Why American cars are so big

AMERICANS LOVESUVJATOSUV to super-size—and not just their fast food. They favour huge sport-utility vehicles (s) and pickup trucks over small cars. Some 8.7m hit the road in 2023, accounting for more than half of all sales of new vehicles, according to Dynamics, a research firm. Although European cars are also , American ones still have a comfortable lead: in 2022 the average car sold in America weighed 1,857kg, almost 20% more than the average in Europe. Wide roads and big parking spaces accommodate this preference for hefty rides—and so does the law. But a loophole that for nearly 50 years has incentivised sales of big vehicles will soon be tightened. Will that lead Americans to buy smaller cars?In 1973 oil-producing Arab countries cut shipments to America to punish it for supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur war: sharp increases in fuel prices, long queues at petrol stations and a deep recession followed. In 1975, in response to the crisis, the federal government imposed fuel-economy standards on carmakers. By 1985 all new models would have to reach 27.5 miles per (American) gallon (11.7km/litre), up from an average of 13mpg. Today the law mandates 40mpg. To increase efficiency, manufacturers had to use more complex engines, which made their cars costlier. To ease the burden on small businesses that relied on big vehicles, the government exempted “light trucks”, any vehicle that could be used off road and weighed less than 8,500lb (3855kg). That meant s—typically among the biggest and least-efficient cars—were swept into the category and avoided the new fuel standards.