That infographic fascinates me. It's obviously not made by an American because never received a car branded as the Qashqai which should have been labeled as the Hyundai Kona. Same as the CX-8. We have the CX-9 here. With those said, the detailed drawings of the cars are beautiful!! I am a bit shocked at the Maverick, being Ford's "tiny" truck sitting so low on the list.
Au contraire. We Americans think easily in both Imperial and SI. In terms of units we’re bilingual. It’s you 10-10-10 types whose brains have been scrambled by your over-easy conversions and estimates.
Can't buy a small truck because EPA regulations made it easier to make the trucks bigger. Let's remove that failed regulation so small trucks actually exist.
Meanwhile, builds the largest highway network in the world, many even in cities; maintain shitload of free parking; also enforces minimum parking requirements, all at the expense of tax payer.
People without cars are literally forced to pay to make everyone's life worse.
Don't forget the Freedom™ zoning laws that make sure it's illegal for any American to build any filthy communist multi-family homes on their own private property! It's communist to grant private citizens freedom and property rights!
Ironically, trucks have gotten larger precisely because of regulation. In particular, emissions standards are tied to vehicle size. So if you make your vehicles bigger and bigger, you don't have to make them more efficient.
Also, regulation makes it difficult to import small Japanese kei trucks, and regulation is the biggest reason that the Ford F series truck is the single most popular model of vehicle in the US. In particular, we've taxed foreign-built trucks at 25% since the mid 60s, so there's dramatically fewer models of truck than SUV or cars.
And the Hilux isn't available in the US. I use one as my daily driver. Seats four, has a useable bed, hauls anything I throw at it, gets car MPGs, and is narrower than a Camry. It is as much pickup truck as pretty much anyone really needs.
This shit is the direct consequence of regulation, not lack of it!
I'm talking about both CAFE standards that encourage manufacturers to build big vehicles to fit in the "light truck" loophole, and (infinitely more importantly!) the zoning regulations that led to all the car dependency in the fucking first place!
The problem is that the regulations drop off in this one particular niche that requires/encourages larger vehicles, not that the regulations exist in the first place.
I call them "pavement princesses" since they're driven by office types most often who have no interest in offroading, which is the original intended use for lifted rigs. They're all rich sissies that want a giant truck for taking their fifth wheel to the lake because they're scared of driving a bus
In the Obama era, Edmunds explained, fuel economy regulations “changed from just a straight average across the board to what’s called a platform-based fuel economy standard. So your fuel economy target for a given vehicle is based on its wheelbase and its tread width, which is the width between the tires left to right. So if you multiply that you find the area of that rectangle and there’s a table that shows what your fuel-economy target is. The bigger the vehicle, the smaller the target.”
In other words, the regulations put in place to get better mileage out of vehicles also led to an increase in truck size. “There was kind of an incentive to maybe stretch the wheelbase a couple of inches and set the tires maybe an inch [farther] apart, because you get a bigger platform and slightly smaller target,” said Edmunds. “Now, the bigger vehicle would be heavier and might use more fuel, so it’s not as easy as just doing that. But certainly there was a feeling that if they did need to make it bigger to accommodate more passengers, the fuel economy target wouldn’t be onerous. They could do it.”
Basically, it was easier to make bigger trucks than it was to build more efficient engines, so we have this gargantuan trucks pushed on us and then they go "ITS WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT" because there are literally no other options besides these giant trucks if you want something with a bed.
Like, even the "small trucks" like the modern Rangers and Colorados are about the same size as the 90s F150s and Silverados. Its nuts.
I think there's a huge percentage of truck drivers who never use their truck for truck stuff. It's simply a status symbol to them which is pathetic. And bigger equals better in their feeble minds.
I have a 13 yr old Tacoma and it's tiny compared to even the modern "small" trucks. When this thing finally dies, I have no idea what I'll get. I love the size of it though. Maybe a Ford Maverick, but those are on backorder for years I heard from several friends who tried to get one.
Even the new Tacoma is still smaller than those F-150 monstrosities. The only other small pickup other than the Maverick is the Santa Cruz, but it isn't really a utility truck if you actually need to haul a ton of stuff.
For hauling big is objectively better. Without a doubt.
And for camping it’s nice that I can sleep in the 6.5 foot bed of my truck with the camper on it, and also fit my camping supplies in the back seat of my full sized cab. I only put maybe 300 miles a month on it. So it’s not like I’m driving it as my primary. But yes, it’s huge.
Driving to the coast, pointing the back of my truck toward the ocean, and laying in the comfy queen sized bed with a roof and windows, reading a book, with my my wife is one of my favorite weekend activities. And having the instant privacy is very nice.
My other car is a tiny Honda. Which is great for everything else.
Already the shortages have subsided, I can find Mavericks on the lot for $25,000 now. Slightly desirable cars from all manufacturers that released during the shortages are now generally easy to find/order if you really want one.
In fact, there seems to be a glut of the various models right now. Dealers lots that were practically empty last year are now overflowing with the cars that people were backordering like crazy. A dealer near me got too used to selling all the expensive models they now have mostly $70k+ models on the lot and seem to be stuck unable to sell them anymore.
Exactly. I wanted a pickup for the convenience of the bed for the occasional project I might work on but 98% of the time it will just be me in there going to and from work.
I ordered my hybrid Maverick September 2022 and it's finally scheduled for production. On the one occasion every year or two that I need the power of a full size pickup, I'll just borrow it or rent some from Home Depot for a few hours.
They have a higher profit margin because they are less regulated than standard size cars. So auto manufactures are incentivized to shift production to larger vehicles and market them to consumers.
People don't actually want them, car companies have just convinced them they do.
Because I love making generalizations based on personal experience: most of the bad drivers I encounter on the road are either pickup trucks, BMWs, or rusted out junkers.
The trucks have no regard for others' safety, because they know if they get in an accident they will squash a smaller vehicle. They take this to the point of just swerving into your lane, counting on you to break or get out of the way.
BMWs are simply unskilled, unpredictable, selfish drivers. They are too self-obsessed to cater their driving to anyone else on the road. They will take up lanes they don't need to be in and do illegal maneuvers to correct their mistakes, because they believe they are above the law.
The junkers are just batshit methheads or something. They have no regard for anyone's safety, including their own. They have a drug deal they are trying to get to.
At least it wasn't the H2! One of the worst vehicles I had to drive when it comes to visibility (second only to the F650) and I probably have driven a thousand different models in the 10 years I was a valet!
I had a student lose their life like this, and I'm sure if the person wasn't driving such a big vehicle, they would have seen the student in time to stop.
In the college town near me, students walk directly in-front of cars and bikes. Nearly hit oblivious pedestrians stepping into the road on multiple occasions while on my bike. Some people put very loud horns on their 2 and 4 wheeled vehicles, which is pretty funny anytime they get used.
If you don't want people stepping into the road then stop putting roads everywhere. They built a road in between my home and work and I hate it, I want to get rid of the road and go back to the good old days.
Yet it is the EPA regulations on emissions by vehicle wheelbase that have led manufacturers to continuously increase size rather than reduce emissions. Great job...
That's because the auto industry realized there was a lucrative loophole in the regs and has since successfully lobbied to keep it in place. Basically it's a type of regulatory capture.
It's not that simple. In the US at least it's more of a case of standards that created an accidental loophole, which could have been closed quickly, but because car manufacturers found it so profitable they have fought ever since to keep the rules from being revised. When the original cafe standards were passed trucks were actual utilitarian vehicles and CAFE did a lot to raise average mileage. It's time to stop exempting trucks and SUVs.
Are you saying government regulation as it is now is a problem, or are you suggesting that in a truly free market the car companies would stop making giant trucks despite it being their bestseller?
You're partly right. The implementation of government regulation is a problem. Lawmakers are, for the most part, absolutely incompetent when it comes to making effective regulation.
More and more of these are coming into Australia. They carry extremely small dick vibes. They are fucking annoying how much road space they take up. It's comical watching them drive around a car park. My friend bought a RAM and his personality changed with it in that he actually belittles our cars and kind of acts like we are weak?! He works as a corporate job and has absolutely no need for such a car apart from helping his inferiority complex. Now I can't help but dislike anyone who has one of these.
They're popping up here in the UK too. Our winding pre-industrial roads really aren't big enough for these road tanks, they constantly get in the way. They're even too big for a lot of parking spaces, you see them spilling over all the time.
Great video, and fully agree with its message. I really don't understand why people buy these and am always amused (and a wee bit irked) when I see one trying to maneuver on a tight street. Want more space? Get a hatchback. Got kids you need to carry around and need more space? Get a longer hatchback (or station wagons as the guy says in the video). Plus, you look cooler in a car the closer you are to the ground.
Directly regulating the size isn't the only possibility though, huge cars are really rare in the EU even though there isn't anything prohibiting you from buying them. You just won't fit anywhere with one if you do :)
I recently moved to a state where there are so many giant vehicles, and I drive a compact car. The front of the hood of an f-150 is as tall as my entire car. I feel like I'm the closest to the ground out of all the cars on the highway. You see all these big trucks and SUVs having a hard time maneuvering in parking lots. Why do all these people need such giant vehicles? Gas is expensive enough in my little tiny car, is the worse mileage even worth it?
Bring back the station wagon 😭 I want a hybrid wagon, but the Volvo is is prices so no one can afford it lol... I really don't want to get the Chrysler van...
This. So much this. I own a compact pickup truck, and a few SUVs, and really wish I could have station wagons instead, but the used market is the used market, there really isn't anything available.
It's because EPA under Obama changed emissions regulations from average across vehicles sold to tables by wheelbase (in order to try and tighten mpg on larger vehicles instead of sedans just getting better to average it out). So now, as MPG requirements go up, they just build bigger cars to bump into the next size instead of hitting MPG targets for the current size. This is also partly why there's few sedan models and everyone has just moved to crossovers.
Every potential regulation/deregulation has unintended consequences that should be explored to figure out if the consequences may be worse than current. Instead everyone just does it by throwing darts and assuming everyone will just go along with the intent. When that doesn't work, they go about blaming the other side for loopholes before repeating the process to try and close those loopholes up.
When the mods of this sublemmy were deciding the rules, I asked some clarifying points to ensure the rules wouldn't have unintended consequences. Someone yelled at me and said I should just assume good intentions and that the mods would never ban anyone who meant well.
Absolute blind trust in even the smallest authority. Nobody's perfect.
There are a few minibuses that my local transit provider operates for suburban routes, the kind that's a bus cabin bolted to a modified Ford truck body or van. Something I noticed riding those buses is that the operator sits lower and has a smaller engine compartment obstructing their view than a lot of five-seater SUVs.
Should be required by law that all new cars have Pedestrian crash avoidance mitigation (PCAM) systems. In the same way that seatbelts and rear cameras are required. Would be surprised if it’s nit required by 2030.
Trucks are commercial vehicles. You need them for towing, hauling and other construction related activities. License, permit and tax them as such. If you have a huge boat or RV you need to tow, get and pay for a permit. Have the taxes be based on mileage so the more they're used, the more expensive it is. We invented weigh stations to make trucks compensate for the additional strain they put on roads. Same for these trucks. That'll help prevent them from being daily drivers.
Further, even if you have your boat or RV, relatively "smaller" vehicles can tow them confidently. A Santa Cruz is sized consistently with the pickup trucks of the past and can tow 5,000 lbs. There's a lot of SUVs about that same size that can tow that much or more, if you don't need a bed.
Further, the biggest reason these smaller vehicles are constrained on how much they tow is the American expedition that you can slap on your 5,000 lb trailer and drive 75 mph down the road. In Europe many cars have significantly higher towing capacities for exact same model as the American version, owing to the speed limits imposed on trailering.
The ridiculous "must look like a semi" pickup truck situation needs to pass. Those trucks have a purpose, but for it to be a likely "default" choice for a household is silly.
idk if it's an American thing, but please stop calling them trucks. Trucks are actual freight hauling industrial vehicles. This is just a family car with a bucket on the back. Call it a ute or whatever.
Truck is just slang for pickup truck. Ute as a term isn't really a thing in the US. Coup utilities like an El Camino or Subaru Baja feel pretty distinct from modern American pickups though. It'd be weird to put them in the same category given how different they are in both form and function.
They’ll cover them in corporate “crash detection” cameras for which you need to pay a monthly subscription and they take all the data and sell it to cops anyway. It’s a win-win-win for capitalism!
They both increase the risk of drag under if a pedestrian is hit, and they both have decreased visibility in comparison to a sedan, hatchback, coupe, etc. Etc.
So do semitrucks, that doesn't mean they're the same thing. Btw I'm pretty sure visibility from most SUVs is significantly better than from an average pickup.
Some of them do, and you can activate the cameras in a lot of cars at will that have front and side cameras. Some of them will auto-brake when going toward pedestrians.
Nothing beats also having actual visible sight line, and there's frequently no excuse for the terrible sight lines of modern high riding passenger vehicles, but pedestrian safety systems are available, and based on technology so cheap in the context of a $20,000+ vehicle that it probably should be mandated at this point.
A lot of cars do have pedestrian detection these days. Even lower end cars like Toyota Corollas have pedestrian detection as a standard feature. These pedestrian detection features automatically apply the brakes when it detects that you're about to hit someone.