Why Are So Many Vehicles So Big and Heavy?
You could argue that consumers are choosing bigger vehicles because that’s what they want. But you can only choose from what’s available and what makes you feel safe driving on roads with other vehicles. As more and more consumers choose light trucks, other drivers in smaller cars feel vulnerable so they upsize as well, leading to an “arms race” of more and more bigger vehicles.
A close look at history shows SUVs, vans and pickup trucks didn’t just appear. There were policies that led vehicle manufacturers to build light trucks because it was better for the bottom line than making smaller sedans. Simply put, many of the policy decisions that incentivized manufacturing SUVs, vans and pickup trucks instead of sedans are outdated and no longer relevant to a landscape where roughly three-quarters of passenger vehicles are light trucks:
● You’ve heard about the chicken crossing the road, but you probably never thought he had anything to do with the number of light trucks in America. The Chicken Tax – a relic from 1964 – added a 25% tariff on all imported light trucks, which tend to be smaller and lighter than their American counterparts.
● Likewise, you probably heard of some larger vehicles being gas guzzlers with poor mileage per gallon, but the Gas Guzzler Tax, dating back to 1978, has never applied to vehicles classified as light trucks – only to smaller cars.
● Speaking of gas guzzling, emission standards are in fact a double standard. Since 1978, there has been one rule for cars, another for light trucks. By 1990, cars had to achieve 27.5 miles per gallon, while light trucks needed only to achieve 20 miles per gallon. Automakers could avoid the stricter standards, and expensive research and development, by switching their car models to a light truck chassis.
● Death and taxes: Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code allows business owners to write off the cost of vehicles weighing over 6,000 pounds that are used for business purposes. That incentivizes buying a light truck even if a sedan could do the job. In tax year 2024, businesses will be able to deduct a maximum of $30,500 for an SUV, while a smaller car will be limited to $12,200.
What Can State and Local Governments Do?
State motor vehicle registration agencies can choose to charge significantly higher registration fees to light truck owners. Since October 2023, Washington, D.C. has experimented with the most wide-ranging weight-based fee scale to date: Vehicles weighing less than 3,500 pounds are charged a $72 fee, while those 6,000 pounds or above are charged $500 – more than triple the previous rate.
Local governments can control parking rates and set them to scale with a vehicle’s size. In Montreal’s Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie district, a residential parking permit for a vehicle weighing more than 1,850 kilograms, or 4,079 pounds, costs $205 CAD (about $150 USD), while owners of lighter cars pay $115 CAD (about $85 USD). In the Plateau Mont-Royal district, owners of the heaviest vehicles pay even more: $482.90 CAD (about $360 USD), or twice the rate for smaller vehicles.
For more recommendations, read the full Massive Hazards report.