> I think people without young kids fail to understand just how difficult it is to fit multiple carseats into a sedan
You're right, I have no idea. But a lot of people in Europe have three young kids as well and seem to get by perfectly fine without SUVs.
> no individual parent is going to solve that problem
This is how social change dies. "I can't do change things on my own, so why inconvenience myself?" Having an SUV increases your chances of KILLING PEOPLE. How does not having one not change anything?? And cars are big, high-margin purchases, of course you putting +1 in the minivan instead of SUV purchases column at your local dealer is going to have some impact on what they stock and a push more of. And your neighbours will see how convenient your non-insane car is and that will slightly away them towards buying that instead.
When my kids were car seat age, one of the three-kid strategies I saw talked about was “buy European car seats because they’re smaller.” I think if you live in Europe, you have not seen this problem.
This just proves that it isn't an inherent problem, but one that americans created for themselves. Yes, you can just buy smaller car seats, just like you can buy a smaller car. They'll be a little harder to get at first and probably a bit more expensive, but next to the cost of a new car, it will be little more than a rounding error. And as more people start buying them, they'll get cheaper and easier to buy.
You're right, I have no idea. But a lot of people in Europe have three young kids as well and seem to get by perfectly fine without SUVs.
> no individual parent is going to solve that problem
This is how social change dies. "I can't do change things on my own, so why inconvenience myself?" Having an SUV increases your chances of KILLING PEOPLE. How does not having one not change anything?? And cars are big, high-margin purchases, of course you putting +1 in the minivan instead of SUV purchases column at your local dealer is going to have some impact on what they stock and a push more of. And your neighbours will see how convenient your non-insane car is and that will slightly away them towards buying that instead.