adjl posted...
Because the light truck exemption from CAFE regulations makes it easier and more profitable to develop SUVs and pickups than sedans and other cars that are more suitable formats for most people's needs. Throw in a few ad campaigns about "feeling empowered on the road" and "military-grade aluminum" to convince insecure people to buy oversized vehicles and the knock-on effect of other people buying them because they're (rightfully) concerned about the safety implications of being in the smallest car on the road, and Ford has a convenient excuse to phase out vehicles that don't meet the light truck exemption due to a lack of demand that they totally didn't engineer.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/199983/us-vehicle-sales-since-1951/
I call bullshit, CAFE was active from 1975, and light vehicle sales only took a dip 79-82, 89-91, 08, and the past few years.
The percentage is down, yes, but it's unrelated to a law over 50 years ago. People buy trucks because they're economically comfortable, companies push for trucks because they have the highest high end.
Ads move products from one brand to another, they don't create a niche to be filled.
adjl posted...
I just love regenerative braking as a concept. It's such an elegant solution to a problem ICEs will never be able to get around (that most of a vehicle's energy expenditure goes toward acceleration and cannot be recovered).
Most of the energy created is waste heat, it's why heating a car is a non-issue for an ICE. Because it's so inefficient of capturing energy.