This is the story of how the cycling association measured streets in Bruges and got what they wanted - a cycling zone - 5 years after the initial campaign
If you like this I run a free weekly urbanism newsletter you might like too: https://urbanismnow.com/
The short version is that CAFE standards classified vehicles by footprint (track width times wheelbase), allowing larger light trucks and SUVs to meet looser fuel economy targets than smaller passenger cars, incentivizing automakers to upsell bigger models for higher profits and easier compliance.
At least in the US context there’s a tax reason for it and the auto lobbyists seemed to ask for it.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24139147/suvs-trucks-popularity-federal-policy-pollution
@ray
Vox has a paywall, but my quick search showed only a deduction for vehicles for business use.
The short version is that CAFE standards classified vehicles by footprint (track width times wheelbase), allowing larger light trucks and SUVs to meet looser fuel economy targets than smaller passenger cars, incentivizing automakers to upsell bigger models for higher profits and easier compliance.
If you want to read the original article one of these should do it for you: https://web.archive.org/web/20240428101847/https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24139147/suvs-trucks-popularity-federal-policy-pollution https://archive.is/LJuSN