Why America Stopped Building Small Trucks

Why did America stop building small trucks? The answer starts with a fight over frozen chicken in 1964, and it gets weirder from there. Small pickups like the Ford Ranger, Chevy S-10 and Toyota pickup used to be everywhere. Cheap, tough, simple. Then they slowly disappeared, and the “small” trucks that are left got huge. Most people think Americans just wanted bigger trucks. That’s only part of the story. In this video we dig into the Chicken Tax, the sneaky tricks car companies used to get around it (yes, including trucks with seats bolted into the bed), the little-known gas mileage rule that made big trucks easier to sell, the money behind it all, and why the Ford Maverick proved people wanted small trucks the whole time. So who really killed the small truck? Watch to the end and tell me in the comments: if someone built a cheap, simple small truck today, would you buy it? 0:00 The chicken question 1:00 When small trucks ruled the road 2:00 The 1964 Chicken Tax 3:15 How car companies got around it 4:30 The math rule that changed everything 6:00 Follow the money 6:45 The awkward suspect 7:45 The Maverick comeback 9:00 Would you buy one? If you like stories about why things are the way they are, subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.