[HillaryBriss]

wasn't a big part of the pickup truck success story that the government required lower safety standards on them compared to passenger vehicles? like, it worked out that trucks were more profitable and less costly to the end consumer or something. so that's what car companies made.

[Theodores]

Chicken Tax. The danger was the VW Transporter, they didn't want a rerun of The Beetle. So they taxed the vans/trucks VW were making with a tariff and added it to The Chicken Tax.

Emissions are also different for trucks, they would not make it as a viable product outside the U.S. due to the purchase and gas price incentives.

The VW Camper Van became a thing as adding seats to the van was a way of evading The Chicken Tax. That bit was a happy accident. You could blame the Germans for America's planet sized carbon footprint, had there not been the Chicken Tax then Americans might be driving cars more aero and fuel saving than these tank sized things. Incidentally some US pickup trucks are Sherman tank sized, albeit not as tall and not as well armed.