| Cars getting bigger - is this a concern? Posted by grahame at 07:16, 3rd December 2025 |     |
From The BBC
'Carspreading' is on the rise - and not everyone is happy about it
Critics call it "carspreading". In the UK and across Europe, cars are steadily becoming longer, wider and heavier. Consumers clearly like them – a lot. Big cars are seen as practical, safe and stylish, and sales are growing. So, why are some cities determined to clamp down on them - and are they right to do so?
Paris is renowned for many things. Its monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. Its broad, leafy avenues and boulevards, its museums and art galleries, its fine cuisine. And it's truly appalling traffic.
Over the past 20 years, the city authorities have been trying to tackle the problem, by introducing low-traffic and low-emission zones, by promoting public transport and cycling – and most recently by clamping down on big cars.
Continues
Critics call it "carspreading". In the UK and across Europe, cars are steadily becoming longer, wider and heavier. Consumers clearly like them – a lot. Big cars are seen as practical, safe and stylish, and sales are growing. So, why are some cities determined to clamp down on them - and are they right to do so?
Paris is renowned for many things. Its monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. Its broad, leafy avenues and boulevards, its museums and art galleries, its fine cuisine. And it's truly appalling traffic.
Over the past 20 years, the city authorities have been trying to tackle the problem, by introducing low-traffic and low-emission zones, by promoting public transport and cycling – and most recently by clamping down on big cars.
Continues
