The Germans argued that Europe shouldn’t be fat shaming chunky cars. So Germany was dead set against one-size-fits-all CO₂ standards. If Europe were to hold all car manufacturers to the same CO₂ standards, countries that predominantly made heavy cars (Germany) would run into difficulties, while those that made lighter cars (Italy and France) would have it easy. At the time, they reached a deadlock because of conflicting interests between member states. Why?ĭuring the 90s, the European commission made frantic attempts to set emission standards for cars. That’s why light trucks weren’t required to save anywhere near as much on fuel consumption.īut still, the sale of SUVs is increasing, even in Europe. These were utilitarian, work-related vehicles for plumbers and farmers, and it was argued it wouldn’t be fair to treat them like normal passenger cars. Or “automobiles which are not passenger automobiles’, as they were called by lawmakers. The law contained an exception for light trucks, And US cars shed about 400kg (882lb) of weight in fewer than five years.
The fuel consumption of US cars fell at a breakneck pace. In 1973, US Congress passed a law that required all car manufacturers to cut back on fuel consumption: the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. Suddenly, politicians and consumers alike were worried about the fuel consumption of US cars. The Middle East was embroiled in conflict, and the US was slapped with an oil embargoīy a cartel of big oil-producing countriesīecause of its military support of Israel. In the 70s, there was mass panic when the price of oil suddenly shot up by 400%. The SUV would never have become so popular without the countless exceptions that have snuck into US law throughout the years. The market was theirs, which made it very much worth their while to make heavier automobiles. While US manufacturers had to compete with foreign carmakers in the market for smaller vehicles, they had less competition when it came to manufacturing pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans. The chicken tax, although weakened, has lasted until today. There weren’t many foreign car manufacturers who made these light trucks, which is why they ended up on the same list as potato starch and brandy.Īn import tariff on light trucks was little more than a light slap on the wrist.Įven so, the tariff had big consequences. In the 60s, France and West Germany limited the import of US frozen chicken, which prompted Lyndon B Johnson, the former US president, to hit back with the so-called “chicken tax” on the import of potato starch, brandy, and “light trucks”.Īt the time, light trucks – SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans – only accounted for a small portion of the US car market. It all started with a petty battle in an even pettier trade war.
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Still, it wasn’t until sometime in the 1980s that pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans became all the rage, thanks to a series of unfortunate decisions by US policymakers. Low fuel excise taxes compared to the rest of the world mean that fuel economy is not a big concern of US car buyers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the SUV is a US invention, where bigger has always meant better. So why did car makers start manufacturing SUVs in the first place? And what does that cost? If you want to slap a price tag on a human life, US economists estimate that the increased number of traffic fatalities due to vehicle weight gain in the United States In this case, it’s a decrease in traffic safety thanks to more and more heavy cars. (like a Toyota Corolla being hit by a Jeep Wrangler).Įconomists call this an “externality”, a cost that ends up on someone else’s plate. You are about 47% more likely to be killed in a car crash if you’re hit by a vehicle that’s 450kg (992lb) heavier than yours
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Other drivers are up higher, so you have to go higher, which means they go even higher, and so on and so forth. With every SUV purchase, someone is dumping a feeling of insecurity into someone else’s lap. It’s a question of size: who’s got the biggest? Every year, the driver’s seat creeps up. In the US, they’re even a weight class higher: 1,850kg (4,079lb). By now, the average European car weighs about 1,400kg (3,086lb). In the last decades, cars have put on an enormous amount of weight. The ratio of a bike is 0.2kg (0.44lb) of vehicle for every kilo of person. Such proportions haven’t been seen since Hannibal led the armies of Carthage across the Alps on That’s 3,200kg used to transport a 70kg (154lb) person to the supermarket – or 45kg (99lb) of car for every kilo of passenger. The rectangular, mega-monstrosity SUV is so heavy it was actuallyĮxempted from US fuel economy rules for passenger cars. The Ford Excursion is an environmental offence on wheels.
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