‘Seismic shift’: driving unaffordable for many in US amid push toward SUVs

dantheclamman@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 397 points –
‘Seismic shift’: driving unaffordable for many in US amid push toward SUVs
theguardian.com
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tax light trucks heavily unless the owner can prove they use it for business purposes, like construction or farming

Light trucks is kinda a crazy category. It's lighter vehicles that

(1) Designed primarily for purposes of transportation of property or is a derivation of such a vehicle, or (2) Designed primarily for transportation of persons and has a capacity of more than 12 persons, or (3) Available with special features enabling off-street or off-highway operation and use

Vans, minivans, SUVs, and crossovers are mostly categorized as light trucks. Most vehicles on the road are light trucks; they outsell cars right now 3 to 1

And pedestrian fatalities are are on the rise for some reason. Can't imagine why

Not to "make rules for me" but I do think minivans should get a category of some kind - it puts all it's points in function, and none in sport/SUV, is the most efficient user of space, and generally reasonable hood height. Plus I'm not buying one to brag or strut my stuff.

I used to haul my four wheeler around in the back of my mom's town and country in high school. It was crazy easy to load and unload since the rear deck was so low. Just pulled the seats out, put a tarp down, setup the ramps and pushed it in since it was such a shallow angle. Worked great, did it a couple dozen times.

Minivans are more useful utility vehicles than most modern trucks and I'll die on this hill. The bed height on modern trucks alone is kind bogglingly idiotic.

I'd love something between an Astrovan and a traditional minivan.

There's one flaw in the design: frontal cross section. They sit as low to the ground as a sedan, but are as tall as a crossover. This makes their aerodynamics terrible.

I'd still prefer one over a crossover, because we haul things on a regular basis and a minivan with the rear-most seats out would be more practical for us. Nobody makes an EV minivan yet, though. Closest thing is the Ford Transit EV, but it's only sold to commercial customers, and its range is limited.

What? Volvo's 100k electric minivan that isn't sold in the US isn't enough for you? Gosh...

My grandma had to get a rental vehicle temporarily while her minivan was getting repaired. She asked the rental place for a minivan and they gave her a giant SUV. That thing was terrifying and barely fit in the garage