CAFE has had an exception or lower standard for light trucks and an exception for heavy trucks since 1978, and vehicles used as passenger vehicles but meeting either of the truck categories have been incentivized since then; its not something that started 30 years later.
The rise of SUVs and Minivans was a product of this — in the 1980s, not the late 00s.
Not true. CAFE was amended in the late 2000s to provide more fuel restrictions for smaller cars while keeping the same fuel restrictions for bigger cars. The result is bigger cars being made.
What isn't true? Nothing you said, even if it was true (it's not) contradicts anything in the grandparent post.
> CAFE was amended in the late 2000s to provide more fuel restrictions for smaller cars while keeping the same fuel restrictions for bigger cars.
No, it wasn’t. The footprint model within the passenger car class did differentiate by size, but it didn’t provide more restrictions for smaller cars while keeping larger cars the same.
Do minivans meet the definitions? Mine has a pretty low ground clearance, and I don't think it meets the attack angle requirement, either (which is typically the cheapest.)
Edit: I guess I'm a trucker! The 2013 Odyssey is 19lb. over the minimum GVWR!
The rise of SUVs and Minivans was a product of this — in the 1980s, not the late 00s.