The best-selling vehicles for the last 18 years have been pickup trucks, with SUVs not far behind. In fact, in 2000, more SUVs were sold in the United States than any other type of vehicle. There's no way around it: Trucks and SUVs are hot.
Safety technology can start from the very beginning as engineers design bumper heights for large SUVs to match those of passenger cars. Likewise, other safety features can be added to the overall design, like this lightning fast-reacting head-curtain rollover-cocooning system from Ford.
At the same time, they've gotten quite a bit of bad publicity--the Firestone tire recall and associated Explorer questions, the environmentalists and regulatory groups who came down on vehicle-emissions levels, and the safety folks who called them "death mobiles" due to the damage they've caused in collisions with passenger cars.
Some might expect the negative publicity to have cooled the fire, but it's not so. The passion for trucks and SUVs is burning brighter than ever--and so is the desire to perfect them. Here, Truck Trend looks at the craze, concerns, and stereotypes surrounding these best selling vehicles.
Safety First
There's been a lot of discussion regarding the safety of pickups and SUVs versus cars. Are they more prone to rollovers? Do they provide more protection in a collision? Federal studies show that in crashes between cars and trucks or SUVs, car occupants account for 80 percent of deaths. Weight, height, and stiffness of the chassis are factored into this statistic. In a side crash, for example, a taller vehicle will hit a passenger car 6-8 in. above the frame, impacting instead the relatively soft car door. The stiff frame of a pickup or SUV transfers energy to the object it hits instead of absorbing impact force.
Yet because of the higher ride height, trucks and SUVs are three times as likely to rollover as passenger cars. As a result, 36 percent of SUV rollovers result in fatalities--the highest rate of all vehicle categories. While automakers (as well as independent driving experts) point out that driver behavior is a major factor in a rollover, manufacturers are nonetheless focusing on making improvements to increase safety for all vehicle occupants.
In the last few years, many automakers have reduced overall weight and lowered the height of bumpers and frame rails on trucks and SUVs to make them less prone to riding over hoods and trunks of cars during a crash. The Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV absorbs more energy during a collision because its frame and front-end crumple zone are just 19 in. off the ground. Car bumpers are typically 16-20 in.
While many automakers have developed side-curtain airbags to help protect occupants, Ford has introduced the first rollover-detection system on its '02 Explorer. Through sensors measuring if the vehicle is tilting and how fast the lean angle is changing, the system determines if the vehicle is likely to rollover and deploys the side-curtain airbags to keep occupants inside the vehicle until it comes to a complete stop. The airbags remain inflated for up to six seconds.
You Dirty Rat
As the owner of a truck or SUV, you've probably seen the dent in your wallet get bigger with each visit to the gas pump. There's no arguing that the people-moving cargo-hauling boat-towing vehicles we love require a significant fuel investment. But something else comes along with driving a sport/ute or pickup--increased emissions. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency's light-truck class (most pickups, minivans, and SUVs) is required to meet emissions standards that are less strict than those of cars. Since about half the vehicles now sold fall into this category, and we are driving more miles than ever, it's created a great concern about pollution. Some have said that, on average, vehicles in the light-truck category produce three times as much pollution as a typical passenger car. This will all change beginning in 2004, when EPA regulations requiring light trucks to meet the same standards as passenger cars go into effect. It's expected that '04 light trucks (pickups, SUVs, and minivans) will be up to 95 percent cleaner than the ones sold new just five years ago. We should note that many SUVs and pickups sold today already meet and surpass those upcoming standards.
Big Bully
One reason so many people like driving SUVs and trucks is that the high ride height offers improved visibility. Just go from any SUV to a passenger car, and you'll find it's impossible not to notice the difference. But the next time you're on the road with a pickup or SUV behind you, note what's in your rearview mirror. That same visibility, combined with the added weight, means a lot more damage can be done in a collision. Several insurance companies have raised liability premiums on sport/utilities, pickups, and large vans. Some, such as Allstate, Progressive, and Farmers, use accident data to determine the increased liability costs when these larger vehicles collides with a passenger car and price premiums accordingly. While the liability portion is likely to be higher for owners of pickups, SUVs, and large vans, the medical portion may actually be lower, because these vehicles also tend to offer more crash protection. The financial result isn't quite a tradeoff, as owners are likely to pay $100-$150 more annually than drivers of passenger cars with similar records.
Good Choices
Certainly, there are pros and cons to driving a truck or SUV as with any vehicle, but the negatives critics are anxious to point out aren't necessarily a disadvantage. A study by two economics professors at Rutgers University for the Cato Institute, an anti-regulatory think tank, indicates that pickups and SUVs may actually be decreasing fatalities on our nation's roads. The study notes that, despite the doubling of light trucks over the last 20 years, there's been a 33-percent drop in traffic-accident fatalities per capita, per licensed driver, and per registered vehicle. In addition, fatalities per vehicle mile traveled have decreased by 50 percent. The professors say safety advantages, including stiffer chassis and added weight, override the hazards. The pair concludes that a 10-percent increase in light-truck registration would reduce deaths from multiple-vehicle crashes by 4 percent and single-crash fatalities by 15.