From humongous servings in restaurants to warehouse clubs that sell everyday products in industrial-size packages, Americans have embraced the "bigger is better" idea with gusto. Now an interesting new study just released by the folks at AutoPacific finds that that mentality appears to be changing when it comes to the cars we drive.
The study shows that enough buyers abandoned the midsize segment last year to make compact cars the biggest-sellers in 2008. While that may not be all that surprising in light of last summer's sky-high gas prices, the AutoPacific study also identified an interesting wrinkle that is likely to make this result more than just an anomaly.
Because compact models like the Honda Civic have been undergoing a largely imperceptible growth spurt over the past few years, many of today's compacts are about the same size as the midsize cars many of us were driving a decade ago. This trend towards roomier and more fuel-efficient compacts is significant enough that the folks at AutoPacific expect small cars to be the biggest sellers for years to come.
To see examples of this "little big car" trend, check out the following DriverTV "virtual showroom experiences":
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