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The Reason Why Are Trucks Getting Bigger

(toddofmischief.blogspot.com)
173 points yasp | 1 comments | 11 Aug 22 13:06 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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woodruffw ◴[11 Aug 22 13:50 UTC] No.32425520[source]▶
The author makes a correct observation (trucks are getting bigger to circumvent emissions guidelines, not solely out of ego), but fails to address the underlying market demand: as trucks have gotten bigger, they've also gotten "meaner"[1]. Emissions requirements don't require a truck to look like it's going to beat you up.

In other words: consumer ego (wanting to drive a big, mean looking truck) is an underlying pressure in the market, even if the sufficient mover for the current size explosion is emissions dodging.

[1]: https://jalopnik.com/we-need-to-talk-about-truck-design-righ...

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tablespoon ◴[11 Aug 22 14:22 UTC] No.32426067[source]▶
> as trucks have gotten bigger, they've also gotten "meaner"[1].

Or to be more precise: a current trend in automotive fashion is a larger grille, and some blogger framed that tendentiously for clicks.

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1. Pxtl ◴[11 Aug 22 15:56 UTC] No.32427658[source]▶
Yes, they are designed to look mean. That's what the fashion of the larger grill is for.

https://www.musclecarsandtrucks.com/2020-gmc-sierra-hd-desig...

> ‘Powerful’ and references to powerful things was a theme that the GMC exterior designer referenced multiple times to describe the exterior direction for the 2020 GMC Sierra HD.

> “I remember wanting it to make it feel very locomotive… my first week in Detroit I was driving through downtown and seeing the fist of Joe Louis, and remember thinking that’s what this truck should look like – a massive fist moving through the air.”

or this bit:

> “The front end was always the focal point. The rest of the truck is supporting what the rest of the truck is communicating… we spent a lot of time making sure that when you stand in front of this thing it looks like it’s going to come get you. It’s got that pissed-off feel, but not in a boyish way, still looking mature. It just had to have that imposing look,” explained the GM designer.