Mid-size car

File:1957 Rambler Custom Cross-Country wagon AnnMD-b.jpg "compact" car later reclassified as an "intermediate"]]

1986–1989 [[Ford Taurus|thumb|right]]

The automobile that defined this size in the United States was the Rambler Six that was introduced in 1956, although it was called a "compact" car at that time.{{cite web|url= http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1956-1957-rambler.htm |title=1956-1957 Rambler |author=Auto Editors of Consumer Guide |date=5 September 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200920214721/https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1956-1957-rambler.htm |archive-date=20 September 2020 |access-date=29 October 2020}} Much smaller than any standard contemporary full-size cars, it was called a compact to distinguish it from the small imported cars that were being introduced into the marketplace.{{cite book |title=Corporate Strategies of the Automotive Manufacturers: An historical perspective on the automobile industry |date=1978 |publisher=U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |page=153 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7TgdAQAAMAAJ&q=The+Rambler+was+called+a+compact+car+to+distinguish+it+from+the+small,+imported+cars}}

By the early 1960s, the car was renamed the Rambler Classic and while it retained its basic dimensions, it was now competing with an array of new "intermediate" models from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.{{cite web |last=Severson |first=Aaron |title=What's a Matador? The AMC Matador, Rebel, and Classic |url= https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/amc-matador/ |website=Ate Up With Motor |date=25 December 2009}} The introduction of the 1962 Ford Fairlane was viewed by consumers as too close to the compact Falcon in size and performance as well as too close to the full-sized Ford models in price.{{cite book |last=Flory, Jr. |first=J. "Kelly" |title=American Cars, 1960-1972: Every Model, Year by Year |date=2004 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786452002 |page=8 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1DiNAgAAQBAJ&q=Rambler+Classic+mid-size+car&pg=PA8 |access-date=29 October 2020 |chapter=Introduction}} It was the introduction of General Motors "senior compacts" that grew the mid-size market segment as the line of cars themselves kept increasing in size. By 1965, these GM "A platform" mid-size models matched the size of 1955 full-size cars.

During the 1970s, the intermediate class in the U.S. was generally defined as vehicles with wheelbases between {{convert|112|in|0}} and {{convert|118|in|0}}. Once again, the cars grew and by 1974 they were "about as large as the full-size cars of a decade or so ago ... best sellers include Ford Torino, Chevrolet Chevelle, AMC Matador, Plymouth Satellite ..."{{cite magazine |last=Shafer |first=Ronald. D. |title=What Women Should Know About Cars |magazine=Harper's Bazaar |date=1974 |volume=107 |page=36 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hNchAQAAMAAJ&q=AMC+Matador+mid-size+car |access-date=29 October 2020}} The domestic manufacturers began changing the definition of "medium" as they developed new models for an evolving market place.{{cite journal |last1=Lund |first1=Robert |title=Detroit Listening Post |journal=Popular Mechanics |date=March 1976 |volume=145 |issue=3 |page=14 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aOMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14}}

A turning point occurred in the late 1970s, when rising fuel costs and government fuel economy regulations caused all car classes to shrink, and in many cases to blur. Automakers moved previously "full-size" nameplates to smaller platforms such as the Ford LTD II and the Plymouth Fury.{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RwEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 |title=Detroit Report: an intermediate step |author=Jim Dunne|page=40 |journal=Popular Science |date=September 1975 |volume=207 |issue=3 |access-date=26 January 2019}} A comparison test by Popular Science of four intermediate sedans (the 1976 AMC Matador, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Torino, and Dodge Coronet) predicted that these will be the "big cars of the future."{{cite journal |author=Jim Dunne|last2=Hill |first2=Ray |title=Intermediate sedans - big cars of the future |journal=Popular Science |date=February 1976 |volume=208 |issue=2 |pages=36, 38, 44, 46 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xAEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40}} By 1978, General Motors made its intermediate models smaller.{{cite journal |author=Jim Dunne|title=GM for '78: the intermediates are smaller |journal=Popular Science |date=October 1977 |volume=211 |issue=4 |pages=92–95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bQEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA92}}

File:Opel Omega front 20080118.jpg: a British/European executive car, marketed in the U.S. as a mid-size car (Cadillac Catera){{cite web |last=Appel |first=Tom |title=Review Flashback! 1997 Cadillac Catera |url= http://blog.consumerguide.com/review-flashback-1997-cadillac-catera/ |website=The Daily Drive: Consumer Guide |date=25 October 2017}} ]]

New "official" size designations in the U.S. were introduced by the EPA, which defined market segments by passenger and cargo space.{{cite web|url= http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#sizeclasses |title=How are vehicle size classes defined? | publisher=fueleconomy.gov |access-date=24 December 2012}} Formerly mid-sized cars that were built on the same platform, like the AMC Matador sedan, had a combined passenger and cargo volume of {{convert|130|cuft|2}}, and were now considered "full-size" automobiles.{{cite web|url= http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/epadata/78guide.txt |title=1978 49-state Fuel Economy Guide |date=10 November 1978 |publisher=fueleconomy.gov |access-date=27 January 2019}}{{cite journal |author=Jim Dunne|title=A Sneak Preview of the '78 cars |journal=Popular Science |date=June 1977 |volume=210 |issue=6 |page=78 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ewEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78 |quote=AMC plans to offer a more luxurious Matador model to compete in the full-size market |access-date=27 January 2019}}

Cars that defined the mid-size market in the 1980s and 1990s included the Chrysler K-Cars (Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant), the Ford Taurus, and the Toyota Camry, which was upsized into the midsize class in 1991. The Taurus and Camry came to define the mid-size market for decades.

Mid-size cars were the most popular category of cars sold in the United States, with 27.4 percent during the first half of 2012, ahead of crossovers at 19 percent.{{cite journal|url= http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1212_2012_2013_midsize_sedan_comparison/viewall.html |title=Comparison: 2012-2013 Midsize Sedan Comparison: Battle of the Best-Sellers |journal=Motor Trend |date=December 2012 |first=Arthur |last=St. Antoine |access-date=24 December 2012}}

File:2017 Chevrolet Malibu (E2XX) front 3.25.18.jpg ]]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fuel Economy Regulations for 1977 and Later Model Year (dated July 1996) includes definitions for classes of automobiles.{{cite web|title=Code of Federal Regulations Sec. 600.315 - 82 Classes of comparable automobiles|url= http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-1996-title40-vol16/CFR-1996-title40-vol16-sec600-315 |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |date=1 July 1996 |page= 733}} Based on the combined passenger and cargo volume, mid-size cars are defined as having an interior volume index of {{convert|110|-|119|cuft|m3|1|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url= http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#sizeclasses |title=FAQ - How are vehicle size classes defined? |website=www.fueleconomy.gov |access-date=5 January 2019}}

• Car classification
• Vehicle size class

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{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byclass/byEPAclassNF.shtml Vehicles listed by EPA class (1984–present)]

{{Automobile configuration}}

Category:Vehicles introduced in 1956

Category:Car classifications