- cross-posted to:
- fuckcars@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- fuckcars@lemmy.world
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The last one is a significant concern. Huge trucks and SUVs are so prevalent and they’re so big it seems like the drivers aren’t as aware of their surroundings. I’d love to see us move to taxing based on vehicle weight/mileage since it’s the true measure of how much wear a vehicle puts on the roads. You want that insane Hummer EV? You’re paying 20x what the guy in a Civic is paying.
The “light truck” exemption is a huge problem, and needs to be repealed.
Big cars also reduce everyone else’s visibility.
I feel this so much in my 90s hatchback :'(
The SUV plague is a european phenomenon too.
Probably this effect:
and this https://carbuzz.com/news/the-abrams-m1-tank-has-better-visibility-than-a-ford-super-duty/
Interesting that they referenced the infographic multiple times but couldn’t be bothered to put it in the article.
pecuniary emulation drives consumers to spend more on displays of wealth and status symbols, as opposed to more useful commodities.
aka, Keeping Up With The Joneses, Conspicuous Consumption.
That last one is actually legitimate. My wife was rear ended twice at a red light. Her physiatrist, recommended she gets a slightly bigger car because it would change the angle of impact if it happens again. The lower more reclined angle could potentially kill her if she’s hit again.
She went from a car to a compact SUV. Small change, but she is now in a more upright seated position.
The vehicle size arms race. Large cars force other cars to become larger just to match their mass in an accident. Still doesn’t mean if you buy a large vehicle that you’re not making the problem worse
I wouldn’t call a Honda HR-V large.
It’s ok, tramp is going to teach everyone about frugality, lol. They can eat military parades.
That’s really bad, sorry, yet that extra safety also makes it more unsafe to spot e.g. children crossing the street (better to have a higher tilt angle in that case)
A Honda HR-V is not very big and has plenty of visibility.
You can have my Corolla when you pry my cold, dead body from it
FR though the one in the upper right corner is a real thing. When I inherited my grandfather’s truck I swear suddenly everyone in the family needed something moved. I get asked at least once a month to help move something or lend it out lol.
At least once it’s your truck you can say no. When you’re a tall teen and dad/grandpa have pickups, suddenly you’re getting voluntold to be a furniture mover on a Saturday morning.
Nothing at all in this about how few actual cars are still being sold. Because the NHTSB have made it so that passenger vehicles require a certain number of safety features and fuel efficiency, bigger vehicles means more money for auto makers and not having to produce vehicles that are as fuel efficient or safe as their larger counter parts.
Giggling in hatchback at this.
American, here; can’t stand large cars. Which is why I plan on driving my 350Z forever.
Did Jesus even want to not get caught? Im pretty sure a God cant be worse than a big car in any situation
My local roads are shit, the SUV prevents me damaging my vehicle in all the potholes / construction zones.
I would totally rock a Slate, though.
One of the sadder reasons: I need a pickup but they stopped making small pickups in the 90’s.
I need to take a Pic like that with my 63 ranchero
Why not get a van?
I actually have one! I was generously gifted a Ford E-Transit to transport my wheelchair-bound elderly mother. It’s all electric. It’s pretty heavy and unwieldy, but doesn’t have a massive horizontal profile like a lot of the common pickups these days. The van works great for this purpose, though it only has a 135 mile range. But that’s fine for going around the city. (I can’t park in parking garages though - it’s too tall.)
Before I got this, I was trying to find a small truck or SUV to transport the wheelchair in and it was very hard to find something that was small, not falling apart, cheap, etc. I had almost given up.
You’re in luck (maybe?): Telo truck, Slate truck, or even the newer Ford Maverick. The first two aren’t in production yet, but Mavericks look like a great size.
I can confirm that the Maverick is pretty much exactly the same size as a '90s Ranger, having parked my Ranger next to one before. The proportions are pretty different though, with the Maverick having a larger cab (four doors) and a proportionally smaller bed. A Maverick (and probably the other two you mentioned) would definitely be a good choice for people who think they need a truck for personal use.
However, there is one problem with all of those vehicles, which is that none of them are actually trucks.
You can tell the difference between a truck and a not-truck (a car-based “ute,” like an El Camino) by the fact that there’s no gap between the cab and the bed. Real trucks have body-on-frame construction, not a unibody, and can have the pickup bed replaced with custom flatbeds or utility beds or whatever.
In some sense it often doesn’t matter because a unibody ute would fit most people’s needs just fine. Until you want to do actual truck stuff, and then it matters. For example, the Slate Truck is rated to tow 1000 lbs, the Maverick is rated for 2000 lbs (or 4000 with the tow package), and a '90s Ranger is rated for up to 6000 lbs. (Mine can’t do that – it’s an I-4 manual 4x4, which is the worst configuration for towing – but an appropriately-configured V6 automatic 2WD one can.)
Telo supposedly will have a 1600 pound payload capacity and a 6600 pound towing capacity. They also advertise being able to fit a full 8x4 sheet of plywood with the tailgate up. It really looks like the truck I would want to buy if I ever decide to start a landscaping business. It’s also significantly more expensive than slate or a maverick.
Source since I couldn’t find payload or towing capacity on their site: https://electrek.co/2025/03/06/hands-on-and-first-ride-in-telos-tiny-electric-truck-thats-as-big-as-a-mini/
It’s also significantly more expensive than slate or a maverick.
Yeah, it seems like it’s in a different class than a Ranger/Maverick/Slate, at least in price if not size.
It also seems like they’re still in the “throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks” part of the design phase, talking about things like the midgate and the storage tunnel under the bed that might double as a footwell for third-row seating. Between that and the almost-cabover design (which I kinda like, but which would be pretty unpopular among people who care about crumple zones) I’m pretty skeptical that the Telo “truck” will make it to production, especially while keeping all those promised features and specs intact.
Edit: also also, I could be wrong, but I think there’s a point where towing capacity gets limited by how small the towing vehicle is in terms of weight and/or wheelbase, regardless of how strong its motor, brakes and frame might be. I’m a little concerned the Telo might be pushing that limit.
I agree that we’re in the “wait and see” phase with regards to what features make it into the production line. I hadn’t really considered those other limitations on towing, but it’s also not something I need to do on a regular basis currently.
Isn’t the towing capacity based on engine and trans. How would the metal skeleton have a direct result on towing?
Wait, seriously? A 1000lb towing capacity is just insane. If you threw a hitch on a Honda Civic, it would do better than that.
I have actually had my eye on both the Telo and the Slate, very interesting concepts. I also appreciate the slightly smaller Maverick, but wish it had a bit more bed and/or a bit less cabin.
Don’t take this personal, I don’t know your specific situation but most people who claim they need a pickup don’t really need a pickup.
Meanwhile, I just still own a small pickup built in the '90s in 2025. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah I had the idea to buy a used one, but it’s such a risk especially since I know nothing about cars. It could develop issues days or weeks after purchase. It would be great if I already had one and it just kept chugging though. I wish your truck a long and healthy life
Anybody who doesn’t let you bring the car to a mechanic for a pre purchase inspection is someone you don’t want to be buying a car from. Most car repair places will do one for you.
I would do this if I could afford it. I was looking a few months ago and somebody locally had a ‘00 Ranger 5 speed 2 seater w/ ~150k mi for $5000 and an ‘01 S10 for $7000.
I obviously don’t know your location but look at things like Nissan hardbodies/early frontiers or Mazda B3000s. The latter of which are literally just 90s Ford Rangers (Rangers were rebadged Mazdas)
The biggest reason that was never mentioned is …
They need a vehicle that can accommodate and carry a 300lb human.
I have a friend who is over weight, his wife is over weight and their four teenage children are all overweight.
One of their previous vehicles was a small car and it looked like a clown show to see four of them stuff themselves into an average sized car and watch the suspension dip.
I couldn’t believe they got a newer F150 that they paid about $50,000 for … a used vehicle! It’s a great truck and they got it just to fit four of them comfortably. They parked next to my 2010 F150 and theirs looks like a transport.
And when they step into the truck, they look normal and you no longer notice how big they are because their truck is huge.
Most smaller cars are designed for 150lbs * 5 people plus a little cargo. So around 800-1000lbs.
Four 300lb people = 1,200lbs. The suspension on that little car was fucked.
The F150 is rated between 1800-2300lbs depending on the model. They can even squeeze in a 5th person into that setup.
I was exaggerating about my friends weight … they aren’t 300 lbs but they are pretty close and probably average about 250lbs … although their oldest son is over 6’ and looks long and large and probably does weigh close to 300lbs
Whatever their weight … they really put a lot of stress in the car
CAFE standards base fleet fuel economy targets on wheelbase. It’s cheaper for manufacturers to produce large trucks and SUVs, which don’t have to meet as stringent a standard due to their large wheelbase.
Those are also classified as light trucks, which means they don’t have to comply with the higher safety standards that “passenger cars” do, another reason they’re cheaper to produce.
How do we sell those? Marketing to make people think they need them.
The government naively assumed the auto makers wouldn’t notice the gaping loophole in the CAFE standards and then did nothing while trucks grew to outlandish sizes.
Americans can’t count because that is eleven reasons.
I don’t think they were counting the middle one.
Then they shouldn’t have put a reason in there 🙄
You’re right, but I would wager they thought that statement was too stupid to be considered a reason.
Honorable mention?
deleted by creator
My Subaru Forester is not a tiny SUV. I was parked between two pickup trucks the other day, and my roof was only slightly higher than their hoods. The Simpsons’ Canyonero is no longer a parody.
I drive an Outback. Have you seen the
new 1999 Ford Explorer2026 Outback? The things even Subaru is doing are, just, BLEH.I have, and I’m disappointed. It was going to be my next Subaru, now I’m thinking Crosstrek, as long as it doesn’t get upsized.
Why not save 10k and get an Impreza instead? Literally the same car with less LARPing plastic cladding and a lift that kills mpg
