If you’re sick and tired of seeing big trucks hogging up parking spaces, blame the government. That’s what one half of the TikTok car-selling influencer team, Ford by Ying & Yang (@fordbyyingyang), claims in a recent video. In his post, he explains that fuel economy rulings are inherently tied to vehicle size, which prompted auto manufacturers to roll out larger vehicles from their respective assembly lines.
Are Ford Mavericks, Rangers, F-150s, and F-250s All the Same?
“Trucks are not what you think they are,” he says at the top of his video. “A Maverick is a Ranger; a Ranger is an F-150; and an F-150 is pretty close to a 250,” he adds, showing off these trucks on his dealership lot.
According to him, this has to do with the seating and storage capacities of these models changing over time. “We all know that if you compare old truck sizes to new truck sizes, everything’s gotten drastically bigger. I’m gonna tell you why that is. It does involve money, but not like you think,” he informs viewers.
Why Are Trucks So Big Now?
According to him, government mandates pertaining to fuel economy are the root cause.
“Starting in the late 1900s, … governments across the globe started implementing fuel economy standards. If your car wasn’t efficient enough, you got a fine. It was a big fine. These standards are still around to this day,” he remarked.
He says this is why “a lot of Toyotas are basically hybrids.”
“So why didn’t trucks follow that?” he poses. “Well, it’s a lot harder to make a hybrid truck—and there is a loophole. The bigger your car was, the more lax the standards.”
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He claims that because rulings for larger vehicles weren’t as stringent, more of them were made.
“So, if you had two trucks with the same fuel economy, if the truck was bigger, it probably didn’t have a fine. Now, we’re 30 or 40 years later, and now these trucks are massive,” he says. “And flipping expensive, too.”
Gallery: 2025 Ford F-150 Lobo
Are the Fines Why New Cars Are So Expensive?
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison spoke to Ford by Ying & Yang’s assertion as to why cars have gotten so expensive. According to him, these regulations, over time, have significantly contributed to the rising costs of vehicles.
“At the end of the day, a consumer is going to pay for that,” Reuters reported him saying in a Senate hearing.
Indeed, the average cost of a new vehicle has seen staggering increases in a relatively short amount of time. CarEdge reported in July 2025 that the average price of a new car has dramatically shot up by 30% between 2020 and 2025.
Trump Administration Axes Auto Fines
Reuters reports that in July of 2025, the U.S. government axed a 1975 bill that penalizes manufacturers for failing to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules. Referred to as “the one big beautiful bill” by the president, the bill that rolled back the penalties makes it easier for automakers to manufacture gas-powered vehicles and makes electric vehicle sales more costly.
Does Abolishing Regulations Mean Cars Will Be Cheaper?
So, will lifting fines and regulations on automakers ultimately result in a transition back to smaller and more affordable vehicles? Kelley Blue Book wrote in September 2025 that tariffs slapped against foreign automakers haven’t seen large climbs in the cost of vehicles. However, the outlet did caution buyers not to expect to see prices fall any time soon, either.
Motor1 has reached out to Ford by Yin & Yang via TikTok comment for further information.
