Because Nothing Says “America First” Like Driving a Mini
With everything on President Trump’s plate right now, the border, Ukraine vs Russia, getting the economy roaring again, why on earth is he spending political capital pushing for Japan-style “kei” cars and other ultra-tiny vehicles on American roads? He saw them overseas and called them “very small” and “really cute” earlier last week. On Friday Trump said, “They can be propelled by gasoline, electric or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and quite simply AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW! ”
Is there really a big demand for these miniature cars here? Will we ever see Barron driving around in Twingo?! Can you see the good ole boys down south driving a Micro or the cowboys out West in a Mini? Really? Are they anybody’s dream car?
Big man driving a little red vintage car towards succes
Because nothing says success like driving a Microcar
Years ago when my husband and I took trips to Europe we noticed all the tiny cars. Over there, if you can afford a car at all, it’s usually a shoebox on wheels or a motorcycle. It’s not because Europeans love feeling every pothole. It’s the gas prices. Fuel routinely runs $7–$9 a gallon, so people cram into the smallest thing that moves. We always rented something bigger when we traveled, because we’d heard the stories that those little cars fold up like tin cans in a wreck. Which rules out the “safe” portion of Trump’s praise and push for tiny cars.
On one trip, while driving in Italy, we were jet lagged and slap happy and started making fun of all the mini-European cars noting that they were even given wimpy names to boot. In a high-pitched Mickey Mouse voice we said “Look at me, I’m a Mini… I’m a Smart car… I’m a Twingo!” Then we’d drop our voices three octaves into a gravelly bear growl for the American rigs we love back home: “I’m an Expedition… I’m a Yukon… I’m a Excursion… Even the names told you which one was built for real roads and which one was built to fit between two Vespas. We weren’t trying to be ugly Americans, the names just cracked us up at the time because they fit the image. And hey, the Europeans were the haughty ones trying to shame us by mocking our big cars that they claimed were destroying the planet they were trying to save.
Now the same tiny cars are showing up here, not because gas is expensive, but because some folks think they’re adorable. That’s their right. But let’s not pretend they’re as safe as what most of us drive today. The numbers don’t lie.
- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ran a head-to-head crash between a small Kia Forte and a midsize SUV from the same company. The little car got crushed. The front end peeled away and the dummy’s legs were trapped. Same crash energy, totally different outcome, just because one vehicle had real steel and mass to soak it up. [1]
- IIHS fatality data (2014-2017 models) shows drivers of the smallest cars die at more than twice the rate of drivers in midsize sedans—78 deaths per 10 billion miles driven vs. 36. [2]
- Of the 20 deadliest vehicles on the road in that study, 15 were mini or small cars. [3]
- Edmunds looked at deaths per million registered vehicles and found mini cars were four times deadlier than large SUVs (64 vs. 13). [4]
It’s not just missing airbags (though plenty of the cheapest ones skimp there). It’s basic physics: less weight + less metal = less protection when a 5,000-pound pickup changes your day. And the stats get even starker when you stack small cars against SUVs. The latest IIHS data for 2020 models (covering 2018-2021 fatalities) puts mini cars at a shocking 108 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years, small cars at 62, while very large SUVs clock in at just 15, making them among the safest options out there. [5] [6]
In fact, nine of the 20 models with the lowest death rates are SUVs, and overall, SUVs boast a fatality rate of about 14 per million registered vehicles compared to 48 for sedans. [7]
Larger vehicles absorb impacts better, provide more crush space, and their height reduces underride risks turning a potential disaster into something survivable. [8] Recent new engineering of some tiny car models has helped close some of the safety gaps with high-strength steel and better crumple zones. But the gap is still huge. In real-world crashes, especially against bigger vehicles, small cars still get the worst of it.
I’m glad we’re not being forced into these cute little deathtraps – yet. Gas is reasonable, pipelines are flowing and we can still buy something easy to fit in to travel comfortably and safely. That could change the minute the eco-crowd gets the White House keys again and decides $8 gas is “good for the planet.” Then we’ll all be scooting around in licensed coffins because, hey, at least the polar bears are happy.
If somebody wants a tiny car for running around the city, fine. Knock yourself out (you just may). Just don’t tell the rest of us it’s progress. And Mr. President, with all due respect, there are bigger fights worth winning than turning our highways into a demolition derby for matchbox cars.