It barely fits in the bloody car park. So bad for pedestrians and the environment.
Hi American here - please don’t let those things take over your roads, it sucks for all the reasons you think it does
Oh god the reddit f150 posts have made it to lemmy. Didn’t take long
lmao my bad I just saw the article and couldn’t believe the size of the thing.
Your post certainly struck a nerve!
For complete fairness to everyone we should tax every vehicle on road or path from scooters and bikes to b-doubles based on the 4th power of axle load to properly account for the impact on road maintenance costs. Then additional levies for disproportionate environmental costs and harm to vulnerable road users. Keep the overall tax amount the same but shift the burden so people with smaller vehicles pay substantially less than they do now. And then add strict liability for anything much larger than a kei car.
Yes, however with that it’d be more expensive to administer taxation on bicycles etc. Than what they’d bring in… So not really worth doing at all.
Since the amount of damage caused by bikes to infrastructure would be small, the govt could just slap a tax for the cost to the purchase price of every bike. Not saying I’d agree with it but there are ways to make all road users pay their share.
Surely human powered transport should have tax breaks in order to encourage adoption by promoting affordability though.
I agree 100%
But now that Holden have stopped making Commodores, how else are you meant to show you’re a dickhead?
Through the quality of your driving, the aggressiveness of your horn usage, the size of your exhaust, and how quick your road rage builds.
Tesla decked out with MuskMerch™️?
Those are tech bro dickheads, yank tanks are yuppie/tradie dickheads.
They’re every inconvenience rolled in to one. A pain to get in. A pain to park. Use heaps of fuel. Don’t fit in garages, and to top it off are expensive AF. I’m confident in saying unless you tow like, horse floats on the regular, if you own one you’re a fucking idiot.
They’re also way more dangerous. They do more damage if they hit something, and because of the terrible visibility they’re more likely to hit something.
That said, if they do hit something, the people inside the tank might be ok.
They are more likely to roll than normal cars (SUVs excluded), and when they roll they’re generally more likely to crush the roof due to their weight. So yeah, while they’re better off than the car they hit, they’re still not amazing safety wise.
They’re not actually that bad on fuel. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never own one but a few of our major players at work have them as some sort of status symbol. Cruising in overdrive at 100km/h they can go as low as 6L/100km, but average is around 12L/100km unless you are doing lots of hunting through the gearbox or driving like a dick, then you can see some truly disturbing fuel usage figures.
To put it in perspective, this is on par with a modern hilux, and WORLDS better than the 2022 79 series landcruiser even with all the fuel efficiency gains they made.
To be clear I still don’t think anyone should be driving one here - our roads and car parks are simply not built for them. They aren’t that great offroad either. Really the only genuine use case is towing an enormous caravan down the hwy, in which case I hate you anyway because that’s TWO symbols of you being an inconsiderate prick that doesn’t care about anyone else.
They cannot get 6L/100km. My Suzuki gets 7L/100km. The new F150 raptor R is rated at 10mpg city (18L/100km).
https://www.kbb.ca/news-details/10-most-fuel-efficient-new-full-size-pickup-trucks-for-2022/?ID=200
My wife’s Suzuki Grand vitara gets 9.5L/100km no matter how you drive it. It’s insane to me, but facts are facts. Raptor might be a different beast but the rest of them are all pretty well in line.
I call BS on those numbers. Real world driving conditions would pump them up. And I highly doubt the people spending 100k on these are selecting eco mode and driving like a grandma.
12L/100km average is for gas or diesel?
I guess us europeans are used to driving smaller cars, as such numbers sound horrible for a passenger vehicle.
Also in my country we got almost no pickup trucks. People prefer vans for tax reasons.
Yeah that’s not as bad fuel efficiency as I thought tbh. My 2004 hyundai elantra shitbox gets similar.
I used to give them all shit about hooking their wallets directly up to the fuel tank to save time, but it seems I was wrong on that one. There’s a RAM something or other, an F150 and a Chevy Silverado in the circle of super ultra power megablokes. They all get pretty similar figures: 12-13L/100km average.
I was pretty miffed because that’s actually better than my comparatively tiny japanese 4x4 gets sometimes. They must have put some serious work in to achieving those figures with such a massive vehicle and massive engine.
European here. Japanese cars just have bad fuel economy tbh.
In the America-centric culture we have here on the Internet, they’re touted as highly efficient because the comparison is usually Prius vs F250, but really you can often get better fuel economy from German cars than Japanese. German diesels in particular. Average driver will probably get the same highway fuel economy out of an E-Class or a Civic.
Pain to get in? The hell are you talking about. It’s much easier getting in and out of a truck than a normal car with the seat a feet from the ground. Especially for tall/old people.
Depends which truck I guess. I’ve been in a couple that were so big that the step up was uncomfortable, and I’m 6’3 so that just shouldn’t ever happen.
Yeah well those huge lifted american trucks are a different story. Typical european truck is much smaller. Nissan Frontier for example though it’s called Navara here.
Yeah the Navara isn’t obnoxiously big. Ten years ago it would’ve been though.
I got clobbered by a huge Doge Ram last September while riding my bicycle to work. The speed limit was only 30 and he hit me coming from a red light so he maybe was going 20ish to 30ish MPH. Despite the slow speed he managed to break several bones in my foot, broke/dislocated my hip and broke several of my ribs.
There really isn’t a good reason to own one of these for personal use. My company uses those trucks to haul around big construction trailers and those trailers basically never come unhitched. I can’t imagine why you would need something that powerful for personal use and I think they should be banned from local traffic or at minimum kept away from roads that share bicycles.
Damn! I hope you’re doing better.
I ride 10 miles daily on my bicycle and drivers scare the hell out of me. I always assume they can’t see me and are going to do the wrong thing because they usually do!
I had to sell my old coupe to buy a pickup - but it was necessary for the homestead to haul dirt and other supplies for the farm. Although I rarely drive it (I’d rather be bicycling and burning calories while saving gas!). I’m waiting for the EV industry to evolve and then my plan is to buy a nicer older small EV with very limited range so I can scoot around town when needed - something like the BMW i3… but less ugly hahaha
I’m doing much better these days but I haven’t gotten back on a bicycle since the accident. Not out of fear but I’ve only recently started walking around without the use of my walking cane. Maybe next year I’ll buy and replace my old bike.
Speaking of EV. My bicycle was electric. While I wouldn’t use it often there are a few brutal hills where I live and the assist makes it great for going up without breaking into a massive sweat while wearing my work clothes. Not sure if it’s something that might interest you but I enjoyed my experience with it while it lasted 😅
Wow! That’s insane. Yeah I had a back injury last month and it’s taken me weeks to feel better - I’m finally back on a bike but not back in the gym yet - still taking it easy lol.
For sure I love the thought of E-bikes! I’ve been watching the technology evolve quite a bit over the past few years. My goal is to add one to the collection eventually so I can extend my “range” to get into town without being drenched in sweat in the summer time haha
I haven’t been to the gym yet either. I didn’t need it much. I used a manual wheelchair when I first got hurt and it kept me in really good shape. To be honest, I kind of made it fun. I work in a warehouse and I had free reign of the concrete floor during that time. I’d be ripping across there like a mad man and I’d grab the poles and turn corners on that thing. I got yelled at by the HR lady because she was worried I was going to hit someone one day 😅
I can’t say I’ve had many back issues so I can’t help you there too much but I sprained my wrist in the accident and the thing that helped me most was just using it more. The more I exercised and moved it around the better it got over time. Now I can almost use it like normal again. I got one of those finger exercise things and I swear it’s what made the biggest difference, but I can’t really confirm that is what helped for sure. Hopefully you get better soon. Being hurt sucks ass but we can make the most of it while we are here 🍻
I agree with you mostly, and I absolutely hate these things as well. Here’s the 3 reasons someone might have one of these for personal use…
1.) Heavily vested in the culture war shit.
2.) Maybe they own a boat or something that needs to be hauled in a trailer and the engine on a standard size vehicle isn’t sufficient.
3.) They live somewhere really cold and remote and need to attach a plow to the front during the winter in order to leave home.- Frequently hauling items that won’t fit inside an enclosed vehicle
- Frequently used over rough terrain where high ground clearance and 4WD is necessary.
I have regular need for a truck to carry lumber to and from home improvement box stores and lumber yards (it’s remarkably inconvenient to carry a 10’ 2x4 in anything that doesn’t have an open bed, and you can’t fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood inside anything smaller than a panel van). But even with that, it’s far, far cheaper for me to rent a truck for a few hours when I need one than it is to make payments on one, pay for insurance, gas, tires (!!!), repairs, etc. It would be nice to have one on the forest service roads around here–I broke 2 motor mounts on a Civic on a forest service road–but that’s uncommon enough that it’s not worth the purchase.
- Need to compensate for small penis
That was why they specified good reason.
Those are three very good and valid reasons for ownership. I still think they should be closed to certain roads but it is what it is for now anyways. Thanks for the insightful heads up.
Why do people even like inefficient, huge cars if they’re not going to use most of its features, not even in the foreseeable future? Such a bloated design for an everyday car, and even more potentially dangerous at that… those Japanese cars have a more elegant and sleek design, as well as efficient. Well, I would like good public transportation too.
No matter how you look at it, all the pros of those kind of cars turn into cons when they’re used as cars for everyday personal transport.
In America they are mostly bought because of consumerism and fragile masculinity.
Where I live trucks are at around half the vehicles. My wife and I play a game where we try to spot a truck hauling something that they actually needed the truck for. Most trips I’ll see dozens of trucks and zero being necessary.
Do you see them on the weekends when they’re hauling their 4 wheelers, boats, or motorcycles? You probably don’t make it to the outdoors much, but there’s good reasons to have a pickup.
A Chevy Bolt EV hatchback can tow right sized utility trailers, boats, campers, bicycles, cargo boxes, motorcycles, ride on lawn mowers and ATVs. With the roof rack it can move kayaks. Before someone chimes in to say it can’t, I own one, I live in a rural area, I do these things and have done them for part of the last 150,000kms.
If the little ol’ bolt can do it, think about all the larger vehicles that could do it too. The idea that you need a weekday driver pick up truck to have enough utility for weekend fun is a myth told by truck salesmen and people trying to justify the unnecessary purchase they made.
I looked into if it would be possible to tow a small trailer with the Bolt, but it’s not rated for any towing load so it’s an insurance liability. Is your model rated for towing, or are you just accepting the insurance liability?
My insurance company tells me that when a trailer is attached it’s covered under liability, no different than a cargo box on a hitch. Rated capacity never factored into the discussion, just don’t overload the OEM hitch that I have installed.
But now we’re talking about differences in people’s specific insurance coverage, which may vary by country, state, province, provider, and legislation and not the overall point which is that owning a daily driver pick up truck just because you occasionally tow is more an excuse than a nessecity for many , many truck owners.
How heavy are these towed things. Some boats are well over 1000kg and small towballs aren’t rated for enough down force to properly handle them. Plus a large enough trailer will start pushing you around if you don’t have enough mass in the tow vehicle.
Smol pp
Big car goes vroom!
As your wallet implodes though.
As a big dude I can’t comfortably fit in a lot of smaller vehicles. I used to love my truck. Now I’ve settled on a Crown Victoria, the thing is a boat made for land.
I live in America so it’s far from the worst offender.
I think I can understand that, it’s just that some people just get the biggest car they can find only as a status symbol and think of nothing else about it, then when they get an inconvenience they don’t even think that it’s the cost of having that design. Not to mention the environmental impacts. But if I were in your situation, I certainly don’t want to feel cramped in a car, especially if it’s in America where you’ll be driving fora significant portion of your day. I mean your car could be inefficient, but it’s probably because efficiency wasn’t accessible for you in the first place.
In America they are mostly bought because of consumerism and fragile masculinity.
Where I live trucks are at around half the vehicles. My wife and I play a game where we try to spot a truck hauling something that they actually needed the truck for. Most trips I’ll see dozens of trucks and zero being necessary.
Ah, I see you’re getting our pedestrian bonker 9000 down under!
Child-runner-over-er more like.
If the bull bar doesn’t squash them, then the tail pipe emissions will get them instead! Not to mention climate change.
I’m a fan of the bear basher myself, but those are good too!
I’ve been seeing those yank tanks showing up at my child’s school lately. They’re legitimately frightening. The bonnet comes almost up to my shoulder.
They’re perfect for running over children and claiming complete ignorance of the child. It’s so bad that they’re thinking of installing front facing cameras on these things.
In America, I’m sick and tired of seeing them. They’re minivans for insecure dads. They’re props for office workers who want to LARP as construction workers
Every time I see them, all I can think is that they hate kids (huge blind spots) and love to complain about gas/petrol prices. They also don’t fit in our huge parking spaces. Sure, they have their uses, but I really doubt that the shiny, pristine truck is being used to haul/tow anything
The real construction workers/laborers are usually seen driving normal sedans/cars, minivans, or actual vans. Fuck pickup trucks, they’re awful
It’s worse in America but it’s coming to Aus slowly but surely. I wish they’d just fuck off honestly.
F-150 Raptor: The official truck of “she hit me first”.
They’re minivans for insecure dads.
I disagree with that. A minivan has a clear and specific function it does rather well (moving a lot of people comfortably, and having a lot of space). These things don’t, really. The cab takes up so much space the bed is close to vestigial, and the only thing it’s really good for is towing.
You can carry more with the minivan, compared to the pickup (just put the wood inside the minivan) and some of them even have all-wheel drive. You won’t be fording streams and climbing mountains with it, as fun as that might look, so that’s probably fine too.
Where I’m at they are used to tow boats at 85mph while passing everyone on the freeway.
Eh I see mostly only see tradies in Australia driving these shitboxes.
These are showing up all over the place in The Netherlands, a country that is not built to accommodate these Emotional Support Trucks. Most are bought by business owners who would be served far better by vans. Even a small van has more usable cargo space than these behemoths, and will actually fit in parking spaces, but for some stupid reason these can be had for cheap by companies because of tax rules (that’s what 20 years of right-wing government does for you). It really is beyond infuriating.
Those same tax rules are why they’re proliferating here too. Since they can count as “work vehicles”, they’re not subject to our Luxury Car Tax.
I saw an image comparing these with the older versions, and while the size of the vehicle has massively increased, the size of the actual tray has decreased.
Yeah they’re not practical, they’re just stupid.
Because no one wants to scuff up their pristine bed actually hauling anything lol. This is a minivan for insecure dads.
Yep, and the haul and tow limits are the same.
Hey! Don’t judge them too harshly for admitting they need an Emotional Support Vehicle for their fragile ego, there’s a reason they need such obvious over-compensateors. /s
I’m honestly always weary of these kinds of vehicles, the blind-spots are freaking massive. they are also much more difficult to see “around” to try and get a sense of what traffic/etc is like further ahead/around you.
Yeah, I saw a photo from inside one of them the other day and the pillars are gigantic.
They have to be - safety standards require vehicles to not kill everyone inside if you roll it, which means the roof needs to be able to support the entire weight of the vehicle.
Yeah. They should really just make them smaller. They could also do without the big handles on the pillars, but I understand they’re so massive they can be hard to get into and out of without that handle.
I am guessing it was a panoramic photo, otherwise I doubt you’d have seen around the pillar at all.
But my masculinity
Your truck nuts will hang just fine on a car
My dad recently bought an F-350. He works in an office and lives in the suburbs. Why he willing chose to get 14mpg with post COVID gas prices is beyond me…
Curious, is your family American?
What gave them away?
Gas prices, mpg, or suburbs.
They only go up to F-250 in Germany, that’s how.
With the quality of vehicles produced in Germany you’d have to mad to buy an American Ford F anything.
Guilty
