Big Trucks Are Not the Problem. These Are All the Reasons Why

Trucks are clogging roads, causing deaths and messing up the climate … or are they?

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Published May 21, 2024

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Trucks are America’s best-selling vehicles. And every few months or so, a piece pops up — often from a non-car outlet — pointing out, if not lamenting, how enormous they are. Big trucks, per the narrative, are clogging roads, causing deaths and altering the climate while serving little purpose.

This sentiment isn’t incorrect per se. But the story often comes devoid of context. It makes trucks (and the people who own them) the scapegoats for broader, SUV-driven automotive trends.

Big trucks, per the narrative, are clogging roads, causing deaths and altering the climate while serving little purpose.

Trucks aren’t the only vehicles getting larger. And the reasons trucks are getting larger go well beyond hypothetical dudes liking big trucks.

All cars have gotten dramatically bigger

The growth of vehicles is not just a truck phenomenon. All cars have gotten substantially bigger, and trucks have merely grown proportionally.

Let’s look at the Honda Civic. Compared to its first-generation progenitor from the 1970s, the Civic is over 1,300 pounds heavier and has a 21.1-inch longer wheelbase. The current Civic is roughly the same size and weight as the seventh-generation midsize Honda Accord (2003-08).

Even lithe performance cars built for trackwork have become significantly beefier. The BMW M3 is about 25 percent heavier than the heaviest original E30 generation from the late 1980s. And the wheelbase is nearly a foot longer. The modern BMW M2 is about 1,500 pounds heavier than the 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo.

Much of that growth owes to safety considerations. Modern cars and trucks are festooned with airbags and feature crumple zones to meet more stringent crash standards. One of the most jarring things about driving an older, lighter car is realizing just how little structure there is between you and oncoming traffic.

Trucks are the new minivans

The primary driver behind trucks getting bigger is simple: trucks have become family cars. Single cabs have become double cabs. Those double cabs must now be large enough to accommodate full-size adults in comfort and rear-facing car seats. Keep the bed size, double the cabin size, and you get a substantially bigger vehicle.

gmc sierra denali ev edition 1 — Pickup trucks have pivoted to become family cars. And interiors have come a long way from a cloth three-person bench seat.

Family accommodation is far from a truck-specific phenomenon. Two-door coupes and convertibles are all but going extinct. The default family car has grown from a large sedan or wagon to a crossover. The default family crossover now has a third row of seating (useful or not). Trucks are hopping on that space-making bandwagon.

Trucks are actually getting smaller and more efficient compared to other segments

America’s favorite truck is the Ford F-150. Broadly, your standard F-150 has gotten lighter. The F-150 moved to a lighter-weight aluminum construction back in 2015 (a move ridiculed at first and later adopted by competitors to varying degrees). The F-150 also moved from larger V8s to a predominantly V6 lineup. The Toyota Tundra did the same.

toyota tundra hybrid off roading — The Toyota Tundra TRD Pro looks formidable. But it actually packs an engine that’s about 2.3 liters smaller than the previous generation.

Getting smaller is yielding better (though not outstanding) efficiency. A 4WD V6-powered F-150 will earn about almost 20 mpg in city driving. That’s not Toyota Prius-like. But it’s about on par with gas-powered family crossovers like the Honda Pilot Trailsport and Mercedes GLS. It’s actually better than the gas-powered Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which earns 17 mpg carting kids around the neighborhood.

Ditching combustion will probably require even bigger trucks

America needs to move off internal combustion. A significant component of that goal — short of fantasies that require altering the lifestyles and consumption patterns of much of the country — will be building electric trucks. And until there’s a great leap forward in battery tech, those EV trucks will be incredibly heavy.

rivian r1t electric pickup truck 2022 — EV pickups are popular. But their massive battery packs make them much heavier than conventional pickups.

The Hummer EV SUT is an outlier with a gaudy 212 kWh battery pack and a 9,063-pound curb weight. But the Rivian R1T still checks in at more than 7,000 pounds.

Meanwhile, the Ford F-150 Lightning — even when it’s equipped with the lighter battery pack — is more than 6,000 pounds. And 100 percent conversion in private and commercial sectors will likely require Super Duty EV trucks, which will be even larger.

Bottom line: yes, trucks are big and getting bigger. But as with almost every trend, some good is coming from it, too.