> Also selling larger vehicles that are just higher and wider for more money but that are not significantly different than similar but smaller vehicles is just easy money, really.
Large cars are also safer for the people in them at least. Car safety ratings are misleading because they're a relative measure based on the class of vehicle. So a "3 star" safety rating on a large SUV is considerably safer than a "5 star" safety rating on a smaller car:
> These ratings are only useful when you're comparing cars within the same size class. If a small car has a five-star rating from NHTSA, that doesn't mean it will protect you as well as five-star-rated large sedan. The same holds true for a Good rating from the IIHS. "The ratings are meant to be used to compare crashes with vehicles of similar size," said Adrian Lund, president of the IIHS. "You can't really go between the segments with these ratings."
People aren't dumb and they realize larger cars are safer for the occupants. That's at least one reason some people prefer larger vehicles.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/are-smaller-cars-as-safe-...