What marks progress?
With respect to technology, packaging size has drastically decreased while computing power has increased exponentially. Additionally, costs have diminished as 60 inch flat screen televisions are in reach of the middle class after previously being reserved for the wealthy. In manufacturing, utmost efficiency is the goal is it streamlines manufacturing, therefore being continuously innovative and eliminating waste.
Therefore, the auto industry is stagnant because vehicles are getting bigger, heavier more complex and more expensive.
So, why should you care?
According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, the U.S. operates on 4.2 million miles of American roadway, which, according to National Academics, by and large, are over 30 years old. To cope with larger vehicles, 80% of roadway network expansion is due to lane widening, as per National Academics.
To make matters worse, cars have not gotten any lighter. The Honda Accord has gained 300 lbs over the past 20 years, reflecting the trend of rising vehicle weight. Additional weight causes accelerated road wear–potholes, spider cracks, and asphalt washout, further stressing the aging American infrastructure.
Vehicle size and weight also contribute to the stagnation of fuel economy due to the increased frontal area of the vehicle and additional car mass to accelerate.
Ironically, the development of vehicle stagnation could be boiled down to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
CAFE standards were enacted in 1978 as a response to the oil embargo of the 1970s. According to Christopher Douglas, the regulations initially targeted the entire fleet’s fuel economy before targeting passenger vehicles and relaxing regulation for light-duty trucks, defined as minivans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), crossovers and pickup trucks, leading auto manufacturers to incentivize the sale of these vehicles.
A mere nine years after the legislation was instituted, the fuel economy standard for passenger cars doubled to 27 mpg while the light duty truck’s standard was raised a mere 3.3 mpg to 20.5 mpg. Government fuel economy regulation did not change from 1990 to 2011 for passenger vehicles but raised light-duty trucks to 22.5 mpg by 2007.
Similarly to how the government controls regulation, fuel prices dictate the vehicle market. According to CreditDonkey, the early 1980s saw fuel prices triple that of the ‘70s, solidifying market domination for passenger cars as Mathilde Carlier notes, “Light trucks would often be considered less fuel-efficient.”
But times have changed since the ‘70s to ’80s transition. The relative price of fuel has lowered and car manufacturers have vigorously campaigned their “light trucks,” inverting the market with 79% of new vehicle sales being “light trucks in 2022” Because of the cultural shift in vehicles, cars had to be redesigned in case of collisions with these bigger vehicles, and pedestrian risk is at an all-time high.
The main issue between a car and light truck collision is the size difference. Light trucks have much more mass than cars, so the car is going to be punted in the case of a collision because of the greater energy of the bigger vehicle. Additionally, light trucks have a higher ride and nose height than cars, so the car is going to tend to want to go under the light truck during a front-end collision, posing a higher risk to the car driver.
Furthermore, driving past trucks in a smaller, lighter car can be dangerous.
“SUVs and trucks have their high beams on every time they pass me, but it is just because their vehicles are so tall,” said senior Sean Powell.
To compensate, nose heights of sedans have increased for driver safety, but designers sacrifice aerodynamic efficiency by increasing frontal area. Additionally, manufacturers are competing for the tallest nose for the “safest” vehicle in auto vehicle accidents, making companies heedless of pedestrian safety.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found SUVs and pickup trucks are 51% and 25% more likely to kill a pedestrian walking along the road than a car partly due to the increased mass of the car, as well as the shape of the nose. Because noses are taller on light trucks, the torso is subjected to more shock during a collision, leading to more life-threatening injuries than in a car-pedestrian collision. To make matters worse, the front-end blind spots are also significant, like how NBC4 Washington found that a Chevrolet Tahoe has a 16 ft in front of it which the driver cannot see, so SUVs have a higher probability of a front-end collision.
People are attracted to SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks because the bigger vehicle makes them feel safer; however, their vehicles endanger other road users and have nullified improvement in the automotive industry by pinning lighter cars against these tanks. Cars could be more fuel efficient, lighter and smaller if it was not for safety regulations pinning them against SUVs. While the government is now more harshly regulating the “light duty truck” class, they should also incentivize people to start buying cars again because they are safer for other motorists and pedestrians.
Like how there is a gas guzzler tax to dissuade people from buying inefficient vehicles, the government should introduce an SUV/truck tax for the same purpose. SUVs and trucks are inefficient and pose a hazard to other road users, so new vehicle sales should be penalized to deter further sales. While it is impossible to completely eliminate the sale of these practical vehicles, we should minimize the use of these vehicles and transition back to the more efficient station wagon.
