This obsession for American pickup trucks on UK roads is insane.
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@anon_opin I would just like to add something here. I DO live in the praries of Montana, well mountains more so, and drive a pickup truck. And I'd just like to remind everyone that we WANT smaller trucks. I remember when I bought mine looking everywhere for a reasonably priced s10, or ranger that I could work on, would be simple, and cheap. But NOOOOO, we can't have small economic vehicles because they don't meet "emission standards" in the US, and our government even systemically removed these cars from the supply through state-backed programs. Which may sound like its an attempt to help the enviornment but in fact does just the opposite. See American's would love smaller trucks, they're cheaper, fuel efficient, and you don't have to struggle to park the damn things in a Walmart. The reason we're stuck with this though, like most horrible things, traces back to Ronald Reagan. See during the Reagan era a bill was passed which set a fuel efficiency standard on vehicles that said car manufacturers must make vehicles a bit more fuel efficient each year. This worked for a little bit but soon we reached the limits of how efficient engineers could refine a design between iterations, which led to the realization of a loophole. Someone noticed that the method of calculating fuel efficiency was based on the size of the wheelbase of the vehicle compared to its efficiency, so if engineers couldn't change one side of the ratio, they'd just change the other. And here we are after 30 fucking years of watching vehicles balloon out in size to the point that its ridiculous. And now me and MANY other American's who do require a pickup to haul feed, livestock, materials or any number of things, are forced to choose between paying an unreasonable amount for one of the few remaining older models, or buying a newer one. And now I'm here stuck with a "half ton" truck thats larger our old 3500 from the 90s. My point in all of this is please stop blaming americans and thinking this is some cultural phenomena that makes us want to buy cars that cost 3 times as much and get a 16 miles to the gallon. We don't. But car companies want you to think we do.
@bebop @anon_opin I'm sorry but I lived in Houston in the late nineties for 3 years, worked in the medical centre area and pick ups as lifestyle choice were a thing even then. Doctors driving them in with their Stetson and cowboy boots!
I'm sure you're correct when it comes to size increase, but pick up truck poseurs have been a thing for decades. And like the op implies they just look even more ridiculous in Britain on our tiny old roads.
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@anon_opin Fun fact - those are the TEENY TINY versions of American trucks. The full size things are just ludicrous.
@hedders
One of the guys on my street has one and for historical reasons his parking space is in front of my house. I lived in fear that he’d get a cybertruck and people would think the wankpanzer was mine. Fortunately they’re still not legal over here, so I think I dodged that bullet!
@anon_opin -
This obsession for American pickup trucks on UK roads is insane. Dave, you live on a fucking estate in Doncaster not on the prairies of Montana. Tax the bastards to oblivion
@anon_opin and not 100£ per year or 1000£.
More like 1% of the purchase price every km driven. -
@imalcolm @frogglin @anon_opin I live in British COlumbia, Canada, and yesterday I was at Safeway, where an idiot had parked his Ford F350 at forty five degrees in a parking space because he was so inept. Also, the truck was pristine, because he doesn't work in construction or live in the wilderness.
Wow... You have to wonder if they feel any shame at times like that...but given their vehicle choice, probably not...
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@frogglin @anon_opin I've been playing with calling them trucklettes (for manlettes) gets a reaction.
A few people call them murder utes because of the harm the cause in accidents, but this can actually encourage some of the knuckle draggers with masculinity issues that so desperately need these things. -
Wow... You have to wonder if they feel any shame at times like that...but given their vehicle choice, probably not...
@imalcolm @frogglin @anon_opin Pretty sure they didn't. The next space over (that they were encroaching on) was the disabled one, of course.
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@anon_opin I would just like to add something here. I DO live in the praries of Montana, well mountains more so, and drive a pickup truck. And I'd just like to remind everyone that we WANT smaller trucks. I remember when I bought mine looking everywhere for a reasonably priced s10, or ranger that I could work on, would be simple, and cheap. But NOOOOO, we can't have small economic vehicles because they don't meet "emission standards" in the US, and our government even systemically removed these cars from the supply through state-backed programs. Which may sound like its an attempt to help the enviornment but in fact does just the opposite. See American's would love smaller trucks, they're cheaper, fuel efficient, and you don't have to struggle to park the damn things in a Walmart. The reason we're stuck with this though, like most horrible things, traces back to Ronald Reagan. See during the Reagan era a bill was passed which set a fuel efficiency standard on vehicles that said car manufacturers must make vehicles a bit more fuel efficient each year. This worked for a little bit but soon we reached the limits of how efficient engineers could refine a design between iterations, which led to the realization of a loophole. Someone noticed that the method of calculating fuel efficiency was based on the size of the wheelbase of the vehicle compared to its efficiency, so if engineers couldn't change one side of the ratio, they'd just change the other. And here we are after 30 fucking years of watching vehicles balloon out in size to the point that its ridiculous. And now me and MANY other American's who do require a pickup to haul feed, livestock, materials or any number of things, are forced to choose between paying an unreasonable amount for one of the few remaining older models, or buying a newer one. And now I'm here stuck with a "half ton" truck thats larger our old 3500 from the 90s. My point in all of this is please stop blaming americans and thinking this is some cultural phenomena that makes us want to buy cars that cost 3 times as much and get a 16 miles to the gallon. We don't. But car companies want you to think we do.
@bebop @anon_opin had a mate with one of the little Subaru 4wd utes (brumby /brat), best thing ever in difficult country, remember doing some fencing with him and he would put it in places I didn't think possible. Not really for towing but practical and versatile and about the size of a family sedan if that. 90s version of a k-truck?
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@bebop @anon_opin had a mate with one of the little Subaru 4wd utes (brumby /brat), best thing ever in difficult country, remember doing some fencing with him and he would put it in places I didn't think possible. Not really for towing but practical and versatile and about the size of a family sedan if that. 90s version of a k-truck?
@curiously @anon_opin they're called the Baja here and they're the coolest car ever haha.
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@imalcolm @frogglin @anon_opin Pretty sure they didn't. The next space over (that they were encroaching on) was the disabled one, of course.
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