If you’re a guy they no doubt also draw conclusions about your dick size, which they know are indisputably accurate because memes.
Unpopular opinion: unless you regularly haul things, you don’t need a truck of any size. Unless you regularly go off-road or are transporting 5+ people and a dog or more, you don’t need an SUV. You can rent one of those for the rare times you need it! And in the meantime, you’ll save gas money and pedestrian deaths will go down…
I will somewhat disagree with the SUV comment, as my escape counts as an SUV, and I regularly fill it far past a sedan’s capacity when I go grocery shopping (the savings from driving 3+hours each way to the nearest Costco far outstrips the cost in gas) and when I go camping.
And, as I camp in a tent, and have kayaks I can strap to the roof, I don’t need a truck at all, because my car can get me to every campsite that a truck can get to, often easier than someone dragging a camper can.
Plus, since its a plug-in hybrid, and Canada doesn’t burn fossil fuels for power, my fuel efficiency is significantly better than the average sedan in drives under 100km, and breaks even above that.
On a 60km drive, I average 2L/100km, a 100km drive I average 4.6L/100km, and on a 300km drive I average 6.6L/100km (100km/h), 7.5L/100km (110km/h), or 8.8L/100km (120km/h), which is well within what sedans average.
All absolutely valid points and my only counter argument here is that is why wagon sedans exist. Growing up in Poland a wagon was the family hauler bringing all the stuff you mentioned to pretty much anywhere you need. People even haul rvs with the wagons and you’re still smaller and relatively more pedestrian friendly. Hell they even make performance cars in wagon spec like the bmw m3. Not saying that to discredit your point just that there was another option before the suv craze came about
Fun fact: Only 1.4% of the cars sold in the US are wagons and of them 72% were Subaru Outbacks.
…wagons nearly don’t exist anymore in the US market, but i concur: hatchbacks, wagons, and minivans are purpose-designed vehicles for the way people use them in the real world, whereas modern trucks and SUVs are overwhelmingly poseur props for families in denial of their suburban utility lifestyle…
The last wagon style sedan I had had worse fuel efficiency than a modern f150 does (though it was an early 2000’s model).
Brakes on that thing also scared the shit out of me, it did not like stopping.
The Subaru forester sedans were very popular in New England from the early 200s to like 2014. Idk just saying there are good option, there were even diesel wagons from WV that had solid efficiency later on .
I’ve been thinking about replacing my 2005 car but the only thing I want to replace it with is an electric station wagon, of which Europe has several options and America has 0. I don’t want a compact SUV, I just want a wagon! I’ll probably leave the country before I have any options lol
Station wagons are for mommies in the 1980s; all the cool kids want SUV and pickups.
So car manufacturers made station wagons with upright seating positions and “off road” styling and called them Crossovers.
In reality, they just couldn’t reasonably add the same markup, so they shifted to other products. Also, fuel efficiency standards based on weight made it more profitable to sell larger vehicles, so they had another reason to shift. We really got fucked from every side.
Yeah, my car I always though was a hatchback, but apparently is actually classified as a crossover. The main reason I still have it (other than having been paid off) is because it still gets competitive mpg and it’s so practical. I used it to take all my crap to and from college. I can carry 9ft lumber in the cabin with the passenger seat down. I’ve gone on a service road in a state park and I didn’t get stuck.
The thought has crossed my mind to get an electric conversion for it instead of buying a new spyware riddled car 😆
Oh man, I really wanted a wagon, but being in Canada the only one available that wasn’t a $90k+ Volvo/mercedes/Audi was a Subaru Outback and I absolutely hated the infotainment system in it. I hate not having physical buttons. So we ended up getting a small suv. I really wish they’d bring over some of the wagon options Europe has.
I wish Canada didn’t burn fossil fuels for power but as an Albertan I can promise you that we do.
Sorry, the parts of Canada that don’t idolize Texas don’t burn fossil fuels.
trailer for hauling and then own whatever you want for driving, a subaru impreza will handle the offroad most people think you need a truck for. If you haul often a van shits on a truck in terms of cargo space, practicality, protection of cargo, ease of loading and carry a trailer while you load or unload. Modern american trucks are just crossovers with a tiny, useless flatbed bought to appear country. Trucks are only for the edge case of construction workers and maintenance crews who have to actually go off road (as in area in the forest where there is no road, not a gravel path a ferrari can drive on without issues). And for serious offroad that requires you to actually carry more than a single chainsaw: unimog.
I disagree. I have a modern American 3/4 ton diesel pickup. It’s not a crossover. I’m not in construction or maintenance, I work in tech.
I have four horses and a gooseneck trailer for the horses that the truck hauls once or twice a week. I also have a flatbed for hauling hay or moving the tractor.
For literally everything else i have a small car, because that truck is awful to drive in traffic or urban areas.
A friend of mine used to have a Suburban because her husband was a boat salesman and needed something that could tow big boats. She called it the Urban Assault Vehicle.
If you haul anything pickup trucks are laughably bad to do so.
Modern pickups are bad. Old pickups were fantastic for “I need to pile a bunch of (insert thing here) in the back.”
But now every pickup is a massive motor for a tiny truckbed that my ford focus wagon has better hauling capacity.
the few local american pickups here in europe are only here because of appearances and do no off road or hauling. The pickups that do hauling are exclusively japanese and they are all beat to shit cause they get used as designed.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh if we were allowed to have the Toyota Hilux here I’d buy one immediately. Fucking closest to a truck I “like” is a Ford Maverick because it’s a “smaller truck”…
But they ONLY come in crew cab. For fucks sake I want a standard cab full size small pickup truck about the size of a HIlux or a ranger from the 90s. And frankly if they made one a hybrid I’d have a dream car, but hell I’d take a 4 cylinder. But nope. Around here they’re the shortest fucking bed for the biggest fucking motor that’s effectively an SUV that is somehow MORE useless because the wall between the bed and the cab means I can’t lay seats down. A fucking mini-van is a better truck in the US.
I apologize… this is an angry angry rant I have to do like once every other week…
You can arrange to import one. The US has a 25 year ban on cars that weren’t available originally. When it gets to the US modify to your liking and cop friendly nods from car guys who’ll appreciate the effort
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/1999-toyota-hilux-manual-4x4-dual-cab/SSE-AD-18374144
Its okay, its better to vent on internet than in real life.
Id like a subaru brat. But it’s rare and i have no practical reason to own it.
My friend has a dodge ram. When his girlfriend left him, he moved out and i helped him move. I asked if i should bring my bus that i use for work. He said nah, DODgE RAM. We drove 4 times just to move his sofa and his side table. Piece by piece. All of his stuff would’ve fit in my bus and maybe something on his pickup. And my bus was still a bit shorter, because he couldn’t fit on his new parking spot, but i did.
Pretty much this. Like I said about my Focus, I’ve straight up driven with 2x4s that wouldn’t fit in coworkers trucks because the 4 foot bed is useless for that and I could fold seats down.
How so? Hauls my tools and supplies around the town just fine.
Capitalism and consumerism is about buying shit we dont need man.
That why America doesnt buy public healthcare, its needed so we dont buy it. Ok?
Everyone has things they want but dont need. I doubt that guy has any real need for that thing but I’m sure it’s a ton of fun to own and drive around nevertheless.
unless you regularly haul things, you don’t need a truck of any size. Unless you regularly go off-road or are transporting 5+ people and a dog or more, you don’t need an SUV. You can rent one of those for the rare times you need it!
Maybe… but why not go further?
Unless you regularly transport more than 1 person, you don’t need a car. You can rent one of those for the rare times you need it!
Buy a motorcycle or bike instead?
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You’re a shitty reductio ad absurdum, my kid and I live in England where rain was invented and I do fine without a car.
Just throwing it out there that rain gear exists and you can 100 percent ride a motorcycle or a bicycle when it’s raining without getting wet. I think everyone would be a better driver if they had to experience getting somewhere on two wheels.
Hell, a motorcycle can generate enough electricity to power heated clothing to keep you warm even during New England winters. If there’s no ice on the road I’m riding my motorcycle to work!
Hi I own only a moped and when it rains/snows:
- if it’s not too severe I just wear a poncho and be a bit miserable
- if it’s too severe I take a cab
the occasional cab fare is peanuts compared to what I’d be paying in gas and insurance
I rent a car/van sometimes when I need to haul stuff. Same deal
I would absolutely own a bike instead of a small car if I was the only one on the road. I just don’t trust other drivers enough to do it.
I’m 3yrs into having done this, and it only works because my wife has a car so really we only got rid of the 2nd car so doesn’t count.
I think it’s a really valid proposal for 2nd cars but even then only if you’re not needing to transport kids at multiple times
I remember a time when that Frontier was considered a big truck, especially compared to Rangers and Tacomas.
Now the Rangers and Tacomas are almost as big as the Dodge in this…
ETA: Just noticed you’re in Europe. Sorry that 'murican fattism has reached you, I didn’t know these compensators existed across the pond.
Sorry that 'murican fattism has reached you
I don’t mind. I’m a car guy myself, and I like them in all shapes and sizes. I’d probably drive one too if I lived in the US, but over here they’re just way too big and impractical not to mention they stick out in traffic like a sore thumb and, quite frankly, make you look kind of a douche.
It does make you a cunt by definition, since your modern stupid bright LED headlights shine STRAIGHT into the eyes and/or rear view mirror of everyone else.
They’re H4 halogens and I can assure you they’re not blinding anyone thru those fogged up headlight lenses.
Headlights are literally placed at exact height of a rear view mirror and eye height of many cars. Even incandescent will blind.
You’re talking about the Dodge? In that case you’re correct.
Of course the dodge, that nee-san is fine.
My dad has a '93 ranger, the modern rangers are almost the size of the f150s of that era, and you can’t even get them like a 7ft bed like he has.
The 4 cylinder manages almost 20mpg which isn’t too shabby even by modern truck standards. If I could get pretty much the exact same truck with a modern engine, maybe a hybrid, it would be a no-brainer.
4wd would be nice too, his is RWD, and that thing doesn’t like rain, snow, loose gravel, pretty much anything but dry asphalt when you don’t have any weight in the bed.
We’ve gotten plenty of use out of that truck, we’re not towing or hauling anything heavy, but we’ve moved a lot of furniture with it, picked up some small loads of bulky lumber and such from the hardware store, hauled camping gear for a bunch of kids back when I was in scouts, etc. I don’t need anything bigger.
I’m kind of crossing my fingers that the maverick adds a mid gate to extend that tiny bed a bit. That would basically check all of the boxes I’m looking for. Ideally that would still be my 2nd vehicle in addition to a small EV for most of my daily commuting but I’d get enough use out of a truck like that to be worth it if I could afford and had parking space for a second car.
Put a Ford Focus behind it to show what people actually need.
Shouldn’t generalize like that. People with a legitimate need to space for hauling cargo exists.
So that people refocus their goals? fingerguns
I did the same when a coworker showed up with an F350 crew cab 6.5ft bed. Lifted, offroad lights, cb antenna, diesel (which is the HD option in the US). He lives in the suburbs and pays laborers for everything. So I plopped my dutiful little Mazda B2300 next to it (Ranger) that regularly hauls a little bit of wood.
So I plopped my dutiful little Mazda B2300 next to it (Ranger) that regularly hauls a little bit of wood.
'96 Ranger 2.3L here. My truck has the same engine as the Ford Pinto and that’s the way I likes it!
iTs A liMa blah blah blah pinto, lima, it’s beans inside, this is beans
Guaranteed he bitches about gas/diesel prices too.
He didn’t buy it for MPGs, he bought it to complain about $/gals
I don’t understand I maxed out my credit to buy this thing, drive and look like a douchebag and girls STILL avoid me?!?
Oh yeah, wrong vehicle. I am DROWNING in numbers with one of my vehicle types: motorcycles. Every time I ride somewhere, I get someone coming up. So many reasons. They used to have my bike model, they want a buddy to ride with, they have a meet coming up, they’re doing a charity ride, they want photos, they… Wait you said girls didn’t you. Shit.
Girls? They come out when the 2 door Geo Tracker comes out with the roof off.
In the future, cars will be so big that we will need a second, smaller car to drive us to the driver’s seat.
Ford Ranger 2004 vs 2024 is like Mario before and after mushroom.
I miss the little Ranger. That thing was the perfect pickup truck (if your market didn’t get the actual perfect pickup truck, the Toyota Hilux)
Plot twist: they’re both OP’s
Thanks for blinding everyone on the road with your Dodge.
One for hauling, towing, driving around offroad and onroad and basically doing everything in and the other for taking it to american car meets.
I’ve never seen something as big as the one on the left, in my entire life. Probably because I haven’t been to the US in a long ass time?
This isn’t from the US either
I have a 2011 Nissan titan that is completely stocked no big stupid lift just some different rims and that’s it. It has done great work for me and my family I’ve never had any issues with it I regularly keep it serviced and it will do 20mpg. The amount of people I know who have big giant bro diesel trucks with 2 story high lifts and political stickers on them that never see a speck of dirt and just go to the McDonald’s is stupid. And they all complain about gas prices yet at the same time brag about how there trucks do 8mpg to own the libs…
20! Wow… I get from close to 40 on my Toyota auris most weeks. And that’s mostly urban driving
Everyone should get a Honda Element.
