Comments on: Japanese automakers focus on weight-saving techniques

By: carlos

carlos — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:34:33 +0000

Thats because they traded the hummer in for the semi. Arnold swartzenegger told them its better,and……. “its not a tumor”

By: Kanucko

Kanucko — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:28:17 +0000

Dammit, not one American said anything about small cars being dangerous…or about ‘What happens when u get hit by a semi and your not in a 6k pound HUMMER’. AutoWeek posters must not post here…

By: MugenSentraKen

MugenSentraKen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:11:10 +0000

==>>ye, u got that right beatusmongous..

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:01:22 +0000

Even the 2008 Smart ForTwo is bigger than all previous versions.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:56:55 +0000

johnnycanuck, I concur however those were the days of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Greece. I haven’t seen Olivia, but I am telling there is no way six (6) likes of John Travolta could place caboose into K car. I recall going with my dad and looking at K cars when they came out. I know that those 2.2L proved themselves indestructible, but the thing clattered either like misaligned diesel of a time or Russian tank engine (wait, it’st the same thing). It shook as well and there was no way you could shift from 3rd into 2nd without double clutching.

By: kitko

kitko — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:19:20 +0000

Actually, Mazda has been doing it for years. My brother’s 1999 1.8 liter Mazda 323 (Protege) was heavier than a 2003 Mazda 6 with a 2.3 liter engine my father had.

The new Mazda2 weights less than a ton – that’s 100-200 kilos less than it’s rivals in the class – while still geting top 5 stars in Euro Crash test NCAP. It accomodates 4 adults and has best in class dynamics and handling and low CO2 emissions on top of that. That’s why Mazda2 won the International car of the year in 2007.

Mr. Chapman of Lotus was preaching that long ago but most chose not to listen.

By: Fromes

Fromes — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:59:57 +0000

its so werid how even sub compacts like the Fit and Mini get bigger…my frenid has a 92 accord that he uses as a beater its actually a tad smaller then a new civic, perhaps companies should start making their vehicles smaller?

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:23:20 +0000

^ There was a spoof K-Car commercial that circulated the internet a few years back that had me in stitches. Does anyone else remember? “I like the cool stuff!”

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:18:44 +0000

xyunya: you’re right, the gravitationally challenged are an issue here. Remember the K-Car, however. All pot shots at style (or lack thereof) and quality aside, you could get 6 people in one of these and it would still move. The 2.2 and 2.5 engines (I’m still trying to forget the Mitsu 2.6) were fairly large displacement, low on horsepower but had good torque numbers. You’ve said before Chrysler should bring Iacocca back for one last kick at the cat. I say bring him back for another kick at the K.

By: blueshirts0819

blueshirts0819 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:01:37 +0000

“In addition to (hopefully) making them smaller again Honda can just shave more weight by using even cheaper, crappier plastics inside. Already the average Honda product uses plastics roughly akin to those cookie liners inside an Oreas pack, but would is they are eying Saran Wrap now. Hell, they already use Reynolds Wrap to make the grills on crApuras.”

I think you got it confused with a GM car.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:54:25 +0000

It is true that Honda, Toyota and Nissan cars “grew” in size in the past 10-12 years. Ford did not experience the same phenomenon, since Focus is the same car for that long. GM did not have a car marquee lasting that long except Impala, that did not change just like Focus.
I guess car companies where exercising market demand: providing what people wanted and people wanted bigger vehicles. To be perfectly objective, obesity went up along with belt lines and butt sizes. Civic of 15 years ago would not fit 2 average American adult bodies.

By: tripleonefive

tripleonefive — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:29:06 +0000

Raineman-agreed

By: Shismo

Shismo — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:25:12 +0000

They’re cutting back on welds to save weight? WTF…

By: MugenSentraKen

MugenSentraKen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:21:44 +0000

=====>>The first immediate thing that came to my mind after reading this article was the identical comparison that RaineMan made….

By: RaineMan

RaineMan — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:20:16 +0000

Honda’s interior quality is still better than that of GM or Ford.

By: bdizzlefizzle

bdizzlefizzle — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:18:12 +0000

Economies of scale won’t help with raw materials since it’s an issue of a) demand outstripping supply, plus b) high factor costs (like shipping and fuel for the fires that liquefy the metal).

By: global_lightning

global_lightning — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:16:05 +0000

They could start with reducing wheel sizes. No economy car needs anything bigger than 14″ wheels, anything larger just adds needless weight and resistance.

By: livelyjay

livelyjay — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:08:08 +0000

@RaineMan -> Great point. Same with all the car manufacturers, Nissan Altima is way bigger than the old Maxima. Since us Americans are such fat asses we can’t fit into the sub compacts anymore. All the compact cars got bloated competing with one another that the compact segment turned into the mid-size segment of old. The Yaris 3 door and Aveo “might” be as small as the old compacts, but I doubt it. Early 90s Civic hatch was tiny, as was the Ford Aspire/Festiva, and the Geo metro. There isn’t much on the market right now, if anything, that’s as small as those older cars. Also, since there are still so many behemoth SUVs, CUVs, and trucks on the road, people are nervous about buying the tiny cars.

By: mayer_ray_nagin

mayer_ray_nagin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:56:27 +0000

Oreas = Oreos
would is = word is
crApuras = Hondas comoetition to Buick.
.
damn I’m tired today.

By: mayer_ray_nagin

mayer_ray_nagin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:54:19 +0000

In addition to (hopefully) making them smaller again Honda can just shave more weight by using even cheaper, crappier plastics inside. Already the average Honda product uses plastics roughly akin to those cookie liners inside an Oreas pack, but would is they are eying Saran Wrap now. Hell, they already use Reynolds Wrap to make the grills on crApuras.

By: RaineMan

RaineMan — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:45:43 +0000

Have they just thought about making the vehicles smaller? A 2008 Civic is the size of a 1998 Accord… for cryin out loud.