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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: 0.205s | source
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paulgb ◴[11 Aug 22 13:54 UTC] No.32425596[source]▶
This is an interesting theory, but there's a way to test it: if it's true that trucks have gotten bigger to avoid the light truck definition, we should see a proliferation of light trucks just long enough to avoid the classification.

[Edit: I originally cited 280cm as the wheelbase cut-off from [1], but on a re-read, it's more complicated; see below.]

The best-selling vehicles:

F-series pickup[2]: 392cm

Dodge Ram[3]: 367cm

Chevy Silverado[4]: 373cm

Correction/Edit: The relevant definition for a light truck is based on a number of criteria which relate to the wheelbase but don't actually specify it. If someone wants a fun trig problem, you could determine whether these vehicles are designed to be just long enough to satisfy the requirements listed here [5].

[1] https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/p...

[2] https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/f-150

[3] https://carsauthority.com/2023-dodge-ram/#:~:text=2023%20Dod....

[4] https://www.caranddriver.com/chevrolet/silverado-1500/specs/...

[5] https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/p...

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jetrink ◴[11 Aug 22 14:16 UTC] No.32425956[source]▶
> we should see a proliferation of light trucks just long enough to avoid the classification

That's certainly possible, but is that necessarily the outcome? What if there are two maxima for optimum truck size and the line that this regulation establishes is on the up-slope towards the higher of the two? E.g. It used to make sense to build a small, two-door truck, but now that trucks need to be at least x size, it's better to make an (x + 50cm) four door vehicle rather than an oversized two-door.

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1. tpmoney ◴[14 Aug 22 14:38 UTC] No.32459609[source]▶
Anecdotally this would drive my purchasing if I bought a truck today. I started with an old 80s S10, and would love another “small truck” if someone made it. But I also need a vehicle that will transport more than 2 people. In the 80s, a third, small truck for the times you need a truck was a viable approach. Given the sizes it might be a tight fit to have 3 vehicles but it would be doable. Today, the size of trucks makes squeezing one as a 3rd vehicle in my parking areas would be impossible. So if it’s going to replace one of the people haulers, it has to haul people, which means it needs the extended cab space, and then needs to be longer still because buying a truck whose bed space is largely taken up by cab defeats the utility of the truck.