Thursday, October 9, 2008

Another definition of "subcompact"

It was pointed out to me from a member of www.focaljet.com that the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration (NHTSA) has a definition of cars based on wheelbase for crash testing purposes.

Cars
Subcompact ... less than 100 " WB
Compact........100 to 104"
Mid-sized......105 to 109"
Full size......more than 109"

Vans
Mini-van...... Unibody frame
Large Van......Body on frame

SUVs
Mid-sized......WB greater than 88 " and width 66-75 "
Full sized.....WB greater than 88" and width >75"

Pickups
Compact .......less than 4500lbs
Full Size......more than 4500lbs

In addition, I found they also classify cars based on weight:

Passenger cars mini (PC/Mi) (1,500-1,999 lbs. curb weight)
Passenger cars light (PC/L) (2,000-2,499 lbs. curb weight)
Passenger cars compact (PC/C) (2,500-2,999 lbs. curb weight)
Passenger cars medium (PC/Me) (3,000-3,499 lbs. curb weight)
Passenger cars heavy (PC/H) (3,500 lbs. and over curb weight.)

The full discussion on Focaljet of "what is a hatchback/wagon" and "what is a subcompact car" can be found here.

1 comment:

nlpnt said...

Interesting that it came up on a Focus forum since that line had BOTH a 5-door hatchback and a wagon- until Ford stupidly cancelled 'em both.