People used to use trucks for hauling. Now they are $70k+ status symbols for people who need to scream, "I am insecure."
I don't get why people think an ugly looking vehicle is a status symbol. To most, it symbolizes something completely different.
"my penis is microscopic, now get out of the way"
I saw some truck commercial yesterday where the thing was eighty thousand dollars AFTER all incentives and rebates.
I thought to myself that the people who are screaming about inflation and how the Democrat president is ruining their lives are the same people who are lining up to make crazy monthly payments into a vehicle that will immediately be upside down on the note.
Completely baseless assumption, but I think it's just a continuation of the phenomenon when toddlers get hyped for trucks/tractors/combine harvesters/anything that is big and loud, maybe because it's associated with power, I don't know. Some people just stay at this toddler's mentality and they see everything that's big and/or loud as something you can boast about. See also: loud exhausts, 6400 deciBel motorcycle sounds, etc.
I legitimately had a neighbor tell me "this is a truck neighborhood." In a "joking, not joking" sort of situation.
These trucks are also a very American thing. Rarely see that anywhere in Europe. Lots of toxic masculinity in the US
What sucks is you can’t even buy a truck like the second from the left anymore. I mean, you can buy a used one from a few decades ago, but nobody makes small utility trucks like the old Rangers. The new Ranger is basically just an old F150 (maybe even F250).
The Maverick seems like a reasonable size to me, but by the time I need to replace another car, I'm sure its size will have inflated beyond what I want.
Reasonable footprint, but still a very short bed and 4 door cab. Don't get me wrong, I like the Maverick and expect to buy a 5 year old model in 5 years, but that's because I'll probably still be neck deep in home projects while still trying to commute. It does have great features in the bed and is known to have perfectly acceptable capability hauling full 4x8 sheets with the tailgate tilt. But most of the market is locked away in fullsize crew cabs with 6ft beds at best. 8ft beds typically require utility trims, so you can't get a smaller-footprint nice pickup with full capacity.
I've had a 99 ranger regular cab 7ft bed for about 2 months. It works great for me, but I can barely get a nicer home reno/commuter vehicle. I can go 10 years newer, but not much nicer comparatively speaking from 2024.
Every time I think about the kind of car I want the next time I need to replace mine I am reminded that I miss my old 1994 Chevy S10, and options for something like that these days is rather limited.
I really miss my tiny 1986 Toyota Corolla. My 2016 Prius is not supposed to be a big car and yet it is still bigger than that Corolla. Both sedans. If anything, the Prius should be smaller because it's a hatchback and those used to be the smaller cars.
At the time, the Corolla didn't feel small either. Every car is too big now except maybe Minis and Fiats.
My imaginary dream car would be an EV Nash Metropolitan. It's got 2 doors, a front and a back seat and a decent-sized trunk. I don't haul stuff, there's only three people in my family, I really don't need anything else.
I just want a reasonably sized two door electric truck with a decent sized bed and only minimal space taken up by the frunk. I haul enough stuff that I could really use the cargo space, but I don't want to drive an aircraft carrier on wheels that doesn't fit into parking spaces. And I don't want it collecting as much data as possible on me, but that's not just a truck thing.
So, my options are basically leave the country, drive a 30+ year old ICE truck, or start my own car company. Because despite the fact that there is clearly demand for a smaller truck that's actually a truck, no one is interested in making them for the US market. Not when you can make a big useless luxury truck that has a much larger profit margin.
Get a Ford Econoline pickup and an electric conversion kit. No frunk at all!
Your legs are the crumple zone!
I really wonder if enough of us with those exact desires pooled our resources if we could manage an old truck conversion service.
Was gonna turn my dad's old Ranchero EV when I inherited it before the turd totalled it, it's shockingly simple all things considered just pricey
they don't make em like they used to
good thing too, but those were fun to drive
This doesn't belong in the humor community because it's seriously depressing.
I mean, it makes sense to me.
I know there's a lot of hate for pickup trucks, but they are useful. Not useful all the time, unless you use it for work, but that can be said for many things that we own. Obviously, most people don't use trucks for work, so they increasingly want more people-space and less (but not necessarily zero) cargo-space.
Cars and trucks in general are a problem, and the trend of increasing size of certain trucks is a problem, but imo if someone wants an SUV with a spot in the back to carry a Christmas tree or whatever, I don't see anything particularly wrong with that.
I really wish two seat utility vehicle format in the spirit of the El Camino would be a thing again. Basically a station wagon size, but with an open bed. These could easily have bed covers in the same shape as a wagon as well, but removable to allow for taller items and a bed that can be hosed out.
The market shifting all in to four door cabs sucks.
They actually have modern El Caminos in Australia. They're called Utes!
Unfortunately Holden (Chevy) has stopped making them in favor of the Colorado, which is basically just a pickup.
While I agree with the sentiment, it is still annoying when they take up 2 parking spaces. They are just bad cars for cities and work better on rural areas.
My dream car was a Subaru Baja. Failing that, it's now either a Ford Maverick or a Honda Ridgeline. Those are the closest I can find to the "ute" style I'm looking for, just by virtue of having a 4 door cabin and a small bed.
I'd like to see a similar infographic of the height of the truck beds. Putting a tiny bed way up high is a sure sign the bed is ornamental.
I guess proving (again) so many pick up truck owners do not really need a pick up, they just need to feel manly for a change
Black people couldn't vote in 1961 so maybe it's not so bad after all.
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