Massive Trucks

Why have trucks gotten bigger and bigger?

Hey folks: I read stuff every day and thought I’d share some interesting stuff + give my thoughts. Might make it a regular thing but no promises. Feel free to unsubscribe if not your jam.

Why are trucks getting bigger and bigger?

(original post, Reddit discussion)

Trucks have been getting larger over time: see above diagram, where the Ford F-150 is literally twice the size of the 1973 Subaru Sambar. I’ve actually noticed this myself in Europe where I saw a an old Mini Cooper parked right beside to a new one. I can’t find the photo anymore but here are some from online:

The author claims that the DOT and the EPA handed down a series of standards that nearly doubled the miles-per-gallon requirements for cars and light trucks. But the standards were set based on wheelbase and tread width: the larger the vehicle, the laxer the requirements. As such, automakers simply built bigger.

This is a neat “regulation has unintended consequences” story. We also know that safety standards have gotten more and more rigorous, and ceteris paribus, larger cars are safer (if nothing else because there’s more material to absorb the impact).

But there are other factors at play. Commenter plowfaster thinks (and I concur) that it’s more of a Red Queen-esque arms race, where the only way to be safe on a road with big cars is to get a bigger car yourself:

Driving has gotten much more dangerous so I need a bigger vehicle which makes driving more dangerous so I need a bigger vehicle etc and the spiral spirals onwards.

If you ever have the occasion to ride in a 1990s Mazda Miata on a major public road, I highly encourage you to go for it for research purposes. It’s terrifying. Already, in 20 years, a Miata went from “small but reasonable car” to “questionable if it can even coexist on the modern American thoroughfare”

This gets worse still with the new electric hummer, which earnestly ought to be illegal or at least heavily regulated due to its monstrous, obvious danger

And Q-Ball 7 thinks it’s people becoming older and fatter:

I think it's more related to age. The average car buyer's age has been creeping up, as has the obesity rate, and the jacked-up station wagon (we call those "crossovers and SUVs" now) is the ideal vehicle for the old and fat to get in and out of (it's easier to fight gravity when getting into something rather than out of it- contrast a bar stool with a low chair), and doesn't require you bend down to use the cargo area.

Secondary to age, you need to be high up in order to not get blinded by modern high-color-temperature high beams (another "should have been illegal" thing, but even if it was it's 100% unenforced). Age related degeneration of eyes begins around 20, and this includes their ability to adjust from dark to light and back again; older drivers in cars will be blinded (an obvious safety problem) and the only defense is to be higher than those lights. Cockpits are also a lot brighter at night than they used to be because of all the screens (that can't be turned off), increasing light pollution in the cabin and making it even more difficult to see.

Lots of interesting theories on the Reddit thread: I recommend checking it out.

That’s all for today: tomorrow (hopefully) a post on NFT financialisation and market microstructure. Cheers