Here’s The Convoluted Way The EPA Decides What Is A Car And What Is A Truck

We talk a lot about cars and trucks, and we’re always aware that there is an important distinction between the two. Yet decades of automotive development have blurred the lines. The rise of the SUV first muddied the waters, and the rise of unibody pickups didn’t help the situation, either. It raises the question—what is the difference between a car and a truck?

You can make up your own definition, of course. You could say any vehicle with an open load bed is a truck, and for most of us, that’s enough. However, that definition isn’t as complex as the standards set by government regulators. The official rules are a touch more complicated.

Thankfully, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a no-nonsense flow-chart that answers this question once and for all. With just nine easy questions, you can determine whether any given vehicle is a car or a truck.

The flowchart above sorts vehicles into “car” and “truck” designations for the sake of emissions compliance. The first real questions regard weight. Anything with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 pounds is outside the scope here, as the they’re excluded from CAFE standards and the EPA’s “light duty” greenhouse gas regulations. Vehicles over 8,500 pounds are excluded too, unless they fall under the “medium duty passenger vehicle” MDPV regulation—which covers bigger SUVs and passenger vans. Many of these super-heavy vehicles are trucks by default, but they don’t need to meet the emissions regulations for lighter-duty vehicles.

The next question is simple. If the vehicle transports more than 10 people, acts as a living space, or has greater cargo volume than passenger volume, then you’re indisputably looking at a truck. Similarly, if it “transports property on an open bed,” it’s a truck. If not, it might be a car.

Further questions aim to refine the definition. Third-row seating makes the vehicle a “truck” as far as the EPA is concerned, but only if the seats fold or can be remove to create a flat cargo surface.

Four-wheel drive could also push the vehicle towards a truck definition, as can a gross vehicle weight over 6,000 pounds. But in both cases, the vehicle must also meet certain geometric requirements to qualify as a truck. The vehicle must meet certain benchmarks regarding approach, breakover, and departure angles, as well as ground clearance, as below. Basically, if the vehicle is rugged and designed to handle rough off-road trails, that means it’s a truck.

If the vehicle fails on all those points, it’s not a truck, it’s a lowly little car. Primarily, this means the vehicle has to meet stricter regulations for fuel economy and emissions. Thus, there’s a benefit for automakers if they can tip a vehicle into a truck classification with a few small changes.

It’s worth noting that this EPA definition doesn’t always line up with our intuitive notions of what makes a car and what makes a truck. Indeed, it gets most complicated when it comes to SUVs. In the EPA’s own words:

Pickup trucks, vans, and minivans are classified as light trucks under NHTSA’s regulatory definitions, while sedans, coupes, and wagons are generally classified as cars. Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) can fall into either category depending on the relevant attributes of the specific vehicle. Based on the CAFE and GHG regulatory definitions, most two-wheel drive SUVs under 6,000 pounds GVW are classified as cars, while most SUVs that have four-wheel drive or are above 6,000 pounds GVW are considered trucks. SUV models that are less than 6,000 pounds GVW can have both car and truck variants, with two-wheel drive versions classified as cars and four-wheel drive versions classified as trucks. As the fleet has changed over time, the line drawn between car and truck classes has also evolved.

By the EPA’s definitions, making a vehicle heavier and more off-road capable tilts it towards being a truck. A pickup bed or lots of cargo capacity does the same. If a vehicle is more about personal transportation and less about work or traversing rugged terrain, it’s a car.

In any case, hopefully that sheds some light on the matter. Next time someone mocks your Ford Maverick, for example, you’ll be properly armed. You can point to the open cargo bed and shout “It’s a real truck!” with confidence, knowing the EPA has your back. You can even print out the above flow chart and keep it in your wallet for easy reference. You’ll solve many a bar argument forever more.

Image credits: EPA report, Ford, Honda, Toyota