The sad thing is that they're not even that roomy. Something like a skoda superb beats this ford truck hands down when it comes to leg room.
So:
not that great off-road (too heavy, too wide, too long, not enough weight on rear wheels)
not great at transporting stuff, because the load bed is open.
not fuel efficient (and low range)
less safe (higher chance of roll over, takes longer to stop, lower safety standards compared to regular cars)
poor visibility (too high, don't see pedestrians + low obstacles)
not that roomy
not that comfortable
poor handling
A common argument is 'it can tow stuff', which is also silly because you can do that with a far smaller car too.
So it's a fashion statement or virtue signaler. I mean, obviously we all hate it, but the people that buy these kind of trucks usually get off on that. They're virtue signaling to their (internet) friends.
I would love to see the smaller car that can tow a 35 foot 5th wheel trailer.
Or the van that can haul 12 foot logs stacked 6 feet deep.
Or carry two 1000liter water totes and allow them to be filled from the overhead hose that is provided by the municipality.
Or pull a trailer with a rented excavator.
The point here isn't to argue. But I do get pretty tired of these threads just shitting on trucks for fun. They don't make sense for non tradespeople living in a city. But I could not do with one vehicle if that vehicle wasn't a pickup.
I'm building a homestead from scratch where I had to cut the trees of the forest down in order to make room to put my trailer to live in. Without the truck I could not haul the trailer all the way to the mill, all the milled wood back, and carry all of the things that I need to build the house. While still giving me 4 seats so that my nephews have a seat when I pick them up.
Edit to add: Mine is also dirty, dented, scratched, and abused. I don't have time to make a work machine shiny, I have work to do.
I‘m always surprised at how well those 2 wheel drive Fiat Panda‘s perform. We mostly use it for our farm because it can‘t really get stuck, or we haven‘t managed to get it stuck in 11 years.
They also fit a decent amount of luggage!
They are still useful in some situations although they are almost always just a fashion statement. https://lemmy.ml/comment/1660615 Someone who actually needs one for their job commented on this post and explained why. Someone also replied and said they could haul more with a van, and their response was that they can easily drop things into the bed with a crane. Seems pretty reasonable to me.
edit: they deleted it, not sure why but the point stands
As an American, this is a SMALL truck. Too many of the fuckers here drive trucks that would crush both cars and keep going with a gentle bump... oh lord my Country is tragic...
As an american I can't take america seriously. It's sad. Especially vets these days... I feel bad for them, especially the ones that still have a solid head on their shoulders.
"Brain small so I car big". But in all seriousness, I don't see the reason why these people buy these things. If they want a big car, the minimum requirement should be to have a non poluting engine(which is probably far out). What happened to walking, or bikes and rechargeble scooters? Can I ask you about your state's(or city's) infrastructure plans or is it simply super car dependant?
I will say non-automotive transport isn't really an option for a large portion of US Americans. Basically anyone who doesn't live within one of a few major cities will need access to a car for at least some of their transit needs.
The average commute in the US is 41 miles each day. This is largely along highways and stroads where cars are traveling 45-65 mph (70-100kph). Unless you have a death wish, walking, biking, and using a scooter isn't something anyone would do unless there were absolutely no options. If there is bus service (which isn't a given) it's usually infrequent (every 1-1.5 hours) and doesn't take you to where you need to go.
It's a systemic issue that's been implemented gradually over a few generations through policy and culture making. It can be reversed but it will take a generation or more to roll it back.
In my home state, the urban areas are trying to build out functioning transit systems, however it's difficult to get support as so many people think transit "brings the wrong kind of people" (aka poor and black people) to their neighborhood and fight it. But progress is being made. My city is breaking ground on a new BRT line next week.
Then when there is a cohesive project that could work and serve large portions of the state, the state government has killed it because "it only serves the cities and not the rural areas" although it very much is in the best interest of rural communities to have some sort of public transit.
We do have a train that runs service multiple times a day between the two largest cities in our state, with funding secured to expand it further. So that's a win.
The uphill battle we face in terms of transit is so many people have never experienced how great a functioning transit system is and won't look at those "socialist areas" (aka NYC, Europe, and parts of Asia) because they believe those places are evil, and if they can't use their car to get places they're having their freedom taken away from them.
I don't recall the full story, but the reason SUVs and "cars" like this sell big is because they are classified as trucks and do not need to meet the same emission standards as cars. Thus it is cheaper to make and more power.
Hey, sorry for the late reply. I actually work in an adjacent field so I think I'm decently qualified to speak on the infrastructure here. Firstly, I am in one of the larger metropolitan areas of the US. We are completely dependent on cars. We have a couple of train tracks but the pricing, limited destinations, and limited run times kill any chance they have of converting the masses, myself included. We have no plans for more mass transit and no plans to improve current mass transit. While they are making an attempt to make the area more bike friendly, the zoning laws effectively make these changes impossible as places you would typically travel to are too far from your place of residence. These zoning laws don't appear to be changing anytime soon.
The real problem with my area specifically, but America as a whole is just the vastness. Due to the sheer amount of space we have, there is urban sprawl everywhere. Why live on top of one another when everyone can get a little space and we can destroy all of the beautiful nature around us and pave over paradise?
As a personal anecdote, by American terms I live close to work and VERY close to the grocery store. Store is a 20 minute walk one way and work would take me hours to get to... or I can hop in a car, be at the store in under a minute and to work in 10
Edit: and unfortunately I would love a motorcycle but due to licensing requirements (or lack thereof for motorists) and the appalling infrastructure, it is just too unsafe to justify a motorcycle of any kind.
I’m American and live in an older suburb of a fairly large city. Half of the neighborhood seems to have a full sized truck, an extra large SUV or both in their driveway. The reason they are in the driveway is that most people can’t fit these vehicles in their garage. Older homes have smaller garages built for the cars made at the time. On the few occasions I need to haul large items I can rent a truck from the hardware store by the hour, or a cargo van for the day.
Now I disapprove of our car centric society as much as anyone, but there are definitely legitimate business reasons for a 150 sized pickup. I run a landscaping business and use a truck slightly smaller to haul my tools including a trailer with a riding mower (electric for whatever it's worth, and I'd rather convert the lawn to native meadow but I do what they pay for so I mows the grasses.) Carpenters and other tradespersons, except the really heavy stuff like masonry, would use a truck this size, and even ones who may prefer something bigger like stone and concrete guys may only be able to afford this, and it gets the job done. Could it be done with Kee trucks and sprinter vans? If the ranges weren't so wide. Here a tradesman might need to take themselves, their helper, and 2 people's worth of tools and supplies an hour away, daily. I wish we had trains, local supply depots, etc. But for the system that's been built already, for people who can't change it today but need to go to work today, there are good reasons for some of that size of truck. It's much smaller than most, though I do agree something smaller would be nice if viable.
You never know. Maybe he needs if he works in the near by forrest. While I agree on the first part about not taking it seriously, I never want to assume people are pieces of shit without talking to them first.
If your juiced up Dodge RAM or this Ford monstrosity is all shiny, no speck of dirt in sight, then it's not a work vehicle and the original assumption probably applies.
While not the best camera angle, those tires look spotless. 19% of GMC light truck/crossover owners actually use their cars in an offroad capacity, and the same effect probably applies to full pickups. I am doubtful that the above pickup is being used in anything off road.
Wasn't this mostly because of the semiconductor shortage?
Takes nearly as many components for a small cheap car as it does for a massive expensive one, so they focused the manufacturing on the big one and they've even had to cut back on that.
The way CAFE standards are calculated takes the overall footprint of the vehicle into account. Making the truck bigger gives them more leeway in fuel mileage. They couldn't afford the offsets for making a small truck, they already have to buy them from Tesla even after juking the formula.
Increase fuel taxes and it will reward smaller cars. Inflation has tanked below to within targets while interest rates are still high. The market is primed for tax increases as the BoC loosens it's monetary policy.
The CAFE footprint standard has made the huge truck count as more efficient than a small car towards the fleet standards. Then they make up the last bit by buying offsets from Tesla, which is what actually keeps Tesla in business.
I have a Toyota Previa. It's a wonderful little van, but it's designed in such a way as to be able to effortlessly transport a stack of drywall in the back. I guarantee my van's hauled more than that giant bloated mess of a ford...
Our pandemic project was doing our own hardwood floors. It was our second time installing hardwood floors, and it was much easier in our 20s than in our 30s, believe me.
I used my Chevy Bolt to take 1,000sqft of carpet and old oak to the dump. It took several trips, yes, but that was partially reflective of how quickly we were willing and able to work.
It's a fiat Panda. It's literally the best fuck cars car. It does exactly what a car needs to do and does it perfectly. If you really rely on a car the panda is just so good
i guess you are thinking about my Fiat? while i can't disagree i can say that it's always dirt cheap to fix stuff and super easy because it's designed to be repaired easily.
Especially when following the law that the larger the car, the less capable the driver.
I went to the philharmony last Sunday, and the number of people with large and expensive cars who were less than capable to park them properly in an underground car park was hilarious.
There's another giant Ford Raptor in the same parking house and it's so large i always wonder how the hell he parks that thing anywhere here. It literally take the entire parking spot you see in the picture.
Well I never said I was worked up. I never stated I hated the man or speculating wether or not he has a small pp. That's irrelevant to me. I just noted that the size difference is comically large, meaning I don't understand how these cars have any practical means of existing in a dence city where a small family car would do the job driving to work just fine and grocery shopping is literally 100m away.
I do agree that the comment section in general is getting pretty heated. That's also Something funny to me because those geting so angry are no better people.
Alls I'm saying is your title felt super aggressive and it is funny to me because you picked a ford ranger, of all trucks, to lampoon when its easily the least egregious pickup that is available currently
LOVE IT! it's dirt cheap in every single way you can imagine. Repairs, fuel, tax, insurance etc. you won't find anything to compeat for the quality and reliability it offers.
Stay away from the newer panda 3 models (summer 2012 and newer) the engine is only a two cylinder and has a lot of issues because it is a completely new engine design. Get the older models preferably the newest you can get (up to summer 2012) the newest of them have aircondition and a slightly more efficient engine. The engine in the panda 2 is the tried and tested 69Hp Fire Engine used by many many small cars and is so reliable they can run for many hundreds of thousands of km. As an example mine is from the last batch from 2012 has run 165k km and doesn't use a single drop of oil. I change oil and it runs for over a year and the level is exactly the same when i change it again.
what i love about it the most is that it is so cheap i don't really care about it much so if it gets a tittle scratch or gets filled with dog-hair i really don't care much. Just buff it out and clean it a bit and it's good as "new"
is it the most comfortable car? well no, but it's not that bad. Tried much worse in other cars similar priced. Is it the pretties car? No, but it has lots of space for it's size. Does it have lots of smart features? no but i don't want that anyway. Just give me air condition and i'm happy.
Damn i love it.
I'm pretty tall. I move a lot of family members around on rare occasions. I go for week-long trips out of town in my car. I barely drive it in town (usually evenings and weekends and not even every evening or weekend). My car isn't quite that behemoth but it is large enough for what I need. I have helped with over 4 home moves in that car and even used it to transport a fridge to a civic waste site.
It does the job fine. I've never felt the need to get a pickup truck. Some people probably have genuine use cases. The majority probably don't. Those things are wild.
The mondeo is a great family car. I have a friend where his whole family, brother, mother, dag, uncle etc. each own a mondeo and sware by it because it just the right size for a family.
Yeah it's one I'm struggling to replace, but because I use it so little I'm not as fussed just yet. Will keep it until it doesn't pass MOT anymore, or something else makes more sense.
What I dislike about these threads is that it always devolves into shitting on blue collar workers. Of course pickups are useless city cars but have you all ever met somebody from a town of 1,000 people where every single person works in a blue collar trade? These things do work that you can't do in a different type of vehicle.
Threads like this are echo chambers of privilege. Maybe instead of shitting on tradespeople, shit on car and oil companies who enshittify the whole system.
Also pickups in 2023 that look like this are more powerful and more fuel efficient than more modest looking pickups from 90s or 00s. You may not like the aesthetics of it, but who fucking cares, you're not driving it, you're just the one judging someone else for having different taste.
Yes, there are legitimate uses. However, trucks and SUVs account for 80% of car sales in the US. 80% is NOT representative of the number of people who actually need a truck or SUV.
Trucks and SUVs kill more people, because they are bigger and heavier and have less visibility. They run over more children, because the hoods are so high you could lose track of a whole kindergarten class standing in front of them. They are more efficient than they used to be, but still drastically less efficient than a sedan or station wagon.
I don't judge someone for having different tastes. I judge someone for letting their aesthetic choices cause them to do more harm to the planet, and endanger more people, and risk the lives of their own children (because that's who they're most likely to run over because they can't see them).
If you need a truck or SUV for your job or because you actually haul a lot, or maybe because you have accessibility needs for a bigger vehicle, great. Enjoy. But that is NOT 80% of people.
Also work vans are superior to pickup trucks in almost every way.
And the comment you're replying to didn't mention anything about how over the years, the size of truck beds has shrunk, while the cab has grown.
I'm sure that has a lot to do with it's utility...
@SlamDrag@TDCN both Chevy and Ford are abandoning the sedan market and focusing on selling trucks to a blue collar aesthetic, not that the global market for cars/trucks is anywhere near a majority of rural that the pickup owners in cities are aspiring to virtue signal. The US became a majority urban nation in the 70s, the world population became majority urban (as opposed to rural) in the 00s. If consumers keep LARPing as small town people in cities, co's are going to keep selling them trucks
As a Subaru Baja owner, I'm inclined to agree. Though I did upgrade to overload springs in the rear, mostly to keep it from sagging as much when hauling heating pellets each winter.
For a few seconds i was thinking of importing a Nissan Armada to Germany. Then i came to my senses and got a Taycan.
Why did i want an Armada? What happened in my brain that made me go "big car cool need"