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[quote=Anonymous]Why do we have such ridiculous policies that harm the middle and lower class? Democrats ir a new party need to focus on changing stupid policies. 
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The Chicken Tax is a 25% tariff on imported light trucks, imposed by the U.S. in 1964 as a response to European tariffs on American chicken. This tax has significantly influenced the automotive market by protecting U.S. manufacturers from foreign competition.

So foreign car manufactures started assembling the final product in the US to get around the tariff.  In the 1980s into the 1990s, there were numerous small pickup options. Today, there are none. Even the “small” pickups today are at least mid-size and based on things like the Ford Explorer platform. There used to be small pickups from Toyota, Nissan and even the Ford Ranger.

So what happened?

The EPA regulations on mileage are based on the physical dimensions of the truck – basically length x width.

A small truck of the 1980s, like the Toyota pickup, would need to get 45-50 mpg today – a requirement that cannot be met or at least not met at a profitable price point.

But full-size pickups need only achieve upper 20s mpg. Consequently, auto makers have chosen to build not just large pickups but often to make them even larger than they were before so of course they are more expensive. [/quote]

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