this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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Everyone blames EPA while forgetting two things.
The manufacturers chose to do this; no regulations prevent them from making a vehicle like the one on the left that meets the new standards. They're just evading the standards.
Politicians of all walks allow regulatory capture, so almost all regulations are influenced by the people that should be regulated, making them useless or easy to evade.
It was a misguided reaction to the last round of CAFE fuckery.
The manufacturers started putting hatchback options as the standard kit on a bunch of models so they could classify them as lite trucks. So instead of basing standards on vehicle classification, the EPA changed it to vehicle footprint.
What that resulted was the subcompact trucks and cargo vans being held to the same efficiency standards as small cars, which really isn't fair.
Yeah, Ford now sells a small truck with a hybrid engine and a 4-ft bed, but it has a towing capacity of 2,000 pounds as opposed to the old Ranger's 6,000.
Yeah, it does 40 instead of 27 mpg, but the smallest truck that can actually haul plywood or tow a trailer big enough to be useful now has 23mpg. It's a net loss in fuel economy because small vehicles are required to be designed around hauling passengers, not cargo.