In my opinion, they'll continue to grow for another few generations, then level off for a decade or so. Eventually we'll see them shrink like a cold weiner as oil prices go up and people's interests change.

I believe it was I that posted the dimensions of the Camry, and it sure as hell wasn't just 3 years. I posted the specs for the last 4 generations of the Camry stretching back to the mid 80's and the difference in most dimensions was definitely noticeable, but not drastic. Link

I went back and reread the dimensions you posted.........and you'd think the interior dimensions would have gotten larger as the car grew, as the Camry has. But I notice that some dimensions SHRANK in comparing the 2003 to the 1992 models, even though the car has grown.

Toyota Camry 2004
Front Head Room: 39.2 in.
Front Hip Room: 54.4 in.
Front Shoulder Room: 57.5 in.
Front Leg Room: 41.6 in.

Rear Head Room: 38.3 in.
Rear Shoulder Room: 56.7 in.
Rear Hip Room: 54.1 in.
Rear Leg Room: 37.8 in.

Toyota Camry 1992
Front Head Room: 38.4 in.
Front Hip Room: 56 in.
Front Shoulder Room: 56.8 in.
Front Leg Room: 43.5 in.

Rear Head Room: 37.1 in.
Rear Shoulder Room: 56.1 in.
Rear Hip Room: 56.8 in.
Rear Leg Room: 35 in.

So I see that front head room grew (and the car got taller and good, I guess for the cloud-scraping people), but front hip room shrank as did leg room, which really sux. The rear did a bit better as almost all the mentioned dimensions grew, except the hip room.

 

[geno]

So the interior shrank while the exterior grew?

 

[abc]

yes i remember the civics accords nissan maximas sentras, toyota corollas, centras, camrys all were small in the 80s to the 90s to now.

in particular what i disliked with all the hondas is the last 6yrs their cars have lost that low to the ground feel right off the factory.

they all also seem bloated and americanized... well, they're designed here and built here aren't they.

i miss the CRX! ... when it became the Del Sol, to me that was beginning of the end... and though the S2000 replaced the Del Sol and is quite a car, it still seems bloated and like a girl's car.

 

[kag]

not only do they get bigger, they almost always get heavier too... the cars you listed aren't sport cars, but a lot of the new sport cars get heavier with the new models

 

[cjchaps]

I would assume that by adding side impact stuff, like reinforcements and airbags, that the exterior will grow and the interior will shrink. Airbags will also shrink the front seats of cars as well. IF you look at the interior of the new cars vs. the old cars, the interiors of the new ones look really "bloated", and more bulbous.

 

[dc]

of those 4 cars (camry, corolla, accord, civic), the accord is the only one still being built/assembled in japan right?

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: dc
of those 4 cars (camry, corolla, accord, civic), the accord is still the only one being built/assembled in japan right?

All of them are built in the US AFAIK.

 

[dc]

/me looks at his 2003 accord lx sedan that was assembled in saitama, jp with a strange look

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: dc
/me looks at his 2003 accord lx sedan that was assembled in saitama, jp with a strange look

Well, MOST Accords are built in Marysville, Ohio

 

[dc]

ah, ok. strange to me that they produce them in different countries like that. heh

do they do that with the civic also? i dont' think i've seen a japan assembled civic of the current model. how about the toyotas?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: dc
/me looks at his 2003 accord lx sedan that was assembled in saitama, jp with a strange look

Well, MOST Accords are built in Marysville, Ohio

Yep. Majority are built in Marysville, Ohio. The weird thing is, 60% of the ones I looked at on the lot today were Japanese made. 30% Ohio, 10% Mexico. The Japanese ones also had a lower destination charge. (Only $30 though)