From what I understand, part of the problem is the chicken tax[1] that's made light trucks more expensive than they should be. And part of the problem is CAFE

From what I understand, part of the problem is the chicken tax[1] that's made light trucks more expensive than they should be. And part of the problem is CAFE standards. It sounds like emissions requirements are set so tight for small trucks that manufacturers have given up on trying to make it work for small trucks. And as you point out, US consumers seem to love large vehicles. For a variety of reasons. For some the need is legitimate (they need to haul or tow big/heavy things). For some, they want to copy the first group. And for some, they want to feel safe, sharing the road with the other big vehicles. --- 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax