I get the hate on trucks because they’ve become a luxury item/status symbol instead of a vehicle used for its utility. Arbitrary weight limits are probably not the best way to handle it though. Cars are heavier than I think you realize. Safety requirements and other government mandates have driven the average vehicle weight up over time too.
Every mini van on the market is over 4000 some pushing 5000. Most mid-sized sedans are over 3500 and probably all full sized. Mazda 3 is a compact sedan and tops out at ~3400. My mother’s 2019 Lincoln Continental is admittedly on the larger side and weighs in at ~4500 and the entire car is under 5 feet tall. Doing a quick search on a 2024 Tesla model 3 is 3862-4054 pounds. Ram Promaster 1500(think plumber van) start at about 4500 and go up. That doesn’t account for all the stuff those ultimately end up holding too. The sight lines in front of you on those vans are impeccable though.
A 90’s Ranger didn’t even have airbags let alone side curtain airbags. One of my 2012 cars had seven airbags just for the driver. Also ridiculous stuff like backup cameras being mandatory since May 1, 2018 which is why every car has a screen in it now. All that stuff has just been slowly adding weight a bit at a time.
NHTSA keeps changing/adding crash tests. So if manufacturers want to keep those 5 star ratings then they need to reinforce or redesign the chassis to obtain it which can add a non trivial amount of weight as well.
One of my vehicles they welded in ‘crash bars’ in front of and behind the front tires to improve its crash testing.