> Sorry, you can not at the same time argue "efficiency has gone a long way" and "other people were paying just south of a thousand". It's one or the other.

The existence of my three-row four-cylinder hybrid SUV getting 40mpg does not preclude the existence of similarly sized V8s getting 10-15MPG.

> It's completely absurd to associate quality of life, safety and general comfort with the size of the car.

Why? I love my Fit, but it struggles to go up steep hills with 4 grown men (who in the back fit uncomfortably) in the car. It has a 600lb total human + cargo weight limit. The cargo space is manifestly severely limited with passengers. My children are able to scream directly into my eardrums and kick the back of my seat. I can go on. In comparison, my SUV definitely provides a higher quality of life, is safer in a collision thanks to F=MA, and is generally more comfortable. It can also pull quite a bit of weight in my trailer, which the owner's manual for my model Fit specifically says I must never do. It is much easier for my aging grandmother to get into the SUV and a huge struggle for her to get into the Fit. Avoiding road debris is much more difficult in the Fit, because its low height means that I cannot safely drive over many objects. (Indeed over the past ten years the under-trim has been quite severely damaged by unavoidable collisions with branches, etc.) It also means if I pull too far forward in a parking spot I hit the transmission (ouch) on the parking bumper, and in "rough" parking areas with steep gradients I have to be very careful.

> 99.995% of people that drive a SUV or pick-up truck would find more utility and value in having a Station Wagon, an actual van

Vans are quite large. I drive one regularly. What's the real difference here other than the shape and sliding doors? Maybe the SUV is higher? Similarly, I don't see much of a difference between an SUV and station wagon. Is it just the height that bothers you? Can you explain what specific utility they are gaining in this situation? I've also noticed that van seats tend to not be as handy as SUV seats for cargo storage unless you totally remove them, but this may vary by model.

> a properly-sized commuter car.

There are plenty of normal sized sedans on the market right now.

> If you want a simple way to check this, just look at the fact that those that really need trucks are importing it from Japan [0] because the industry is not interested in serving them.

This is just silly. Is there a kei enthusiast market? Absolutely! But it's a very tiny market (~7500 imported a year), and they're usually not actually replacing a truck: even your own article mentions that the guy is buying it to serve the role of a side-by-side; e.g., to putter around on his farm on. It's replacing a Polaris Ranger, not a Ford Ranger. This is a totally different market than "people who really need trucks", who yes, buy something like an F-2/150. I live in a rural area and a lot of people that work "truck" jobs, hauling huge trailers, filling the bed with tools and supplies, etc...they're not driving keis.

> The lengths that Americans will try to justify their completely illogical behavior is pathological. They would rather believe in American Exceptionalism than face the truth that they are being played for fools by the Auto industry. It's easier to keep eating up the BS that they "need" a bigger car than to learn the ways that the system is rigged so that you can fight it.

I find it much more productive to assume people I disagree with are operating on different values than I am to assume they're simply illogical and brainwashed. Do I think it's crazy people are spending 60-80k on trucks that aren't exclusively work trucks or for hauling their boat or something? Yeah. But I know they're not, they're just different than me and have their own reasons. I don't feel a need to dictate everyone drive the cars I like.