The argument is not that some people need trucks.

It is that huge trucks and suvs shouldn’t be the way they are nowadays. They can tow just as much if the hood is redesigned so it has better visibility than an M1 tank, because it’s currently worse. They’re stupid and oversized in the wrong ways.

If you need a real truck, you probably should get a flat front Isuzu FTR or something more functional than a sidewalk princess designed to kill pedestrians.

Honestly I don't mind trucks or SUVs specifically but vehicles are getting way too big on average, I mean the F150 is North America's best selling vehicle (*edit: I have since learned as of 2024 that spot actually belongs to the RAV4) since forever. It's a problem of misaligned incentives.

There's an exception carved out for large vehicles in the EPA guidelines that hold them to less stringent emissions standards which incentivizes building larger vehicles 1

Large cars are also incentivized by our crash safety rating system which only takes into account the mortality rate of those inside the car as apposed to average related fatalities. This means it will prioritize safety of those in the vehicle, which has led to our average fatalities increasing. 2

As an unintended side effect this also damages roads much faster because vehicle weight per axle determines the magnitude of the damage a vehicle does to the road. 3 anecdotally this makes me concerned for the additional weight that electric cars add.

Also as vehicles increase in weight the amount of microplastics put into the air as a by product of tire wear increase. 4

As cars increase in size (and therefore weight) the downsides are exponential.

I would love to buy a kei car but the USA won't import them. I want a Nissan Sakura - an EV that costs $15,000 new. Nope. The USA has all these rules in place to prevent competition. They say it's about fuel efficiency or safety, but many foreign cars are more fuel efficient than USA cars, and this is an EV - so it's vastly more fuel efficient! As for safety, we allow motorcycles, golf carts, and farm tractors on our roads but not kei cars?

It's not about fuel efficiency or safety. It's about protectionism. USA auto manufacturers have rigged our market to ensure we have to pay $30,000 or more to buy a new car. They don't want $10,000 kei cars being sold here because they know they can't compete.

Vans and minivans do everything trucks and SUVs do,

And move big things. I have a minivan. But I destroyed my suspension using it to rent yard equipment. I couldn't rent many because they wouldn't fit. There's also the whole moving a muddy bush hog into my carpeted minivan that is a huge hassle.

Vans and minivans do everything trucks and SUVs do, and they do it better.

Except tow things.

I just got back from Europe and I'm so fucking sick of how stupid North America is when it comes to transports. I just want to break all those stupidly big trucks and cars that all over my city. Seriously fuck you, driving a fucking tank in the middle of 1.5 millions city shouldn't be a right, just because some idiots want to do it.

The distances are a problem in the US for good public transport.

So are: Lawyers, NIMBYs, classism, racism, anti-tax, automotive lobbyists, peer pressure, and even environmentalists.