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That's because US trucks (the goods carrying type, not the status symbol) still look they time-traveled from circa 1950, just even bigger now. Here is a random

That's because US trucks (the goods carrying type, not the status symbol) still look they time-traveled from circa 1950, just even bigger now. Here is a random one from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trucking_industry_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Kenworth_truck.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trucking_industry_in_the_Unite... It must be some kind of anti-competitive tariff situation for this to still be the prevailing design.

pja 5y ago
IIRC part of the explanation is length limits put on European trucks (so that they will be able to navigate the tighter design standards of the EU road network I believe) which make the cab-over design (where the driver sits above the engine) pretty much compulsory. In the US, the cab-behind design (as seen in the image linked) remains the dominant one, both for practical (slightly easier access for maintenance IIRC) and probably cultural (no change here please!) reasons.
- warmwaffles 5y ago
  > for practical (slightly easier access for maintenance IIRC) It's mainly this. A ton of truck drivers love the looks of the old Kenworth cab overs, but the issue is definitely maintenance becomes a nightmare. When the cab tilts forward, it makes access to the radiator more difficult. There is also the inconvenience that the entire cab has to be tilted forward in order to access it. Which sends anything not secured rolling forward and out of place. Minor, but annoying. However, the cab overs that dominated the 70s and 80s here in the US still don't have the same sight lines that the euro trucks do now.