[twblalock]

> If we leveled the regulatory playing field trucks wouldn't be nearly as popular.

Yes they would. People aren't buying big trucks because they have no choice. Very few people would cross-shop trucks and small import vans. They want the big trucks.

Look at the F150 or the Silverado. They are bigger than they used to be. Import restrictions cannot explain that. They are bigger because every time they grow, customers like it.

[acjacobson]

He addresses this point when he talks about how the most popular car 40 years ago was the Ford Escort.

[twblalock]

Saying things doesn't make them true. He does not make a convincing argument.

Trucks are much nicer than they were 40 years ago and our culture has changed as a result. 40 years ago few people would have considered driving a truck, they were all basically farm trucks with limited creature comforts. Now they are luxury vehicles.

[acjacobson]

In the US there are strong incentives for light trucks / SUVs and that's the result we see - they're the most popular vehicles. In Europe / Japan the incentives are different and we see an entirely different class of vehicles on the road.

The point is that marketing and incentives matter. Trucks are not objectively better, they are subjectively preferred among certain demographics in the US because of marketing. He addresses very clearly that manufacturers make more money selling SUVs due to regulation - so it tracks that those are the vehicles pushed by manufacturers

[twblalock]

Culture matters too. Americans want different things than Europeans and Japanese people. We see this in most areas of life and it's not always because of marketing.

There are also an increasing number of SUVs and automatic transmission vehicles on European roads compared to a decade or two ago...