Why Americans love big cars

It’s no secret that big cars dominate American roads. But even so, some of the stats are staggering: Last year, 80 percent of all new cars sold in the US were SUVs and trucks. That’s compared to just 52 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, many automakers are phasing out passenger cars as consumer demand for them has disappeared.

Not all of this is a result of consumer choice, though. A huge factor in why SUVs and trucks are so popular in the US is hidden in a 50-year-old policy decision. In this video we cover the history of the SUV, and how its origin story and popularity is rooted in US fuel economy standards.

This is our third of five videos on design trends and systems in travel! Check out last week’s episode on how the American rail system went from one of the largest and wealthiest in the world to ... Amtrak.

And join us next week when we’ll explain the skyscraper-sized boats known as cruise ships.

You can find this video and the entire library of Vox’s videos on YouTube.