Cars Weight

A recent study found that the average American car is getting significantly bigger. In the past 25 or so years the average height has grown by a little over an inch. However the average American’s weight has swelled by 25 pounds. The average guy is 5’ 10” and 175lbs, which is a 17 percent gain.
In 1980 the average American's car weighed in at 2870 pounds and the current average car is 3563lb. Keep in mind this is for cars and not vehicles classified as light trucks, which includes pick-ups and SUVs. That is close to a 25 percent gain in weight, and it doesn’t take into account the huge boom in light truck sales we have had in that time.

Most people will blame this on the advent of more and better safety equipment. Some will point to the increase in overall vehicle size, while even more still, the majority, won’t even care.

Well as most enthusiasts will tell you, weight is the enemy of vehicles. Weight is bad for everything; acceleration, braking, turning, you name it; if you add weight to a vehicle it will perform worse. The odd thing is that it is not just enthusiasts who care about vehicle weight. Those of us who care about the environment should care also. Weight is a prime factor in fuel consumption. Obviously the more mass you have, the more energy it takes to accelerate it.