Well, you're close. What's the real reason? Market demand. If the market wanted a car with a full-size spare, manufacturers would figure a way to deliver it, even if it meant mounting the spare over the rear bumper, MG-style. Market demand also explains why air-conditioning replaced vent windows and cup holders have replaced ash trays. The ubiquity of cell phones is just one part of market demand.
Understand that women buy roughly half of all new cars. For small passenger vehicles, it's probably 60 percent or more. Most women won't change a flat tire, although they might be willing to use a can of Fix-a-Flat. Also, the market demographic for small cars is mostly urban, and urban drivers are less likely to change a flat than rural drivers. It's a matter of safety and convenience: why risk getting robbed or run over while changing a flat tire when you can drive a couple of blocks to a garage or tire store?
Meanwhile, EPA CAFE standards continue to increase, and the easiest way to improve a vehicle's economy is to take out mass. Although the spare tire might not weigh that much, it takes up space which requires the car to be bigger.
I think the future will be run-flat tires. Some models have them today, and with tire monitoring systems they make a lot of sense: Changing a tire is no longer an emergency but rather a service issue that can be deferred for a day or two until the car can be brought in for service.
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Today's Featured Article - The Day Mom Drove the 8N - by Brian Browning. My Dad was wanting to put in a garden but couldn't operate the 8N and handle the old horse drawn plow he had found and rigged up to use with the tractor. Well, he decided to go get Mom out of the house and have her drive the tractor while he walked behind the plow. You got to understand that while my Mom is a hard worker who will always help whenever she can... she had never operated farm machinery before that day. Dad got her out there, explained how the clutch was the same as in our o
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