I'm guessing this is from the US perspective, since that's not at all the European experience.

I picture a box with 4 wheels.

definitely not true of Japan. I think it depends a lot on where (and probably when) you're looking.

But sedans are the vast majority of cars?

Hello, american citizen, how are things lately? Have a nice day! :D

I picture a 2003 Toyota Corolla

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO8QVjBMhvcEI43-b29QgshEZHofr_Z-7

I have a project vehicle, and I struggle to figure out what "type" of vehicle it is.

It's a Suzuki Samurai. What is that? Jeep guys get offended if you call it that, its a solid-axle body on frame vehicle so "car" doesnt seem right, and its not a truck.

I just say its a car. Sometimes its a "Weeaboo Jeep".

In North America we're being conditioned to accept ever-larger vehicles as normal, and it's working beautifully (for car makers, much less so society or the environment).

My mom drives a Mazda something-or-other crossover, and gets annoyed when I call it her truck. She insists it's a "car" and "not that big", both arguments made foolish when I roll up in my Nissan Micra.

A while back I was comparing the 1987 Ford Ranger (what I learned on) with a more recent Ford Maverick, out of curiosity. The Maverick is nearly the same size as the Ranger (the box is a bit longer) but thirty five hundred pounds heavier. No doubt a lot of that is battery, but holy shit.

Nice to know Toyota still has a hatch. Nissan stopped selling the Micra in Canada and almost nobody has anything that small in their offerings now.

Hatchback, sedan, coupe, crossover, and SUV are all equally “car” to me.

Been a while since I saw one of these sedans myself:

Ummm, cross-overs, trucks and SUVs aren't cars. That's probably why we think of sedans. You probably mean when someone references the vehicle they drive as a car, we think of a sedan and that would be because that someone should not have said "car" when referencing what they drive.

A car is a corolla to me. The platonic ideal.

There have been hatchback Corollas as far back as 1983. There have been hatchbacks, lift backs, or wagons in various generations since the Corolla was first made. Granted, they may not have been sold in your market.

I picture a white crownvick style sedan for some reason despite never owning a car

Luckily, this distribution is primarily an American problem.