[waiseristy]

These HN threads about trucks are amazing. It’s like watching the same movie over and over again

* Kei trucks are the coolest. Big gubment is making it so we can’t register them due to protectionism!

* Chicken tax chicken tax chicken tax

* Big trucks cause more crashes because reasons!

* Trucks are just lifestyle vehicles and nobody actually needs or uses them

Over and over and over again

[rootusrootus]

Don't forget the small penis accusation.

I have an F250, which I drive about 2000 miles a year, almost 100% of the time it has a >30ft trailer behind it. But that one time that the stars align and I need it for a grocery trip, a bunch of people are thinking "see, that guy doesn't need a truck" and it reinforces whatever internal monologue they have going.

Meanwhile, approximately everyone here routinely drives alone in a vehicle capable of carrying 5-7 people. (and right about now, someone is about to reply with 'ride a bike, cars suck!')

[throwaway72762]

I dunno, sounds like your beef is with the folks who buy the same truck as you for no reason other than the look, not the folks who are seeing and mocking that trend.

[KennyBlanken]

> Don't forget the small penis accusation.

Except it is about having a tiny penis (or more accurately, a big ego):

https://theweek.com/articles/929196/case-against-american-tr...

"Furthermore, the specific design trend of the massive hood sticking way out in front of the driver, with a cliff-face front grille obstructing the view several feet out in front of the wheels, is entirely a marketing gimmick. The explicit point is to create an angry, aggressive face that will intimidate others, especially pedestrians. Don't take it from me, take it from the guy who designed the latest GM Sierra HD: "The front end was always the focal point... we spent a lot of time making sure that when you stand in front of this thing it looks like it's going to come get you. It's got that pissed-off feel," he told Muscle Cars & Trucks. "The face of these trucks is where the action is," marketing expert Mark Schirmer told the Wall Street Journal's Dan Neil, "a Ford has to say Ford from head on, a Chevy must shout Chevy. Every pickup has become a rolling brand billboard and the billboards are big." And as Neil discovered when he was nearly run down in a Costco parking lot, that massive grille creates a massive blind spot."

[flangola7]

> Meanwhile, approximately everyone here routinely drives alone in a vehicle capable of carrying 5-7 people. (and right about now, someone is about to reply with 'ride a bike, cars suck!')

I mean, yeah. Ride a bike, cars suck.

[sclarisse]

> and right about now, someone is about to reply with 'ride a bike, cars suck!'

Naah, I wouldn’t do a thing that. I’ve lived in low-bike suburbs — hated it, but I know the score. :)

[PhasmaFelis]

I'm sorry that people are occasionally, silently, but unfairly judging your choice of vehicle, presumably.

I don't think that counters the fact that many do people drive gigantic vehicles they will never need, though.

> Meanwhile, approximately everyone here routinely drives alone in a vehicle capable of carrying 5-7 people. (and right about now, someone is about to reply with 'ride a bike, cars suck!')

You've managed to lump everyone who disagrees with you into either the "hypocrite" or "fanatic" boxes.

I drive a Mini Cooper, not that that's worth bragging about. How will you dismiss my opinion?

[oblio]

Just curious, what so you do for a living? Or what's your hobby?

Isn't the F250 a huge vehicle and that trailer seems huge, is it a boat?

[steele]

Thanks for confirming

[GuardianCaveman]

You forgot the inevitable post by waiseristy mocking people who like these trucks and grouping everyone into single category of idiots.

[woodruffw]

...and, inevitably, someone to make the above comment. Maybe you can be the one to finally break the cycle :-)

[waiseristy]

Break the cycle how? Every time one of these threads come up I suggest buying a domestic full size 90’s truck instead and nobody gives a shit. The only things that gain traction in these threads is people shitting on their cultural enemies. Because Truck People bad!!

Maybe you can help break the cycle by looking at the huge used truck market we already have

[gonzo41]

Well, the Chicken tax chicken tax chicken tax point is worth complaining about.

I feel like there'd be a titanic shift in US pickup market if they could get a Hilux.

[asdff]

They already sell the Tacoma here, its basically a Hilux. F150 sales still lap it.

[mjmsmith]

Usually followed by someone saying "I'd like to see that thing in a crash test against <giant pickup model>".

[joeframbach]

Well maybe if the giant truck driver was able to see over their hood, they wouldn't be in a collision.

[inconceivable]

lately i've seen a lot of people legitimately complaining that trucks look "too aggressive" and are "scary".

it just makes me laugh.

[jeromegv]

Some of those trucks are quite high and will kill pedestrians and even destroy other cars more in higher number.

It’s just physics. If you need it, fine, but seeing how much they are selling of those, a lot of us are starting to doubt how much of it is need vs want.

[flangola7]

They legitimately are scary from an objective viewpoint. I love driving them, but they kill people for no reason and something needs to done at a systemic level to curb it. Modern vehicles have an array of cameras, sensors, and automatic braking, yet pedestrian deaths per vehicle-mile are higher than 30 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7mSXMruEo

[mitthrowaway2]

They're probably talking about the front grille being a vertical wall taller than the standing height of a 5-foot woman, which would knock you under the wheels without the driver even seeing you.

[KennyBlanken]

Why does it make you laugh when the automotive industry literally brags about it?

Here's an article covering how pickups are becoming more deadly to others in crashes, becoming more common on the road, and being purposefully styled to look aggressive:

https://theweek.com/articles/929196/case-against-american-tr...

"Furthermore, the specific design trend of the massive hood sticking way out in front of the driver, with a cliff-face front grille obstructing the view several feet out in front of the wheels, is entirely a marketing gimmick. The explicit point is to create an angry, aggressive face that will intimidate others, especially pedestrians. Don't take it from me, take it from the guy who designed the latest GM Sierra HD: "The front end was always the focal point... we spent a lot of time making sure that when you stand in front of this thing it looks like it's going to come get you. It's got that pissed-off feel," he told Muscle Cars & Trucks. "The face of these trucks is where the action is," marketing expert Mark Schirmer told the Wall Street Journal's Dan Neil, "a Ford has to say Ford from head on, a Chevy must shout Chevy. Every pickup has become a rolling brand billboard and the billboards are big." And as Neil discovered when he was nearly run down in a Costco parking lot, that massive grille creates a massive blind spot."

The article continues, discussing how actual commercial work vehicles (sprinter vans and cab-over box trucks for example) don't show the same styling trends.

[warmwaffles]

> nobody actually needs or uses them

These make me chuckle. Those people have never done home improvement projects or just projects that require picking up 8ft sheets of plywood or 20 bags of mulch.

[joeframbach]

Home Depot rents a big truck for $20-$40 for the 2 hours I'd need it. I could rent this truck every weekend for 30 years for the same price as a giant truck. And I wouldn't have to worry about its maintenance either.

[leviathant]

My wife and I completely gutted and renovated a 2 bedroom home built in 1905 with a used 2007 Dodge Magnum and a roof rack. We initially bought it for a road trip around the US because it saved us thousands of dollars in fuel economy (it was a 3.5l V6) over the month-long trip compared to any van or truck. I initially bought it with the intent of selling it right after the road trip, but it ended up being a really well-rounded vehicle.

I grew up in south central Pennsylvania, and while we still have a fair amount of farmers in that region, most people buy trucks because they're marketed to, not because they're the right vehicle to own.

I clicked through here because I've seen a couple of Kei trucks in Philadelphia lately.

[jrockway]

Is the price premium worth occasional use? Every DIY store I've ever been to has truck rental outside, and it's a lot less than a new truck.

[placesalt]

My corolla takes 10' long boards. Never maxed out the bags of mulch, but it's >10 for sure.

Have been thinking about a roof rack for sheet goods. Can't see why it wouldn't work.

[woodruffw]

I put 20 bags of mulch in an SUV last weekend, one that almost certainly could carry less than TFA's mini-truck-thing. What gives?

[TheSpiceIsLife]

I have a long wheelbase van with room racks, plus a trailer.

But pick up the overwhelm majority of items in the Celica, a two door hatch.

Anyways, suppliers deliver.

[crazyjncsu]

To be fair to those people, they also don’t think you need your plywood and mulch because you should live in a nice little apartment with a surely altruistic landlord who takes care of every need that the plywood and mulch could satisfy.