As Americans grow heftier, automakers are making seats wider, adding more space to interiors and using bigger virtual mannequins to help design vehicles, reports USA Today. “If you gorged at the holiday buffet, don’t worry: You’ll still fit in your car,” writes Chris Woodyard. The 2006 Civic offers front seats that are three-quarters of an inch wider than those in the 2005 model. Purpose: “To meet the growing needs of our customers,” spokesman Sage Marie says. The Mercedes-Benz R-Class, which went on sale at the end of September, has front seats about a half-inch wider than the Mercedes M-Class SUV. The Subaru B9 Tribeca, a crossover vehicle introduced this year that was specifically designed for the U.S. market, has front seats a half-inch wider than those in the Legacy, the next-largest wagon in the lineup. Toyota added a half-inch of width to the RAV4 sport utility and up to 3 inches to the 4Runner, Sienna, Tacoma and Avalon. The goal was both comfort and extra interior space to help protect passengers in side-impact crashes, according to Toyota’s Paul Williamsen. “For the first time, we’ve made these virtual dummies to reflect people’s growing sizes,” Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake says.

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