Yes, it's the pillars, and I realize that all the new cars have these pillars for side air bags. I am also sure this only affects short people. My issue comes when I have to make a left hand turn on a road that curves to the left; here in MA we have these horrible curved Y intersections with a little "green" in the middle. People often don't know which side of the road to enter/exit these Y intersections. They are always on country/suburban roads that are twisty. I have a lot of these to contend with in my town. I've learned to look behind, through the rear right passenger window, when looking to see if traffic is coming from the right on the street I am turning onto.
I hate car shopping and while I enjoy driving a nice car, it's not something that is super important to me, like my bike. I don't get "excited" about cars. DH loves cars and he just got a new one in December. Won't say which one, as it will enrage half of the forum members, but now he spends a lot of time on the forum for owners of this car. They must be an exciting bunch.