# US pickups and sedans, 1975–2024

## Files
- `epa_pickups_sedans.png`: finished 1600 × 1760 chart.
- `epa_pickups_sedans_mobile390.png`: 390-pixel-wide QA preview.
- `epa_pickups_sedans.svg`: vector chart.
- `epa_pickups_sedans_1975_2024.csv`: all 50 annual observations, two vehicle types, with exact source precision and derived gap/percentage.
- `build_chart.py`: reproducible renderer, including exact chart data; needs matplotlib and Pillow.
- `fetch_epa.py`: re-downloads the EPA public summary table; needs websockets. Writes the raw response and broader final-year CSV.
- `epa_all_vehicle_types_1975_2024.csv`: full 400-row final-year summary. Contains aggregate rows as well as five vehicle types; do not sum all rows.
- `epa_raw_response.json`: archived read-only API response, including preliminary 2025 observations for provenance. Preliminary observations are excluded from both cleaned CSV files and the chart.

## Source and retrieval
US Environmental Protection Agency. 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report. Accessed October 13, 2026.

Source landing page: https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/explore-automotive-trends-data

Definitions: https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/about-automotive-trends-data

Report: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2026-02/420r26001.pdf

Public summary application: https://edap.epa.gov/public/single/?appid=18c705d2-35a3-4410-9428-0eb9dfd64c4f&sheet=29799b11-1447-4492-af00-04ffa3b0f11b&opt=currsel&select=clearall

Retrieved directly from EPA's public Qlik Engine API. App `18c705d2-35a3-4410-9428-0eb9dfd64c4f`; existing summary table `dc3849eb-27da-4539-821e-4a8a1d28fcca`. GetHyperCubeData reads `/qHyperCubeDef`, 408 rows and 10 columns. Existing measures select the All-manufacturers aggregate, rather than computing unweighted means of model rows. No source state was changed.

## Definitions and checks
These are new light-duty vehicles delivered for sale in the United States by model year. They are production-weighted category averages, not calendar-year sales or the fleet on the road. EPA's sedan/wagon category is broader than sedans alone. Weight is the EPA inertia-weight-class measure: curb weight plus 300 pounds, grouped in test-weight classes. It is not exact curb weight. Years 1975–2024 are final; 2025 is preliminary and excluded.

1975: sedan/wagon 4,057.565 lb; pickup 4,011.977 lb. Sedans/wagons were 45.588 lb heavier, so the headline's “the same” means approximately the same.

2024: sedan/wagon 3,544.729 lb; pickup 5,244.535 lb. Difference 1,699.806 lb = 771.0 kg. Ratio `(pickup / sedan_wagon - 1) × 100` = 47.9530593%, rounded to 48%. The gap was already large before electric pickups appeared; this chart does not attribute causality. The 2014 pickup weight was higher than 2024, so it does not claim uninterrupted growth or an all-time record.

Final chart CSV SHA-256: 550cc0d54189d517b5ef647b9429f94a90c106257a2230f93230d38ef238c3bc

PNG SHA-256: 715279f2b71749af8f141e2308debc1b55338bb20661c64702e42d41296844d8

Full final-year CSV SHA-256: 05c531ccbfd1c274086e4ad42bdf8baddc17244df626b399b33e4a14839f8c94

Raw API response SHA-256: 2e6b98e9048eb5e96451ebaa8bc04bcba304c7aa9d5a4a88a7edb1dd42742507

QA: all 100 plotted source values were compared with a fresh EPA API retrieval and match exactly. The chart was visually inspected at full size and 390 pixels wide.

## Reuse
EPA Standard Open Data License: https://edg.epa.gov/EPA_Data_License.htm

EPA states that its data are public domain by default unless otherwise specified. The source table carries public read/export-data permissions and no data-specific contrary restriction was found. This package includes EPA numerical data, its archived read-only response and Meplar reproduction scripts; no government logos are used. Credit EPA, retain the methodology, and avoid implying EPA endorsement.


## Fields
- model_year: EPA model year; only final model years 1975–2024 in both CSVs.
- sedan_wagon_test_weight_lb / pickup_test_weight_lb: production-weighted EPA
  category test weights in pounds, retaining the source's three-decimal values.
- pickup_minus_sedan_wagon_lb: pickup test weight minus sedan/wagon test weight.
- pickup_heavier_percent: (pickup / sedan_wagon - 1) * 100, to six decimals.
- regulatory_class / vehicle_type: original EPA category labels. The broader
  CSV includes overlapping All, All Car and All Truck aggregates.
- production_share: fraction of new light-duty production for the category.
- real_world_mpg, real_world_mpg_city, real_world_mpg_hwy: EPA estimated
  real-world fuel economy in miles per US gallon.
- test_weight_lb: EPA inertia-weight-class average in pounds.
- horsepower: category average engine power in horsepower.
- footprint_sqft: wheelbase times track width in square feet, where reported.

## Release transformations and checks
Both cleaned CSVs and the approved chart images are unchanged from the reviewed
package. Archived source values were checked against all final-year summary
cells and all 100 plotted weights. Rows labelled Prelim. 2025 are retained only
in the raw provenance response, excluded from both CSVs and the chart. Category
aggregates overlap their component types; do not sum every broader-summary row.
Blank cells remain blank. No imputation, duplicate removal, smoothing or source
error corrections were added. SOURCE-VERIFICATION.json retains the original
bundle's verification, including its original README hash; RELEASE-MANIFEST.json
records the actual files in this release.

Download page: https://meplar.com/datasets/us-vehicle-weights/