Why are our cars so heavy? Options

[95chameleonGT]

They're small, fwd with a small engine, and aren't exactly 'luxury' so what is all the weight from? Similar year civics, with four doors, are lighter!

[richee3]

The answer can be summed up in one word: quality. We have thicker sheet metal than Civics or 240SX’s. Our dashes are heavier than the thinner dashes in other cars. The soft touch vinyl on our dashes and door panels adds extra weight but makes a much nicer interior than simply using plastic. Glass headlight lenses instead of plastic. Our seat rails are thicker than you get in a Miata. The list goes on but you get the idea. Our cars are heavier but they are built sturdier.

When Toyota designed the mkIV Supra, they went through some effort to cut weight without sacrificing quality, most notably the use of aluminum for the hood and targa top, hollow carpet fibers, hollow spoiler, and dished bolt heads. The result was a car that was bigger than the previous generation, yet weighed less. The T20 Celica got all of these same weight savings apart from the aluminum hood on anything besides the GT4 and like the Supra, came in lighter than its predecessor.