 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Light truck" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Light truckor light-duty truck is aUS classification forvehicles with agross vehicle weight up to 8,500 pounds (3,860 kg) and apayload capacity up to 4,000 pounds (1,814 kg). Similargoods vehicle classes in theEuropean Union,Asia andAfrica are termedlight commercial vehicles and are limited to a gross vehicle weight of up to 3,500 kg (7,720 pounds).Australia andNew Zealand are limited to a gross vehicle weight of up to 4,500 kg (9,920 pounds).[1]
Federal regulations define a light-duty truck to be any motor vehicle having agross vehicle weight rating (curb weight pluspayload) of no more than 8,500 pounds (3,860 kg) which is “(1) Designed primarily for purposes of transportation of property or is a derivation of such a vehicle, or (2) Designed primarily for transportation of persons and has a capacity of more than 12 persons, or (3) Available with special features enabling off-street or off-highway operation and use.”[2]Light trucks includesvans,pickups, andsport utility vehicles.[3] Vehicles in this category are far more likely to kill or injure pedestrians than smaller passenger cars.[4]
Under federal regulations, crafted with heavylobbying input, cars must meet tougher emissions and mileage rules than light trucks. Vehicles that have larger “footprints,” measured as the area between the points where the wheels touch the ground, are allowed less stringent emissions standards. A less than 1 square meter increase in the footprint of a vehicle allows for 2% to 3% more carbon dioxide emissions.[5]
The United States government uses light truck as a vehicle class in regulatingfuel economy through theCorporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard. The class includesvans,minivans,sport utility vehicles, andpickups.Light trucks have lower fuel economy standards than cars, under the premise that these vehicles are used for utilitarian purposes rather than personal transportation. Because of theirbody-on-frame construction method, they are heavier than aunibody vehicle of the same size.[6][7]
Light truck manufacturing in the United States is protected by theChicken Tax, a 25% tariff onimported light trucks.