On RubyMog's photo thread, several members posted that they preferred the look of the narrow bodied cars; as I do.
In a recent Autocar, Steve Cropley published the following comment in his weekly diary:
"A couple of years ago the big concern about trends in car design was burgeoning weight, but car engineers have since focused on the problem and are working to make cars lighter. Now, I believe we should worry about width. Successive new models' manoeuvrability is being seriously harmed in our towns by sideways growth of an inch or two at every model change. Where two MGB's used to be able to pass at a combined speed of 60 mph in an ancient street, two Porsche Boxsters don't stand a prayer. Yet designers still stand beside new creations and proudly talk about 'pushing the wheels out further'. It has to stop, chaps.
It sometimes strikes me that - dimensionally speaking - cars are designed to oppose, rather than fit, the practical requirements of their environment. If new models still fitted down streets and weighed what they did even 5 to 10-years ago, I'll bet the efficiency boost would be worth all the high-efficiency fuel injectors you can eat."
This is particularly relevant to those of us based in the UK and certainly a hoon through narrow country lanes in a current trad, or Aero (more of a GT than a pure sportscar) confirms that the fact that it is not only in 'ancient streets' that this width is an issue. Living in Eton, with traffic calming all down the High Street - ground clearance is also an issue, and these two factors are why we sold the Maserati Granturismo after only a very short ownership.
Anybody else got any views on this issue, other than the 4x4 brigade, who also add weight and height to the unnecessary list!
Best
Brian
P.S. Our next daily driver will address the width issue.
