It's not ego and it's not economics that have caused American pickups to get bigger and bigger. It's fear. Americans are afraid. They don't know exactly what they are afraid of, but they are afraid all the time. Driving around in one of these monster trucks makes them feel safer. They think the size intimidates other drivers. That's why, over the past couple of decades, the hoods of these trucks have gotten higher and higher, until they are now as high as the roofs of cars. That's why the windows are all tinted black. Black-tinted windows allow the fearful driver to hide inside, and they look scary from the outside. The buying public demanded these three-ton monsters, because they are afraid.