If you’ve shopped for a pickup truck at any point in the last ten years, you’ve probably noticed that trucks just keep getting bigger. Why are automakers making trucks much bigger than they used to? It’s an interesting combination of consumer demand, government regulations, and the simple evolution of what pickup trucks are used for.
The Evolution of Pickup Trucks
These days, if you want a huge truck, you don’t need to get something like the Ram 3500. Even the Ram 1500 or midsize trucks like the Ford Ranger are much bigger than they used to be. Why have trucks gotten so huge? Various factors have somewhat incentivized automakers to produce larger vehicles.
Let’s start with trucks turning into lifestyle vehicles. Once upon a time, pickup trucks were work vehicles. That was their primary purpose. However, now, many owners rarely use their trucks for towing or hauling. Instead, they’re used as family vehicles and daily drivers. This has led to the vast majority of modern trucks having four-door cab layouts.
In order to have a four-door layout and a standard bed length of between five and six feet, trucks had to be built bigger. The bigger the truck, the more space it has for passengers. Mostly gone are the cramped back seats of pickups; now they’re more like SUV rear rows.
How Government Regulations Have Played a Big Part
Another factor in the growing size of pickup trucks is government regulations.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are a big reason for larger pickups. These standards typically apply to smaller vehicles, so automakers are motivated to make trucks larger to avoid stringent fuel economy requirements.
Furthermore, the definition of a light truck has expanded to include larger vehicles, which also motivates automakers to produce bigger trucks with lower fuel economy requirements. In other words, government regulations have inadvertently created a loophole where smaller trucks are less economically viable for automakers.
Another way that the government has incentivized large pickups is through tariffs. These undercut the competition from foreign automakers who are more likely to make smaller trucks. Small to midsize trucks tend to be the norm in the rest of the world. The lack of competitors for domestic automakers means they can make trucks as large as they want to appeal to public preference.
Large Trucks as Status Symbols
In the US market, large vehicles have been status symbols for a long time. That’s why trucks and large SUVs continue to be popular even when gas prices go up. Buyers look to purchase large vehicles as a sign of wealth and status, even if they have no practical use for the vehicle’s large size.
In the past, small and midsize trucks were far more common than large trucks, but now that trucks are more lifestyle vehicles than work vehicles, buyers want trucks that can do everything. Automakers are now producing trucks with four-door cabs to carry five passengers, plus a full-size bed, and powerful towing ability.
To sum up, the reason modern trucks are so huge is largely because of counterintuitive government regulations and the fact that trucks have evolved into lifestyle vehicles.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.
