For all the attention paid to developing automobiles that will lessen our reliance on fossil fuels, one trend that perplexes me is the continued release of bigger and bigger cars. Ever since the energy shortages of the 70s brought a new generation of small cars, those vehicles have steadily grown since then, even with the recent surge in fuel prices.

I really noticed this when I sold off my 94 Accord for my current 04 Civic. I traded Honda’s midsize sedan for their compact car, yet didn’t give up much car at all. Compared to the new 2008 Accords, which are now considered a full-size sedan, mine was a lightweight (about 9 inches shorter and 400 pounds lighter).

Even in the face of the current issues, it is still apparent that bigger is often better when it comes to our automobiles. It makes some sense though, since the average size of Americans has dramatically increased as well. Still, do we really need our vehicles to be so big?

Thanks increases in engine technology, today’s engines are more efficient than ever. The problem is, those improvements in efficiency are negated as the engines and cars swell in size. I’d like to see what our current car models would get for mileage with smaller engines and bodies. The new models that come out every year don’t lose anything in efficiency, and they often increase it some, but they could be a heck of a lot more efficient if they would lay off on the growth hormone (our cars have gone the way of our baseball :()

Even with this long-term growth spurt we are in the midst of, hope remains. Automakers are rolling out subcompacts that are smaller than anything we’ve seen in a while. This is a good sign, and hopefully the increasing sales of them will send a message to the automakers that there are plenty of Americans who want a smaller car. However, even these models get beefed up for the US market. Whereas foreign Honda Fit’s are offered with 1.2 or 1.3 liter engines, ours comes standard with a 1.5. This is indeed tiny by American standards, but it shows that we still like ‘em bigger here, even our subcompacts.

How bout we see some 1.0’s released, reminiscent to the old Geo Metros and Ford Festivas (a bit more car wouldn’t hurt here though, for obvious safety reasons)? What do you think about this? Will higher and higher gas prices finally reverse this trend soon?