The electric F-150 is a niche vehicle and Ford is only pretending it is for the mass market. Their massive Tennessee factory, currently under construction, will be producing their mass market truck:
Depends on what you mean by safer. If you are hitting an F-150 you will be safer in a F-150 yourself than a smartcar. If you are a pedestrian you would rather be hit by a smartcar.
Many of these Chinese vehicles have the safety features of a 1950's era vehicle, so without airbags, good construction techniques for absorbing force, etc. I imagine they would all get horrible safety ratings by Consumer Reports.
However, if energy scarcity pushes us globally toward a situation where we need more essential cars for slower, shorter routes, then it would make sense to downgrade a bit those tests, as the typical use would be closer to a Topolino driving 70km/h on a country road than an M8 dashing at 170km/h on the highway.
Well, that doesn't really matter, does it? Vehicles provide transportation from A to B for occupants and cargo. If a small vehicle suffices, then larger ones shouldn't be necessary. Of course, this is also a challenge for planning infrastructure in a way that large vehicles are not necessary in population centers (which should, by definition, be built for people, not large cars).
I’ve been in China recently, one of the most popular forms of transport is the electric scooter. They outnumber cars around me. Many people just don’t bother with cars.
The list of top cars by model is quite interesting. Some of the Chinese cars are golf carts but most would decently sized and attractive by US standards.
