Back in the 1960s and even more so in the first half of the 1970s, American automakers produced some of the largest mainstream cars ever, before the oil crisis put an end to these dinosaurs of the automobile industry.
General Motors, of course, was no exception. One example is the fifth generation of the Chevrolet Impala that measured a whopping 222.0 inches (5,639 mm) long.
On the occasion of the U.S. launch of its new 2013 Chevrolet Spark, the Detroit carmaker released an info graphic comparing the city car with the average American sedan in the early 1970s.
GM says it used the dimensional averages based on published data for “popularly priced American sedan models marketed by three leading American manufacturers” from 1973. Here’s what it found:
- Exterior – The mini-car is 50 percent smaller than the typical ’73 American full-size sedan.
- Height – New subcompacts like the Chevy Spark are actually 6 inches taller than the 1973 sedan.
- Wheels – The wheels on the new 2013 mini cars and the 1973 full-size cars are equal – both maintain their poise on standard 15-inch rims.
- Interior – The 2013 subcompacts have front and rear headroom and front legroom that match the average 1973 American full-sized sedan.
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