>The curb weight of the most popular vehicle in the USA, the Ford F-150
It's worth noting that even though the "most popular vehicle" is a pickup truck, pickup trucks aren't the most popular type of car on the road, making up for less than 20% of vehicles.
There's someone I follow on YouTube[0] who criticizes the install quality of roadside barriers, with some positive results[1], after his daughter died in a collision with an incorrectly installed guardrail.
We are shopping for a car my daughter will eventually go to college with.
My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved driving when I was in college
But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Probably a CRV though maybe we can try and make electric car work in our budget but we will see. The irony is that we would have gotten a more efficient car, except for the weight disadvantage and safety concerns because we are now pitted against electric cars that weigh so much.
As a Western European, it's crazy to me that the public transportation and road systems are so fucked up in the US that
1) Kids need a car to go college
2) When buying a car, an important criteria is how heavy it is so that if it's in crash, hopefully the other person dies and not you. Of course, no matter what will happen to cyclists or pedestrian when hit by your fuck ton killing machine
What does your daughter think? She's the one whos going to need to gas up and park the thing. What about the extra 5-7k the CRV would cost? Do you think she'd prefer to spend that cash another way?
> My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved driving when I was in college...But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten,
I can't judge. It's mostly on me that my son's first car was a 1989 Cadillac Brougham. His daily driver now is a 1963 Dart but he's looking for another Brougham.
You’ve been competing with “light” trucks on the roads for a couple decades that weigh the same or more than your average Tesla. Factor in that they have worse driver visibility, higher bumper height, and make up about 20% of the vehicles on the road and you have a much more concerning threat.
Have you seen the spiked lug nuts truckers are using on their wheels now?
I love that Americans are going full
Mad Max on their vehicles choices and it won't be long until we all have these projecting spikes, front end people crushers and heavy as possible vehicles. This winter I started driving around with a 1/4 ton of gravel in the back of my F150 just to help counter other larger trucks. Reduces handling a little but if I do get in a crash the other f150 or smaller vehicle will be toast :)
I keep seeing YouTube shorts of guys going up to highway guardrails, checking them out and discovering that they were improperly installed like no nuts or that the bolts aren’t torqued down enough. No idea why this showed up in my feed or if it’s just some weird funnel for someone’s side hustle or what.
This added weight is related to the tire eating article from a few days ago…? Also, added weight times millions of vehicles wears down roads and infrastructure more quickly, increases damage costs in simple fender benders… how much is this actually costing us?
It's barely a blip on the radar compared to the large trucking industry, whose tractor-trailers cause about 2500 times the wear and tear on road compared to a car[1].
> Guardrails are intended to keep cars from careening off the road at critical areas, such as over bridges and waterways, near the edges of cliffs and ravines and over rocky terrain, where injury and death in an off-the-road crash are much more likely. ... “Guardrails are kind of a safety feature of last resort,” Brooks said.
From what I've observed this is wrong. Guardrails seem to be used semi haphazardly along roads in places where it wouldn't be the end of the world to go into the ditch. On a bridge, or a median, or elsewhere where going outside the road boundary could be particularly dangerous, they use much better reinforced walls.
I'm certainly adverse to the high volume of visibility killing, oversized vehicles - but the video card shows a truck smashing thru a jersey wall.
I used to open closed roads by pushing jersey wall sections with my 1969 Delta 98. JWs already seemed persuadable when confronted with a weighty personal vehicle (granted, those JWs weren't joined).
I'd like to know the failure rate of super-weight vehicles against corrugated rail or cable+post guardrail system.
Have you ever tried to rent a car for long trips? To rent a minivan is $100/day and my vacation is going to cover several days. My mom lives 300 miles away - close enough to make this trip over a weekend every month. The savings in rental costs more than half the payment on a new minivan, and with your plan I'd still need to pay for the EV I use most days.
Rental cars also have damage clauses. When I own it I don't worry about what my kids are doing to the car - as anyone with kids knows they will do something.
Not sure where you live, but at least 50% of the time I am driving my car I am probably putting over 100 miles on it per trip. My weekly trip for groceries might be the only one where I am driving a shorter range.
Tell me you live in a city without telling me you live in a city...?
The nearest city is a 25-mile drive for me (one way). I have to drive that at least once a month, sometimes several times a week.
I have to fairly regularly take 100-mile drives (again, one way) to see a veterinary specialist for some of my pets' health problems.
Most years, I take a 67-mile (one way) trip to the local Renaissance Festival—sometimes I go 2-3 times in a year.
Even if I wanted to rent, the nearest rental place (that's not just U-Haul or similar) is....in the city! And for a long drive, it's even more important to know the ins and outs of the car, know that you'll have enough space, be comfortable, etc.
If I lived in a city, and only had to drive a maximum of 25 miles to get to 99% of what I wanted all the time, I would seriously consider something much smaller with less range. As it stands...well, actually, I drive a Subaru Outback, but that's mainly because the comfort and space of the available (non-luxury-priced) electric cars couldn't match it, but I 100% support and understand people buying EVs with as much range as they can find.
What's new is that there seems to be a really strong force trying to tell us that "EV are bad" from many different actors when in fact it's "our transportation models are bad".
When Tesla seemed to be the only serious brand about EV, the panic was low in the ICE world but now that many brand have real EV and that many countries are setting up bans on ICE sales, they start to panic.
Every business (fuel transport, around the corner mechanic, schools, parts shop and I guess a lot more others) in the industry have to shift and some want the propaganda to help them stay alive during the shift.
If you're a teen wondering about his career, would you start a multi years studies about ICE now?
I hope society ends up settling on some fluid based sustainable fuel in the end. Maybe it's fuel cells, flow batteries, or even a combustible. The advantages of weight and refueling speed are hard to beat.
[+] [-] HeyLaughingBoy|2 years ago|reply
The curb weight of the most popular vehicle in the USA, the Ford F-150, is 4,200 to 5,700lbs. How's it working now?
[+] [-] gruez|2 years ago|reply
It's worth noting that even though the "most popular vehicle" is a pickup truck, pickup trucks aren't the most popular type of car on the road, making up for less than 20% of vehicles.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/276506/change-in-us-car-...
[+] [-] icameron|2 years ago|reply
The F-150 or most any modern truck even a midsize with a couple passengers is over 5000.
Who funded the University of Nebraska to specifically test EVs in an improbable perpendicular collision with a guardrail? Why’s it promoted as news?
[+] [-] baggachipz|2 years ago|reply
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_3
[+] [-] blamazon|2 years ago|reply
[0]: https://youtube.com/@TheGuardrailGuy
[1]: https://foxchattanooga.com/amp/news/local/after-wrongful-dea...
[+] [-] nytesky|2 years ago|reply
My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved driving when I was in college
But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Probably a CRV though maybe we can try and make electric car work in our budget but we will see. The irony is that we would have gotten a more efficient car, except for the weight disadvantage and safety concerns because we are now pitted against electric cars that weigh so much.
[+] [-] shafyy|2 years ago|reply
1) Kids need a car to go college
2) When buying a car, an important criteria is how heavy it is so that if it's in crash, hopefully the other person dies and not you. Of course, no matter what will happen to cyclists or pedestrian when hit by your fuck ton killing machine
[+] [-] delecti|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] icegreentea2|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scythe|2 years ago|reply
Part of the problem is that liability coverage hasn't risen appropriately with medical costs and the danger created by personal trucks.
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/18/why-car-i...
[+] [-] WarOnPrivacy|2 years ago|reply
I can't judge. It's mostly on me that my son's first car was a 1989 Cadillac Brougham. His daily driver now is a 1963 Dart but he's looking for another Brougham.
[+] [-] hattar|2 years ago|reply
You’ve been competing with “light” trucks on the roads for a couple decades that weigh the same or more than your average Tesla. Factor in that they have worse driver visibility, higher bumper height, and make up about 20% of the vehicles on the road and you have a much more concerning threat.
[+] [-] latchkey|2 years ago|reply
Sounds like an arms race. They have bigger guns, so we need EVEN BIGGERER GUNS.
[+] [-] kylebenzle|2 years ago|reply
I love that Americans are going full Mad Max on their vehicles choices and it won't be long until we all have these projecting spikes, front end people crushers and heavy as possible vehicles. This winter I started driving around with a 1/4 ton of gravel in the back of my F150 just to help counter other larger trucks. Reduces handling a little but if I do get in a crash the other f150 or smaller vehicle will be toast :)
[+] [-] tehwebguy|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] russfink|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] baggachipz|2 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-much-damage-do-heavy-...
[+] [-] Halfwhit|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] orwin|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] djaychela|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bensecure|2 years ago|reply
From what I've observed this is wrong. Guardrails seem to be used semi haphazardly along roads in places where it wouldn't be the end of the world to go into the ditch. On a bridge, or a median, or elsewhere where going outside the road boundary could be particularly dangerous, they use much better reinforced walls.
[+] [-] WarOnPrivacy|2 years ago|reply
I used to open closed roads by pushing jersey wall sections with my 1969 Delta 98. JWs already seemed persuadable when confronted with a weighty personal vehicle (granted, those JWs weren't joined).
I'd like to know the failure rate of super-weight vehicles against corrugated rail or cable+post guardrail system.
[+] [-] oatmeal1|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bluGill|2 years ago|reply
Rental cars also have damage clauses. When I own it I don't worry about what my kids are doing to the car - as anyone with kids knows they will do something.
[+] [-] kcplate|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danaris|2 years ago|reply
The nearest city is a 25-mile drive for me (one way). I have to drive that at least once a month, sometimes several times a week.
I have to fairly regularly take 100-mile drives (again, one way) to see a veterinary specialist for some of my pets' health problems.
Most years, I take a 67-mile (one way) trip to the local Renaissance Festival—sometimes I go 2-3 times in a year.
Even if I wanted to rent, the nearest rental place (that's not just U-Haul or similar) is....in the city! And for a long drive, it's even more important to know the ins and outs of the car, know that you'll have enough space, be comfortable, etc.
If I lived in a city, and only had to drive a maximum of 25 miles to get to 99% of what I wanted all the time, I would seriously consider something much smaller with less range. As it stands...well, actually, I drive a Subaru Outback, but that's mainly because the comfort and space of the available (non-luxury-priced) electric cars couldn't match it, but I 100% support and understand people buying EVs with as much range as they can find.
[+] [-] kylebenzle|2 years ago|reply
At that point an electric car is pure luxury.
[+] [-] bilsbie|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] naasking|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] whynotmaybe|2 years ago|reply
When Tesla seemed to be the only serious brand about EV, the panic was low in the ICE world but now that many brand have real EV and that many countries are setting up bans on ICE sales, they start to panic.
Every business (fuel transport, around the corner mechanic, schools, parts shop and I guess a lot more others) in the industry have to shift and some want the propaganda to help them stay alive during the shift.
If you're a teen wondering about his career, would you start a multi years studies about ICE now?
[+] [-] lm28469|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] goda90|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dontlaugh|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lm28469|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scythe|2 years ago|reply
Not a type of fuel. The only advantage is that they're easy for hobbyists to build. Otherwise it's just a battery with more stuff that can break.
[+] [-] djaychela|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] M2Ys4U|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Kuldeep045_|2 years ago|reply
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