75
US carmakers accuse EU of blocking supersized pick-up trucks from roads, FT reports
(www.reuters.com)
good. Keep them in US, we donβt need them
this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2026
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those trucks should be banned on US roads. What's worse, most of them are just glorified grocery getters.
Most of the Dodge Rams just exist to drive under the influence.
My father in law has one. And yes, all the stereotypes are confirmed. You'd think it has an ignition interlock device programmed in reverse, requiring a minimum blood alcohol level to operate. I keep waiting for him to get DUI'd.
If true, good.
I don't mind these stupid trucks coming over here, as long as you need a C-license to drive one and if they are limited to 90km/h.
Also, cities have special parking enforcement vehicles that will slice the truck to fit into a parking space at the owners expense.
At least over here theres laws about having your vehicle inside the parking space. If its over the lines, you get a fine. Just need to enforce that, double the fines and the morons who buy these stupid things will finance our cities out of financial problems.
They can't even sell what is a normal-sized pickup truck for the US in Europe. Because there simply isn't any demand beyond that of a handful of people with severe psychological deficits they try to compensate for.
We have already too big cars here in Europe..
Yeah, I'm accusing EU of not banning big pickup trucks & giant SUVs enough.
It's simple: they aren't safe. They are a high danger to pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.
They should require a special license and a legitimate need. No pavement princesses allowed.
I'm confused how they don't already? More than 3500kg gross weight capacity is no longer a class B "car" but a class C/C1 "truck" and require a C1 license
They're dangerous and environmentally wasteful.
I see some Ford Ranger Raptors (are they really called that? what a stupid name) in Germany. Those are probably the largest trucks on the road here and they are already way too big for cities, don't fit into any parking spots and so on. Nobody here needs an even larger F-150.
I'm fucking furious that the tankstation owner appears to have a dodge ram that I have to look at every time I head out of the city northbound.
I regularly fantasise about coating it in paintstripper, but a supersoaker would dissolve too fast.
Either that or finding a bunch of dutch language books about insecurity to leave on the windscreen.
. "As demand grows for certain vehicle types not commonly found in the EU, such as large pickup trucks"
There is no growth in demand. They sold 7,000, there were 13 million total car sales in 2025 in the EU. US SUV and large pickup truck sales were barely a rounding error.
Who cares. They should be blocked.
β¦and?
Their country. Their rules.
Yeah, historically USA didn't take kindly to that notion.
Thank you, EU
The infrastructure was there two thousand years before we're not destroying that for a monster truck based wasteland.
Guilty as charged. What of it?
I'm from the US, fuck US carmakers and these stupid ugly monstrosities. Go live out your lame ass monster truck fantasies in a fucking video game or something.
Silly auto makers. You have to first capture the whole regulatory body and then you can make demands like that. Not before.
The major reason to sell them is specific to the US market anyway.
European countries adopted protectionist tariffs on chicken back in the 1960s. The US adopted counter-tariffs on light trucks. These counter-tariffs remain in force today. This makes domestically-produced light trucks artificially profitable in the US, which means US automakers have an incentive to advocate for policies (laxer emissions rules, more-stringent towing requirements than in Europe, etc) that encourage consumers to purchase pickups and especially larger, more-profitable pickups, as it's very hard for foreign automakers to compete in this specific area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
The Chicken Tax is a 25 percent tariff on light trucks (and originally on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy) imposed in 1964 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.[1] The period from 1961 to 1964[2] of tensions and negotiations surrounding the issue was known as the "Chicken War", taking place at the height of Cold War politics.[3]
Eventually, the tariffs on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy were lifted,[4] but since 1964 this form of protectionism has remained in place to give US domestic automakers an advantage over imported competitors.[5] Though concern remains about its repeal,[6][7] a 2003 Cato Institute study called the tariff "a policy in search of a rationale."[4]
https://www.slashgear.com/1809287/chicken-tax-explained-history-current-impact/
more-stringent towing requirements than in Europe
it does make me laugh seeing Americans need a fifth wheel to move what I've seen a transit connect tow on its hitch. Or that time I saw a BMW 2 series convertible towing a caravan bigger than it.
That's completely normal and safe. And Americans are lil' bitches about towing, it would seem. Its either that or decades of automatic gearboxes zero tow rating has lead to the assumption you need a piggup trugg to move anything more than a utility trailer.
I don't want US trucks on our roads. Keep them in the US! No one needs a vehicle to transport a flock of sheep through downtown. Our cities are small, our roads are narrow. You can use it in your country where you have roads in town like highways here.
No one needs a vehicle to transport a flock of sheep through downtown
Ireland has entered the chat.
Although they would (and do) use an appropriately-sized vehicle for such purposes
Good, these need to be blocked
It's so obvious that for way way too long the US has gotten away with doing whatever the fuck it wants where ever it wants. It's up to everyone everywhere to stop putting up with the US governments bullshit.