The Reason Why Are Trucks Getting Bigger

OK but they are still making small cars. If all cars suddenly got bigger i'd get it, but the fact of the matter is that people are buying bigger trucks and not small cars despite both being available.

My pet theory is that among other factors, being the biggest on the road is desirable as a repilian-brain thing. Also selling larger vehicles that are just higher and wider for more money but that are not significantly different than similar but smaller vehicles is just easy money, really.

> Also selling larger vehicles that are just higher and wider for more money but that are not significantly different than similar but smaller vehicles is just easy money, really.

Large cars are also safer for the people in them at least. Car safety ratings are misleading because they're a relative measure based on the class of vehicle. So a "3 star" safety rating on a large SUV is considerably safer than a "5 star" safety rating on a smaller car:

> These ratings are only useful when you're comparing cars within the same size class. If a small car has a five-star rating from NHTSA, that doesn't mean it will protect you as well as five-star-rated large sedan. The same holds true for a Good rating from the IIHS. "The ratings are meant to be used to compare crashes with vehicles of similar size," said Adrian Lund, president of the IIHS. "You can't really go between the segments with these ratings."

People aren't dumb and they realize larger cars are safer for the occupants. That's at least one reason some people prefer larger vehicles.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/are-smaller-cars-as-safe-...

All cars are getting bigger. There used to be a handful of us at work who all drove Subaru's and we parked them next to each other in chronological order. Was crazy to see just how much bigger the newer cars were.

It's a mix of tragedy of the commons and needing to be the same size or bigger than everyone else.

The negatives of big cars are not paid for, in large part, by the people buying the car. A bigger car needs more space, making towns and cities less efficient and more expensive. They use more resources, and gas which the negative effects of are not paid for in pollution and CO2. Edit: Also the danger to pedestrians, and people in smaller cars!

Being a normal sized car, amongst huge trucks is dangerous and all over a bad experience. It's hard to see around them, in a crash you come off worse (all other things being equal). So to not suffer this everyone slowly gets bigger, just to not suffer. If people were limited to a standard sized car then everyone would be better off (assuming people don't need a van for work or a people carrier if they have a large family).

I decided that I wanted to own at some point in my life every type of vehicle except a mini van. When my crossover got totaled by a deer last December I decided it was time to buy an F150 as my first pickup. Before y’all crucify me for this:

1. I live on a gentleman’s farm and actually do use this vehicle for transporting construction materials and such. That bed is rarely empty.

2. I work from home and ride my motorcycle year round. My bike gets great mph compared to even electric hybrids. My truck is used for transporting stuff that needs a truck to transport or for short runs to get kids to/from school or camp on occasion.

With that, Ford walked away from making cars. They now make crossovers, SUVs, and trucks specifically because nobody was buying cars. I have read a bunch about why and mainly it comes down to the fact that cars are just not desirable anymore. The form factor isn’t fun or fashionable, you sit on a skateboard compared to everyone else on the road, and they feel cheap. They are absolutely the economical option the same way that 50cc scooters are, but they are not an option that people actually want. You can’t convince people to buy that little cab Subaru from TFA for the same reason: it just isn’t an aspirational vehicle. I think we will see most of that form factor die out in the next 30 years in favor of hatchback crossovers and small pickups like the Ford Maverick (which by all means looks like a car replacement).

As far as I am concerned cities of 1m or more people should not allow any cars to enter. Delivery trucks and public transit should do it. Yes it will make cities more expensive. It’ll also make them a whole lot more pleasant.

I think cities should just charge cars for entering.

I would agree, but my city is only 600k, and I want a car free centre here as well.

Getting things like a CAZ(Clean air zone), congestion charge, low speed zones, and pedestrianised areas should have full pedestrianisation as an end goal.

You're missing out on the minivan; for many purposes it's nearly the perfect vehicle (especially if you get one with a trailer hitch).

But, it looks like a minivan heh.

The article is exactly correct on why. You can non-ironically say Thanks Obama to this.

If you can remember the “All cars mandated to get XX MPG by YYYY year” headlines… that was this.

My minivan is the best road tripping vehicle I've ever owned hands down. Better visibility than an SUV thanks to the column design and a nice soft ride. Gas mileage could be better, but it's still better than the SUV. It's also been quite effective at hauling things around. The second and third row of seats get out of the way giving you a very large storage area and the ability to haul things like plywood sheets easily and out of the weather.

Not just charge but charge a lot. Take population of the city, divide by 1000, that’s the dollar amount you get to pay. I think smaller cities don’t need this but larger ones definitely do.

Yeah I know. I’ve rented them and they are pretty great. But I have no interest in owning one. A full size conversion van on the other hand very well may be my next vehicle. Something that will easily seat 8, have room in the back for a kick ass lounge/bedroom, shag carpeting throughout, a ladder to climb on the roof, and ideally all electric. Would be cool as heck.

Is this yearly or per visit? I think yearly this wouldn't be a terrible figure. One issue, especially in the US is what counts as a city. For example, the SF bay areas has about 100 cities/municipal areas.