Comparison left vs right for a craftsman who doesnt know which one he should buy:
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l/r same bed size
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r lower bed for way easier loading/unloading
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r less likely to crash
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r less fuel consumption and costs
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r less expensive to repair
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r easy to park
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r easy to get around in narrow places like crowded construction sites or towns
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r not participating in road arms race
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l You get taken serious by your fellow carbrained americans because ““trucks”” are normalized and small handy cars are ridiculed.
So unless you are a fragile piece of human, choose the right one.
Also, this is America. I hate being the murica guy but… Other countries have these windey roads that go around mountains because they’re seen as obstacles or they just don’t have mountain ranges to deal with. Here in America we see a mountain and we see it as a challenge. We build roads directly and straight through the most convenient straight line to the next city.
Now me as a Seattle person I look at the vehicle on the right and I see a great around the town LIGHT hauling truck that would be very useful within those confines.
If I want to go beyond that like say taking the family to Idaho/Silver Lake or even Sun Lakes I’m screwed. Going up the pass with that I’d be surprised if I broke 50mph with that, the speed limit is 70. Not sure where I’d put my family during that drive tbh but let’s pretend they don’t exist… Now I’m up in the pass while going 20 under the speed limit without dieing… What if there’s snow? There’s snow for half of the year. I’m straight up screwed in that car in the right.
Not sure why you would go on a family trip with a work truck. The Japanese truck is specialized for work, because it’s silly to have a work truck that you go on big family trips with.
That said, a quick google for Japanese trucks just picking the first one I can find - the Mitsubishi Minicab - it seems they can go 70mph. The Mitsubishi Minicab has a top speed of 72mph.
Because some people can’t afford more than 1 vehicle.
Also, yes the Japanese truck can go 70, but that’s on an even plane. Put that thing on even a 5% incline and I doubt it’d get up to that speed. It’s difficult to maintain any vehicle at 70 on an incline.
It’s a lot easier to afford more than 1 vehicle when they aren’t specifically designed to rip you off. But this is a working vehicle. It generates money. If you can’t afford a personal vehicle, oh well, you’re no worse off than four billion other people.
It’s difficult to maintain any vehicle at 70 on an incline.
Dodge enters the chat, flourish gestures silently at the Pacifica Hellcat minivan
Lived in Utah with many a mountain road. People go well over 70 on an incline daily.
The Japanese minitruck is a lot cheaper than the American truck, both in purchase and in use. If you buy a purpose built vehicle for work and personal use (or, even better: use public transit for the latter) in Japan you likely spend less than you do buying just a large pickup in the United States.
A 2023 F150 in the US starts at $33k. A 2023 Mitsubishi Minicab in Japan starts at $12k. You can almost buy three of them. The F150 has a fuel efficiency of 20mpg. The Mitsubishi Minicab has a fuel efficiency of 39mpg US. On top of that, maintenance will be cheaper with a smaller and cheaper vehicle.
It’s also worth noting that large vehicles incur social costs external to the consumer. A larger vehicle wears down roads quicker, requiring more government subsidy or higher taxes for road maintenance. A larger vehicle takes up more space, requiring wider roads and larger parking spaces, which makes infrastructure more expensive and sprawling; the latter makes cities less walkable.
A larger vehicle has a bigger environmental impact, negatively impacting health - leading to more spending on health care - and to a larger burden on the climate - requiring more spending on green energy and carbon offsets. A larger vehicle is less safe in collisions, leading to more deaths and graver injuries, again requiring more spending on health care.
Granted, the United States has remarkably poor infrastructure and civil planning for a rich country, making it difficult for its citizens to rely on superior modes of transport, and incentivizing bad transport outcomes. I certainly don’t blame any American for deciding to buy an American car; the country is just designed around them.
