CAFE standards started it, but I'd have to disagree with your masculinity argument.

Consumers have been told again and again by manufacturers that you're not a manly man unless you have a SUV or truck capable of climbing (or hauling) Mt. Everest. (And about as large.)

Why? Because bigger vehicles are more expensive, and so automakers make more--A LOT MORE--per vehicle. The profit on a single monster truck or SUV is the equal of three or four hatchbacks or small sedans.

And yet the fools buy them... or used to. Dealer lots are now full of $70K-$100K trucks that no one can afford to buy. Loan periods are stretching out to 7-8 years, and they still often hit a $1,000/month.

There's been a rash of robberies recently where thieves are breaking into trucks sitting in driveways late at night and stealing whatever they can. They're sitting in driveways, of course, because the average truck is now too ****ing big to fit in the average garage.

Monster trucks are bad for the environment, bad for roads, bad for pedestrians and cyclists and people in small cars, and they're especially bad for your checking account and monthly cash flow.

Yet this is America, where "freedom" means the freedom to buy whatever it is that you think will make you happy...

Or, at least, what the automakers who're pocketing your monthly payment told you would make you happy.

And you bought into it, hook, line, and sinker.

You manly sucker you.