Midsize car
A mid-size car, frequently referred to as an intermediate, is an automobile with a size between that of a compact and a full-size or standard-size car.
The mid-size class grew out of the compacts of the early 60s. One of the first, the Ford Fairlane, was referred to at its introduction in 1962 as a compact intermediate. This was true, as it was barely bigger than its close relative the Falcon. General Motors' first entries in the class, such as the Oldsmobile F-85 and Pontiac Tempest were not mechanically related to its compact Corvair, but were similar in size. The class began to grow almost immediately, however, and for the next 15 years each expansion in size in the full-size field was followed relentlessly by a proportionate growth in the mid-sizers. By the mid-60s, they were as big as full-size cars of the mid-50s. By the mid-70s, they were as big as the full-sizers of the mid-60s.
A turning point occured in the late 70s, when rising fuel costs and government fuel economy regulations caused all car classes to shrink, and in many cases to blur. The situation was complicated by the fact that General Motors began to downsize about two years before everybody else. Consequently, by 1978, there was little difference in between the new mid-size Chevrolet Malibu and the equally new compact Ford Fairmont. From that point on, mid-sizers shrank steadily for the next ten years. Import models, which had often been growing as the domestics shrank, began to be more competitive, and the two essentially came together in the compact and intermediate classes.
Mid-size vehicles today usually have wheelbases between 2.68 metres (105 inches) and 2.79 metres (110 inches). Another definition specifies between 110 ft³ (3000 L) and 119 ft³ (3300 L) of interior volume. This is the most popular size car sold in the United States of America. Well-known examples include the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. There is still a tendency for domestic entries to be larger than the imports, however, as witness the Ford Taurus, which has competed well with these models despite (or perhaps because of) its larger size in every dimension.
See also
