It's the regulations and abusive media tactics that led to the near extinction of traditional (V8, rear wheel drive, American made) cars, which forced consumers to flee to the closest substitute: light trucks.
The media ripped those cars and the companies who made them until the business-class* executives gave up and took them out of production.
* business-class refers to accountants, attorneys, and MBAs who are more than 2 levels above the lowest workers in the company and who genuinely do not understand the words they are using. They often say a word thinking of a common usage of it, not understanding that in their work it is industry-specific or company-specific jargon.
(edit) Went to add sourcing and was surprised to find that while most of the things I listed were accurate, fuel efficiency turns out to be one I significantly underestimated: https://www.statista.com/chart/13075/most-important-factors-...
I'm very surprised by this answer.
May I ask: Where do you live? What are your degrees in?
I live in Texas, and my degrees are in STEM fields like Computers and Engineering.
More info on the chicken tax: https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/a44373090/chicken-tax-trucks...