Automakers have also increased the size and weight of pickups in a load capacity war. Instead of just moving customers up to a higher weight class the standard 1/2 ton pickup just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
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I hear you ,, 300-370 hp in a half ton pickup is crazy ,, and a F150 now weighs more than a F-450 did a decade ago ,, it’s all part of Detroits game ,, to meet truck/SUV efficiency laws they are pushing their vehicles into the 8500# gross and higher category which isn’t counted in the CAFE mix.. My first truck was a ‘72 F-100 with a 360 cid FE series big block and a C-6 auto ,, probably weighed 60% or less of what a new truck does and it would haul/pull more than any sane person would want to with a non-commercial vehicle.
That’s half of it, the other half is the expectation that you’re going to eventually crash your vehicle head on into a brick wall at 40mph and accordingly every vehicle on the road needs to carry along a 500lb, $5000 crumple frame every mile of the way.