this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2024
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Pickups, SUVs, and Vans in America are getting unreasonably large because of poorly-written environmental regulation.
In the mid-2000s, automakers were classifying everything as a "truck" to skirt CAFE (fuel economy) standards. The tilling point was the PT Cruiser being regulated as a truck. So, starting in 2012, CAFE standards started to be based on vehicle footprint.
Ever notice how all the little trucks like the S-10, Dakota, and the old-style Ranger all had 2011-ish as their last year model?
Suddenly, small trucks became effectively illegal, and as fuel economy standards get tougher every few years, the automakers have learned it's easier to just make the footprint bigger than it is to make the fuel economy better. They've since re-released the Ranger, but now it's bigger than the F-150 used to be.
And now it's hit the vans. CAFE outran the small cargo van footprints, so the Nissan NV200, Ford Transit Connect, and RAM Promaster City have all been discontinued in the last 2-3 years because they can't make cargo-hauling vehicles that size any longer.
New York City's Taxi Fleet changed to NV200s a few years back to improve accessibility, and now they can't buy replacement vehicles without either dropping the accessibility and going small or moving to fuck-you-sized vehicles.
The one neat thing though is the Ford Maverick. It's a small 4-seat truck with a half-size bed that comes standard as a hybrid (trafitional ICE is an "upgrade" so it meets CAFE) for like 25 grand. The only real problem is buying one since they only made like 4 of them.