@jschrab@ned
Another part of this trend is the consistently increasing height of Americans. We've selectively bred ourselves for height.
A friend had a 1930s or 40s Ford F-some-small-number pickup that I badly wanted, & could've gotten nearly free. I couldn't take it. I couldn't fit in it & drive safely, at 6'3". Back when it was built, a typical man was 5'6" or so.