Obesity Crisis Causes Luxury Car Makers To Produce More Generous Cars

If you've been looking into purchasing a luxury car recently you might have noticed that the interior was probably much roomier than you expected - that's because luxury car makers have been forced to produce larger cars for our ever expanding bellies.

Over the last 50 years family cars have become more than a foot wider in a bid to keep up with the nation's bulging waistlines and now luxury car manufacturers have begun road testing a new generation of larger vehicles to accommodate heavier drivers.

BMW have recruited more than 800 volunteers to take part in a project dubbed 'Plump my ride'. As part of the study, the manufacturer will test drivers of all sizes to try and understand how obesity affects driving ability. Last week the volunteers were tested on a range of everyday driving activities such as getting in and out of the car and reversing.

'People are getting more obese and we want to find out how that limits their range of motion and how our vehicles can adapt to the changing needs of our customers. We know that a lot of overweight and obese people have problems in daily life, and in the car this starts with getting in and getting out,' commented BMW's Ralf Kaiser.

But it's not just BMW who are looking to accommodate drivers of all sizes. Mercedes have already revealed plans to strengthen their grab handles above the door, while Porsche is busy installing 'electrically-powered steering columns' which rise up when the engine is switched up.

Japanese manufacturer Honda have also been busy adapting their vehicles over the last few years. Over the past decade the firm have widened their seats by up to 2 inches and have also designed a new dashboard to accommodate 'sausage fingers'.