The Loophole You Can Drive A Truck Through
The Climate Denier's Playbook
00:00
Automobile Classifications and Regulatory Loopholes
This chapter examines how car companies exploit vehicle classifications to bypass regulatory standards, with historical examples from the Bush administration. It also explores the impact of these manipulations on public safety and highlights the automotive industry's influence on regulations, alongside amusing insights from vintage car advertisements.
Transcript
Play full episode
Transcript
Episode notes
But I need my truck to drive to my job at JPMorgan.
BONUS EPISODES available on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/deniersplaybook)
SOCIALS & MORE (https://linktr.ee/deniersplaybook)
WANT TO ADVERTISE WITH US? Please contact sponsors@multitude.productions
DISCLAIMER: Some media clips have been edited for length and clarity.
CREDITS
- Created by: Rollie Williams, Nicole Conlan & Ben Boult
- Hosts: Rollie Williams & Nicole Conlan
- Executive Producer: Ben Boult
- Editor: Paul Ramsdell & Laura Conte
- Producers: Daniella Philipson, Irene Plagianos
- Archival Producer: Margaux Sax
- Additional Research and Fact Checking: Carly Rizzuto & Canute Haroldson
- Music: Tony Domenick
- Art: Jordan Doll
- Special Thanks: The Civil Liberties Defense Center
SOURCES
- 18 SUVs Built on a Truck Frame (Truck Based SUV 2023) - Four Wheel Trends (2021, April 18). Four Wheel Trends.
- Author: Keith Bradsher. (2002). High and mighty: SUVs—the world’s most dangerous vehicles and how they got that way. Public Affairs.
- Jeep Cherokee Commercial (1975). Bionic Disco. (2020, July 3).
- Propaganda paved the way for an automotive society. Boenau, A. (2023, August 18). Urbanism Speakeasy.
- Automotive ad investment remains stuck in reverse gear | WARC. Brownsell, A. (2023, September 3).
- From workhorses to lifestyle vehicles: How pickup trucks got so big. Chase, W., Muller, J., & Whalen, J. (2023, January 23).
- How To Steal An Election | Climate Town. Climate Town. (2024, September 25).
- Clean Air Act: A Summary of the Act and Its Major Requirements. Congressional Research Service. (2022).
- What Year Did They Start Putting Seat Belts in Trucks?. Corp, G. S. (2023, November 25).
- F.E.A PROPOSING FREER REIN ON OIL. Cowan, E. (1975, May 16). The New York Times.
- America Made Us | Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram. Dodge. (2025, May 22).
- Arab oil embargo | international relations [1973]. Encyclopædia Britannica. (2018).
- Summary of the Clean Air Act. EPA. (2024, July 31).
- EPA moves to strike down California vehicle emission rules for good. Fisher, T. (2025, February 17).
- The Ford Kentucky Truck Plant | Ford Motor Company. Ford Motor Company. (2025, May 2).
- HISTORY OF FUEL ECONOMY One Decade of Innovation, Two Decades of Inaction 1970s. Frohman Lubetsky, J. (2011).
- THE ACCESS ALMANAC: The CAFÉ Standards Worked – ACCESS Magazine. Glazer, A. (1994, September).
- How A Tax On Chicken Changed The Playing Field For U.S. Automakers. Glinton, S. (2015, June 19). NPR.
- GM squandered our good will, setting off years of licks for corporate America. (2012, July 20).
- Auto Industry Fears New Rules Would Raise Costs and Lower Mileage. M. Callahan, J. (1975, February 2). The New York Times.
- Closing the Gap: Reevaluating CAFE Standards and the Light Truck Loophole. Marcotte, B. (2025). LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources, 13(2).
- Lessons from Protectionism Past. McGillis, J. (2024, October 10). City Journal.
- Nader, R. (1965). Unsafe at any speed: the designed-in dangers of the American automobile. Knightsbridge Pub. Co.
- Drivers remember 1973-74 oil embargo. NBC 26 - Northeast Wisconsin. (2022, June 21).
- The Chicken Tax Explained. Norman, K. (2020, August 3).
- 1976 Jeep J10 Pickup Commercial - First Date. OsbornTramain. (2016, July 15).
- 1998 New Beetle “What Color do you Dream In” Commercial. pcressma. (2010, July 28).
- The Consumer’s Truth: Myths and Facts about American Consumers and Fuel Economy. Public Citizen. (2003).
- Ram | Never Stop Being American | Nothing Stops Ram. Ram Trucks. (2025, June 14).
- 50 Years of Progress. South Coast AQMD. (2016).
- CAFE Standards Could Mean Bigger Cars, Not Smaller Ones – Mechanical Engineering. Stewart, B. (2011, December 9).
- Subaru “I Survived” Stories. Subaru. (2015, April 17).
- Oil Crisis | Stock market Crash | OPEC | This Week| 1973. ThamesTv. (2017).
- The Chicken War of ’63 Was a Tale Of Anger, Laughter and Portent. (1964, January 10). The New York Times.
- Volkswagen Beetle commercial - VW “Dome.”. Tricoastal71. (2009, August 24).
- A Brief History of US Fuel Efficiency Standards. Union of Concerned Scientists. (2017, December 6).
- Personal Transportation Factsheet. University of Michigan. (2023).
- Volkswagen Type 2. (2025). Classic Cars Wiki; Fandom, Inc.
- The reckless policies that helped fill our streets with ridiculously large cars. Zipper, D. (2024, April 28). Vox.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The AI-powered Podcast Player
Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
