In my opinion, larger vehicles are just a product of car culture, and even those who buy small cars are contributing to a society that requires people to have cars, which inevitably leads to larger cars in the long run.
Large cars are seen as status symbols, so a lot of people think they need a big car to show how successful they are, and to "keep up with the Joneses".
The sooner people shed this silly consumerism mindset, the better.
There also seems to be some social expectation that when you have a family, you need a bigger car, despite modestly-sized cars being perfectly sufficient.
Which is where it falls apart. If we're generalizing, then in my experience people who feel the need for giant vehicles are even more insecure than the fancy car folk. Huge trucks and Hummers absolutely give off small dick energy. It just screams "I'm overcompensating", while a lot of the fast/exotic car people are old and seem like they just like to show off their wealth.
There's no complicated fascination. It is simple. People like big cars because they are spacious, feel safer, provide a higher vantage point, and a host of other reasons.
Your hatchback is perfectly fine around town, but it can't tow a boat, and most people don't like to have multiple cars.
So, what winds up happening is people buy the most car they think they will need. It's totally overkill driving to work, and plenty of people never actually tow that boat, but this is why it happens.
Europeans would do the exact same thing, I figure, if they lived in an economic climate with similar gas prices and car taxes and such. With the possible exception of people living in old cities whose roads are just too small.
Lots of people want big cars, and they vote with their checkbook. I have a big car. I have children. They have stuff, and friends and we go on long drives sometimes. It's nice to have a big car.
I'm not talking about cars as status symbols, but as factors of identity. Teenagers want cars because it is a rite of passage. Half my coworkers want trucks because they are 'outdoors' people. And some do use it as a monetary status symbol. Some people are just car people who have strong opinions about the car they drive because it is part of their self-expression. This is a pretty big thing in American culture.
I agree with you, but I think I can explain some of the rationale behind wanting big cars. Part of the reason is fear. "If I have a very small egg-car and everyone else has a heavy car, I'll be the one that is killed."
Amongst other things, I think it has made a small car (other than e.g. a BMW 300 series and such) socially acceptable/desirable for a certain portion of the U.S. population. It's not just an economically influenced decision; there's still the motivation to "fit in".
Some people obviously have a genuine need for a larger vehicle. Those people usually don't spring for the blingmobiles.
To a lot of people, their cars and or other material belongings are outwardly visible extensions of their (imagined) personality, and signifiers of wealth to their peers. It's just a different set of values.
Personally I absolutely love cars. Not for any status or macho identity, but for the mechanical intricacies and neat design ideas. I am much more interested in a 1970s Opel Kadett than a big new Mercedes or something. I enjoy the act of driving, not the idea that "I am driving something expensive that other people desire".
Have you considered cycling instead of walking? It's cheap and there are so many opportunities to geek out over neat ideas.
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