Loved our 1999 Grand Caravan, could hold 7 people or a full 4x8 sheet of plywood flat with the tailgate fully closed, heck I could get a lot of tires in it also… And then sold it to our son who wayyy over loaded it every night hauling new papers… Just needed a trans built when last drove at 196960 miles… lol
For the truck drivers who almost never put anything in the truck bed or tow anything, yes, it’s just a status thing. But for the SUV buyers, part of that is because the industry removed the traditional alternatives and the government taxed them.
A heavy car that tow like an SUV will be subjected to the gas guzzler tax and higher CAFE fines as well. SUVs are exempt from the gas guzzler tax and less affected by CAFE. The station wagon was a very popular vehicle before the truck and SUV craze took over. Now NOT A SINGLE US CAR MAKER MAKES A WAGON. Only a few expensive imports remain.
So yes you can make people buy SUVs the alternatives are taxed and discontinued.
Why could a car from the 80s tow 5000 pounds but a car from today is usually limited to 2000? Nothing to do with fuel economy taxes? It was the gas guzzler tax during the 80s that let SUVs be exempt that killed the traditional full size American car!
Front V8 engine, RWD solid axle with air bags, remove the air bags and that same nice riding car with 500# on the rear bumper is now either very low in the back and bulging out the rear tires, or it will no longer ride nice and smooth… Newer cars are all unibody and small V6 or 4 cylinders… I’ve driving many 68-70 BIG Mopar cars with 440ci engines that would fit 8 body’s in the trunk lol, and would never try to tow 5000# with them, a car is just not designed the same as a truck/SUV… And even at that, the older 1/2 truck would burn the axle bearing up and damage the axle shafts due to tongue weight, you had to move up to a 3/4 to haul a lot of weight over long periods of time…
Also trucks and SUV’s have stronger springs to support the weight, cars did not…
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5000 pound trailer is 750 pound tongue weight maximum.
I’m sorry, I know I am not as smart and educated like most of y’all on here, but I could have sworn that 500# is less than 750# tongue weight… My bad…
750# on the rear bumper would be dragging the exhaust off going over speed bumps…
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Why would the tires be bulging out? 750 pounds extra in the back might still be less than what is on the front wheels. Put more air in them.
Weight over the tires and weight over the rear bumper is 2 different things, that is why goose neck trailers tongue weight is over the rear axle NOT behind the rear axle at the rear bumper…
Plus the engine is set back and not centered over the front tires spreading part of the engine weight to the back tires, so that 500# 4.6L engine has part of it’s weight shared by the rear tires…