The Reason Why Are Trucks Getting Bigger

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...

How do you decide what looks “meaner?” This guy fixated on the Chevy Silverado design, but I don’t see what’s wrong with it. It looks more squared off and masculine, and less curvy and feminine, which is a design trend it shares with Apple’s latest MacBook pros. Is Google’s chrome book pixel mean? https://www.zdnet.com/product/google-chromebook-pixel/

I think what you’re actually observing is the counter-reaction to all cars looking like jelly beans due to aerodynamic styling driven by emissions regulations. A squared off looking car stands out in the crowd. I drive a Toyota 4Runner, which looks like an evil Japanese robot, partly for this reason (my wife hates the jellybean trend).

Where I live - which my wife still questions our decision - the giant mean trucks aren't just giant and mean, but they are outfitted with what sounds like a freight train horn, and many myriads of flood lights.

Nobody knows why this is, because most people live in subdivisions and not farms, where you might feasibly need giant mean trucks with flood lights. And yet the big mean, loud, bright trucks are quite popular.

Sometimes people are different than you and enjoy different things and it doesn’t inherently mean they’re bad.

Perhaps try adjusting to your new location instead of blaming the locals?

I didn't detect any blame in the GP's comment, nor the claim that "I dislike it and therefore it's inherently bad."

The more accurate reading would be that the GP thinks that it's bad, and that's why they don't like it. But even still, the comment doesn't appear to contain blame, only bewilderment.

Tricked out trucks aren't my thing. But I can see the appeal of buying a rugged vehicle and tricking it out.

To the extent that I have an axe to grind with the big truck owners, it's because some (not all, and not always) these big truck drivers:

- Drive aggressively in urban areas - Blast their excessive lights which is a hazard for cars in front of them - Are intentionally disruptive with their giant horns

Put more plainly - assholes seem to be drawn to such things. But I don't think they create assholes.

But for sure, where I live, there are a lot of disruptive assholes with big trucks.

There’s also lots of assholes in BMW M3s, tricked out Hondas and other Japanese cars, and motor cycles.