One of these has definitely hauled more than the other, and i guarantee you it’s not the ford.
Emotional support vehicles
Gotta stuff those fat americans in there somehow.
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.
Yeah but people are specifically criticizing the people who buy trucks to show off in the city, not people who actually use them for what they were made to do
You have a point. It’s also clear that the Ford pickup in OP’s picture hasn’t done anything remotely close to any of the things you mentioned and likely won’t be, even once a year.
Frequent campers, contractors, farmers, builders/carpenters, junk and scrap haulers, landscapers all have a use for a pickup truck. Most others don’t.
Those are things that the vast majority of truck owners never get near doing. There are a ton of truck owners that have never hooked up a trailer before in their life and only have used the bed for something like transporting an appliance once. It isn’t something they actively use as designed even once a month.
As someone else pointed out already, yes, there are people who need a truck. They don’t need an oversized death machine. There is little to no reason for a truck to have that much bulk, the bulk doesn’t add power.
However, most “need a truck” is either shit that could be done in much less vehicle, or done so infrequently that it makes 0 sense to OWN said truck. I sometimes need a truck… so far thrice in my life. I rented said truck. My wagon covers almost all of my hauling needs, rental covers the few outliers.
You can tow an excavator, etc etc, with a Ford Transit. Hell, they can still drive ok if you stuff enough crushed cars in the back to get a curb weight of 3 tons.
Meanwhile a 1/2 ton pickup looks like it’s struggling with half a ton in the tiny tiny bed.
Tbf using a Skoda for comparison is cheating, they’re notorious for being very roomy. 😛
I have a Hyundai I40CW and I am 197cm tall, I can easily put the driver’s seat to my comfortable position and then sit behind the driver seat at the back.
The front passenger seat if I put it all the way back and put the seat down I can comfortably straighten my legs out and sleep.
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
Pickups suck at literally everything they try to do. They are the worst of all worlds.
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…
“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.
This is very well written and thoughrow answer, thank you. The average daily comute distance feels absolutely fucking insane to me, no wonder so many people are car dependant.
many people think transit “brings the wrong kind of people” (aka poor and black people) to their neighborhood and fight it.
I hate the system that is implied that opressed people shoud be hated, not the opressors themselves. People living below the means of wealth are the result of a failing system, one that doesn’t cater to the well being of many, but to those of a few. I’ve seen beggars on highways with toddlers(not on the sides on the highway that’s reserved for ambulances and such, but sitting against the wall that divides the ways) and I’d rather see them on public transport than there. I’m happy for the BRT line, that’s incredible. I’m also happy for the people that get to experience public transport in these following years. Sure, at peak hours it may seem crowded, but getting fast where you need to be is amazing. I grew up using public transportation and can’t imagine my life without it (as the city was designed to not be insanely large, and driving takes longer than using public transit). I mean, didn’t people used to say in the 1800’s that public roads are socialism and socialism bad ? It’s like the bird who eats a biscuit and experiences bliss for the first time, public transit can be bliss.(and it’s not like people here don’t have cars, it’s just that it’s more convinient and fast to ride the subway for example, and leave cars for longer distance roads, like holiday trips. Using cars only when absolutely needed was ironically driven by lack of parking, existence of potholes, and infernal traffic). You have the freedom to own a car, it’s just that the expenses can render you dry if you don’t absolutely need it and have alternitives. I’m rooting for you, I learned a lot reading your comment, thank you so much.
light
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.
This is me in Argentina right now. I don’t want to, but houses scarcity is forcing me and lots of others to move fast away from the capitals on search of affordable housing and the lack of transportation from the capital to the suburbs is basically forcing people to buy more expensive as fuck cars
No worries(my reply time is even worse as you can see), thank you for the reply. It feels unreal how far the distance between stuff is, I didn’t think it was that crazy, but the more I learn about this, the more I’m happy I don’t have to deal with this. My only question is how driving fatigue is avoided. And regarding motorcycles, I feel you on that. I personally wouldn’t ride one here because of potholes and unsafe traffic. But in all seriousness, I get that having space is bliss, but it’s torture to have to drive everywhere.
Hey, if I see a pickup that looks like it’s doing work (some grime, work equipment, etc.) then more power to the owner. If it looks like it just got the third layer of wax done, maybe not so much.
I drive pickup because I’m a farmer. The comment here about pickups being terrible terrible at most jobs obviously comes from someone who doesn’t use one for work. Are they really suggesting I buy three different vehicles and the environmental costs associated with producing them? I don’t even like traveling for fun. My pickup is a 99, so it’s not even that tall compared to what they sell now. I can do all my deliveries, pickups, and even took the back seat(4 door) out for more cargo space.
That being said, modern pickups have gotten too bulky without any gains 8n function. A dream build for me would be an 80s era square body with a modified Tesla rear end.
If we really want to start comparing, SUVs don’t offer any more function over a classic station wagon. Build one of those with modern crumple zones, materials, and make it an EV and you have the perfect around town errant vehicle.
I drive pickup because I’m a farmer. The comment here about pickups being terrible terrible at most jobs obviously comes from someone who doesn’t use one for work.
But they are terrible at most jobs. Your job just happens to be one of the few exceptions.
And even that might be debatable, I don’t see most farmers here use those things, they drive a tractor for the heavy shit and a small car for most othet things. But that might be a regional difference, I’m not a farmer myself.
Either way, those huge pickups have no business in a parking garage.
Small farm. Pickups are good for quickly hauling tools, fertilizer, seed, etc… to fields. Huge, thousand acre fields might use tractor trailers with flatbed or liquid holding tanks. We have a box truck for big deliveries, but a pickup will be good for small deliveries. More fuel efficient and easier in irregular parking lots then a box truck. I’ve also made a grease pumping setup on skids that I use to pick up wvo. That can go in most pickups.
When I have to drive though gridlock in NYC, what I see are yuppies in SUVs that wont make eye contact while they sit their asses in the middle of the intersection. I’m surprised those even fit in parking garages. They should really put a height limit on privately owned vehicles in cities.
Farming and construction are the only fields that need a truck. Everything else can be done better with a van, yeah.
The comment here about pickups being terrible terrible at most jobs obviously comes from someone who doesn’t use one for work.
It probably comes from someone who doesn’t use one at all. If you actually use it for work, this comment is not about you. The top 3 selling vehicles in the US are massive pickup trucks, and have been for decades.
There are simply not that many farmers. They’re being used to commute back and forth to the office because they’re comfortable and they “like riding high above everyone else”.
Is that static grouping all pickup sales to all car sales or just the leading pickup model to the leading car model?
Because there aren’t as many models of pickups out there as there are cars. One manufacture can have half a dozen models that are all about the same, but with different badges them, but a truck platform will only have the pickup and maybe an suv.
I totally agree. I have a friend who works with forresty and managing a very large area. She has one 8f those big range rowers and it gets absolutely beaten and used heavily every day driving through the terrain while hawking chain saws, tools and gear. Tho I still find the size to be somewhat comically and unnessearyly large and inelegant. For domestic use it’s even more stupid
I’ve done heavier towing in a van than that Ford can legally come close to. A digger in the back with 3.5 tons of equipment on a dual axel trailer.
No one needs these pointless wastes if space. They’re a fashion statement not a working vehicle.
Just ignoring trailers which is the whole claimed purpose of those ridiculous yank tanks.
Oh and the hydraulic crane on my trailer had no issues getting stuff inside my van.
One of these has definitely hauled more than the other, and i guarantee you it’s not the ford.
I don’t know, the Ford looks like it has to carry around a really big ego.
Can we stop humiliating men for having small dicks? Penis size is something people don’t choose and can’t change, like their skin color or their sexual orientation.
Those trying to project a “tough guy” appearance are deeply insecure. They have this idea that if they show vulnerability then other people will think less of them and they will be victimized. People don’t learn this sort of coping behavior when they are raised in a loving nurturing environment.
They don’t have small dicks. They are scared.