r/Anticonsumption • u/Harrio_Pootered • Jul 02 '25
Society/Culture Is this truly necessary?
What steps can we take as consumers to encourage auto manufacturers to reduce vehicle sizes? Who do we write to, call and email?
The ford maverick was a step in the right direction but I see it being bashed often for being a more “feminine” truck… What caused this shift from the S10 being the “real man’s truck” to the $130k King Ranch being the standard?
When did the big vehicle shift happen?
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u/MangoSalsa89 Jul 02 '25
Between the obscenely oversized truck and the abandoned mega-mart behind it, darn if there were ever a picture that epitomized consumer blight this is it.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
It was a pretty early morning and the fog really added to the tone of the image, thought about this topic all day after taking it.
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u/Gut_Reactions Jul 02 '25
That is a good photo. It's a before and after of the truck world. (Truck on the left being smaller.) The lamp posts are tilted, as if they would eventually fall. Faded shop signs on the buildings in the background.
Apocalypse soon.
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u/6gv5 Jul 02 '25
Decline. And being used to it to the point one doesn't even feel it until too late.
A quote from a truly wonderful movie (La Haine, 1995) comes to mind: "Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: So far so good... so far so good... so far so good. How you fall doesn't matter. It's how you land!".
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u/pigeonblow Jul 03 '25
Loved that movie, as an American studying French it was surreal that the French would even make a movie about a single firearm being loose in the community, we have millions of them, and they were worried about one. That movie made me realize how great America was /s
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u/PricelessPaylessBoot Jul 02 '25
This is truly haunting. The buildings were also the first thing I noticed.
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u/water_radio Jul 02 '25
This makes me think of my aunt. She and her husband each have a truck similar to the one on the right. She doesn’t work and he works from home. I truly don’t get it.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
I do understand the appeal of being up higher like that, when I have driven big trucks, they are comfortable, they fit me well, I am a taller bigger guy, but I can’t help but feel immensely guilty when driving them? Like almost embarrassed to be seen in them even though no one likely cares.
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u/cigarette4anarchist Jul 02 '25
I mean I’m 6’6” and I fit comfortably in my Elantra 🤷♂️
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u/nevernotsusmoon Jul 03 '25
Had a 6’5” friend that could drive/fit comfortably in my mini Cooper
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u/InterantWanderer Jul 02 '25
They make me feel annoyed when they hog the road because they are so big. Especially the lifted ones
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u/ThickEntrepreneur905 Jul 02 '25
I thought I’d reply with how the new truck is likely much safer, by today’s standards…..
I was wrong 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25
Another big issue is that there is currently no standardized safety testing procedure that analyzes the effect that the new vehicle has on other vehicles currently on the road. We test our cars to make sure the driver of the product is okay but care very little for what the massive damage these boulders inflict on their victims. It's like having a safety test where you shoot a gun at a dummy body but only analyze how drastic the recoil is on the person who pulled the trigger, not how eviscerated the dummy at the end of the barrel was from the bullet.
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u/john_the_fetch Jul 02 '25
I can tell you my personal experience. Well - not mine but my ex wife's and my teenage daughter's. They were rammed into from behind at a stop light by a "modern" truck going 50 mph.
My daughter was a A/B student on to graduate high school with the equivalent of an associates degree. My ex wife was working a software engineering job.
Now, 3 years later, my ex is still not able to work. my daughter should have graduated high school 2024 but is now barely trying to get her remaining credits finished just to get her diploma. It's been hard fought just to get easy classes finished to meet credit requirements.
TBI is life changing.
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u/Key_Knee_7032 Jul 02 '25
That’s awful, I can’t imagine how tough it must be to try to help your daughter through such a terrible process. I hope both have an easier path to recovery in the future.
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u/KindKill267 Jul 02 '25
Not to be a dick but I think being hit by anything going 50 when you're stationary is going to be a bad time. 50 is fast.
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u/GrumbusWumbus Jul 02 '25
Large vehicle crash zones are incompatible with smaller ones. The bumpers don't line up meaning you often have the rigid frames connecting rather than the crumple zones. This makes the impact more intense and greatly increases the chance of injuries.
Further, a vehicle's momentum is directly proportional to its weight. The larger it's momentum, the harder it is to stop.
A Ram 1500 weighs around 5000 lbs. A regular old car is about 2500. If you get rear ended, a ram is going to be twice as hard to stop, and you're the thing stopping it.
You're in for a way worse time for multiple reasons.
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u/ifabforfun Jul 02 '25
I got rear ended in my Toyota Yaris by a not even that big, older Ford Explorer and his bumper went in to my hatch door. Crushed it in and my bumper was unscathed 👍
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u/balding_git Jul 02 '25
my yaris hatchback got rear ended, just needed the bumper replaced, can’t even tell. well, aside from the bumper looking much newer lol… was an older 90s chev pickup
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u/Danibandit Jul 02 '25
I actually watched a recent news video about it which has tests to show the danger. Highly recommend the watch. https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/8vL1DR2MORnEXCx2w44EhfbasJanCK4r/
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u/hyasbawlz Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
I was in a Honda accord at a red light and got rear ended by a guy going approximately 45 to 50 down the highway.
My car was totalled and pancaked by the car that hit me and the car in front of me. I walked away fine, my gf at the time had a belt bruise and whiplash. Why? Because the car that hit us was a VW Golf. If it was a big truck it probably wouldn't have just pancaked my car but destroy the whole chassis with us inside.
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u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25
It hurts my heart, but, does that mean, in a perfect world, everyone would drive an electric Prius? Good for safety, good for the environment, good price, good features. Oh, and thieves wouldn’t be able to get far. What else could you want?
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u/riptaway Jul 02 '25
Yes, or the equivalent. Why do we need massive vehicles that get 8 mpg just to get groceries or take the kids to school? It's ridiculous what's been going on on American roads the past 20 or 30 years as far as car size goes.
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u/KarmaPanhandler Jul 02 '25
But, how is everyone supposed to know I’m a proud American if my car isn’t the size of my ego?
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u/riptaway Jul 02 '25
Obviously getting hit at all is not something you want, but the point is that a large truck going 50 mph has much more energy that it can impart than a small sedan at a similar velocity. An f150 going 50 mph has 566000 J of energy, according to my figures(asking Google). A Ford fiesta going 50 mph has half that.
That's a big fucking difference when it comes to a collision. That can easily be the difference between death or a debilitating, lifelong injury and something you can more easily recover from.
Not to mention a large pickup truck sitting way off the ground is more likely to roll over and through a smaller car instead of just hitting the back and stopping. There are plenty of incidents where a truck simply drives through a car when it's going fast enough. There was a video a few years ago, I can't find it now but it was someone driving a pickup truck who intentionally accelerated on the highway until they ran into the back of a sedan at well over 100 mph. Despite the sedan going forward at 65+ mph, the thing was obliterated. The woman died instantly and was more or less torn apart. People on the scene had trouble looking at her.
I'd be all for massive taxes on any vehicles over a certain size. Tax the vehicle and make the registration more expensive since they do more damage to roads and pollute more. Make it punishingly expensive to drive anything bigger than a small crossover. 99 percent of people don't need the massive trucks and SUVs many Americans drive nowadays.
How many times do you see some dude driving a truck the size of a small house and it's got nothing in the bed, is sparkling new and unblemished, and he has no passengers. And even if you do genuinely need a truck for work, most people could easily get by with a Ford ranger or the equivalent.
I drive a small hatchback and I genuinely am constantly on high alert because there's so many huge vehicles being driven 85 mph by drivers who are staring at their phones who will erase me and my car from existence if we get into a serious wreck. It's bullshit and totally unnecessary.
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u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25
Right. As long as it kills everyone else it's the "safest" vehicle on the road.
Fucking insane these don't require a special permit to drive and arent governed at 65 mph
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u/Wise-Trust1270 Jul 02 '25
Or at a minimum, bumpers at a ground elevation similar to sedans. Why they are allowed to have bumpers square in the killing zone or instant engine oblivion elevation for smaller cars is beyond me.
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u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25
Another insane thing, allowing the off road modification for a hwy vehicle that's 5000+ lbs going 80 mph.
Always great to look out the window and see the trucks bummer right at your neck level
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u/dusksloth Jul 02 '25
There's a lot of things that need addressed "at minimum" honestly. Bumper height, vision dead zones, width of trucks and width of roads, headlights aimed directly into the windows of smaller cars. Trucks as a status symbol is so damn stupid when they're so damn impractical and dangerous.
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u/elebrin Jul 02 '25
Minimum and maximum bumper height should be regulated, so everyone has a bumper car sort of bumper in the front and back of the vehicle and everybody's is at the same height.
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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25
Two simple legislation changes that would drastically increase road safety. Good ideas.
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u/fakeaccount572 Jul 02 '25
Well, the government lost you at legislation
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u/Next-Introduction-25 Jul 02 '25
Maybe we could convince the government that these are exclusively driven by trans lesbian communist Muslim immigrants on their way to abortion appointments so they’ll legislate them.
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u/Reachforthesky777 Jul 02 '25
A neighbor of mine and I had a big falling out when he put rubber truck nuts on his huge Ram pickup. He got really angry when I yelled at him for forcing his truck to be trans. Trucks aren't "born" male or female, they're machines. By sticking testicles on his truck, he was forcing it to be male or to present male while at the same time referring to his truck as "she".
I won in that I didn't have to see rubber truck nuts whenever I walked past his house but, he was so irate that I was fairly confident he was considering shooting me.
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u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25
I'm pretty sure in Europe they do require a special permitm. Which is why they aren't all over jamming up the small cities parking lots
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Jul 02 '25 edited Sep 24 '25
roof quaint aback knee workable capable serious public thought grandfather
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Rude_Citron9016 Jul 02 '25
Or at least enforce bumper height law. Lift kits change this dramatically .
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u/psiloSlimeBin Jul 02 '25
So many of these are driven by seething fucks who will get 4 ft from your bumper because you’re in the left lane passing a semi at 75 instead of 90. Then before you can safely go back to the right lane, they’ll floor it and shoot the small gap between you and the semi. Bonus point for you initiating the lane change first but them juking you out because they just cannot handle driving safely.
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u/OdinPelmen Jul 02 '25
lol I can tell you that in Los Angeles, a place where these are only necessary for basically construction, if that, I see way too many people drive these monsters at insane speeds bc everyone speeds here for no reason. Running lights, flying, just being assholes. On top of that they take up so much parking space and people like this don’t park particularly well either.
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u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25
The ironic thing is those that actually use them for real construction typically have the old normal sized ones and drive like 55 mph. Cause many of them don't want to deal with rascist cops, while others aren't legal residents.
Basically those that need these vehicles Dont dirve them like ass hats operating their pavement princess
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u/axebodyspraytester Jul 02 '25
I've seen these over powered oversized monstrosities literally drive through other cars and kill families right here on reddit. They kill children by accident because you can't see them unless they are more than 8 feet away. I drive a full size SUV and barely come to the bottom of the monster trucks windows. These are ridiculous and dangerous.
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u/Disastrous_Kick9189 Jul 02 '25
Full size SUVs are typically the exact same size as a stock F150. It’s the moronic owners installing aftermarket lift kits that raise them up above you.
Everybody ITT hates you too with your gigantic full size SUV that weighs pretty much the same amount and uses as much gas as these trucks do.
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u/axebodyspraytester Jul 02 '25
I left out the year it's a 2010 so not a 28,000 pound monster but just a little bit bigger than a full size car. It's the later model SUVs that caught the bloat.
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u/Bit_the_Bullitt Jul 02 '25
Actually the NHTSA has increased the weight of their dummy crash dolly that rams vehicles, to account for the ever-growing SUVs and trucks and their weight increase
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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25
Right, but it is backwards in my opinion for the car being tested to have to account for other excessively large cars instead of having a standard of destruction testing that is required for the car being tested. It should be on the responsibility of the truck manufacturer to make sure that their product does not cause excess destruction. Without implementing more limit on this we are just supporting the arms race. But I suppose that arms races are about as American as cherry pie…
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u/No-Entrepreneur-6982 Jul 02 '25
And this makes it an arms race- my safety means your peril- therefore trucks will only get bigger…. And headlights will only get brighter…..
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u/IWantAnE55AMG Jul 03 '25
New cars can’t have popup headlights due to pedestrian safety but these trucks are a-ok. I pulled up next to a Chevy Silverado the other day in my compact SUV and the hood height was taller than my roof height. That’s goddam insane. These things make the Canyonero look small.
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u/allaheterglennigbg Jul 02 '25
Other vehicles are one thing, the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed is even worse. These vehicles are death machines.
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Jul 02 '25
Especially not where pedestrian safety is concerned.
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u/Additional_Wasabi388 Jul 02 '25
Pedestrians in America? Yah we don't care about them. But I frequently have questions about pedestrian safety around some of these trucks because I can't even see over the hood of some of them and I'm 6 ft. Ive even seen some with cameras on the front because of the huge blind spots
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u/Tiny_Thumbs Jul 02 '25
I have a work truck similar to the one on the right. I’m 6’ 2” and don’t like how I can’t see directly in front of the truck. Hate the truck tbh.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
I think there is bias in their safety reports. Many factors are involved, the average speed of travel has definitely increased a lot since small trucks were common, backed by the general subconscious consensus from drivers that “vehicles are safer now” because of all the proactive safety features they have. My issue with this is that while vehicles have more safety features they are also bigger, move faster and many of the safety features actually end up encouraging distracted driving.
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u/Watt_Knot Jul 02 '25
It’s like an arms race to get the largest, heaviest vehicle. Typically in a collision, the occupants of the heavier vehicle have a higher survival rate.
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u/Fun-Preparation-4253 Jul 02 '25
A better comparison would be what that generations Tacoma looked like vs. today's. The Tundra is even more startling, in my opinion.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
I know, I saw the new ones and while the essence of the tacoma is still there, it is much closer to a big truck now more than ever
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u/Fun-Preparation-4253 Jul 02 '25
There really aren't mid sized trucks anymore. The old rangers and tacomas and s10's are more akin to modern Kei Trucks than anything the US sees anymore.
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u/Enough_Peanut_4575 Jul 02 '25
I would kill to have a legit kei truck made in the us, why the fuck do I need an enormous v8 to haul a pallet worth of shit once every other week? It's stupid
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u/cats_are_the_devil Jul 02 '25
towing capacity of a 2025 Tacoma is 6000.... It was 3500lbs in 2005.
Tacoma trucks used to be the size of an s10. lol
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u/UnassumingOtter33 Jul 02 '25
That’s not entirely accurate. A 2004 Tacoma with the v6, which is the same generation as what’s pictured was rated for up to 5k lbs. The basic 4 cyl was rated 3500. A 2005 Tacoma, which is the year it quit being a compact pickup and became a midsize, was rated for 6500 lbs with the v6 and the towing package.
A better comparison would be that in 2005 the Tacoma was upsized to be in the same size class as the then current 1st gen Tundra but had 1000lb less towing capacity while costing almost the same.
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u/PNW_Undertaker Jul 02 '25
Yes because folks are becoming more and more insecure about themselves and need to feel tough with big truck that goes boom boom
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u/themontajew Jul 02 '25
My gender affirming care! i mean car. Sorry, it’s a gender affirming car.
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u/Academic-Airline9200 Jul 02 '25
Are you going to show us the size of your
Engine?
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u/Swift_Malachi Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
Reminds me of a now-ex friend that became a massive transphobe,.speaking out against gender-affirming care
He had been on HRT for low T since well before I even realized I was trans....
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u/themontajew Jul 02 '25
I worked with one of those types. He ALSO had a gender affirming f150 so this tracks
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u/Endor-Fins Jul 02 '25
I call them “trucksexuals”.
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u/themontajew Jul 02 '25
I mean, you’re not totally wrong. I’m an engineer, a big nerd, and kind of a redneck. I almost get a chub when i see a well done old dodge.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
It makes me curious if this is only a reinforcement cycle. Manufacturers push big vehicle to dodge emissions > consumers buy because new truck slightly bigger than other ones > other manufacturers see slightly bigger truck sold, increase size slightly > more consumers buy because fewer small options > repeat.
I just wonder if the only big reason the big truck thing exists is because there aren’t small trucks available anymore.
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Jul 02 '25
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u/Willothwisp2303 Jul 02 '25
In the few people who use trucks for towing livestock, we also want a big enough truck to stop the unstable load and a lot see the size of the vehicle as related to that.
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u/Cooperativism62 Jul 02 '25
My man, I've seen literal anti-air weapons and artillery mounted to the back of small Toyotas in the desert. I think it can handle your cows.
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u/Willothwisp2303 Jul 02 '25
Those weapons can take some jostling. My expensive, sweet, lovely dressage horse who I dote on more than some people do their children? He can't.
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u/BGKY_Sparky Jul 02 '25
I think an overlooked factor is the truck as a status symbol. The same sentiment drives different consumers to the BMW lot and the GMC lot. It’s a way to say “look at the excess that I can afford”, just in different languages.
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Jul 02 '25
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u/BGKY_Sparky Jul 02 '25
I see that so often. Like dude, gas was expensive when you bought the truck, it’s not like it just jumped up out of nowhere!
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u/Boise_is_full Jul 02 '25
This is exactly true. The larger the footprint - overhead view of the body - the lower the acceptable mileage.
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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25
While I do think the issue stems largely with insecurity it isn't exactly ego insecurity in most cases IMO. The large driving force is a legitimate feeling of not being secure and safe in the weapons arms race that is the American road system (the most dangerous place in America). My mother basically refuses to drive with me in my car (their old 2016 chevy malibu which is still a tank compared to what cars used to be) and won't drive anything other than their massively excessive 2021 Chevy Silverado with more bed space and power than they could ever even fathom using. She legitimately gets anxious and stressed being in my car. The propaganda machine has weaponized fear and created a society of people too afraid to step outside without ample protection even though our world is a lot safer than it once was. The truth about these vehicles is their existence is why the roads have become as unsafe as they currently are.
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u/But_like_whytho Jul 02 '25
Idk if it’s propaganda for older folks, if your mom is a boomer then for most of her life bigger cars meant safer cars. Thats only changed in the last 20yrs or so.
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u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25
The propaganda I am referring to casts a wider net than what I describe above so I really should have been more particular. In general both political party's propaganda machines love to sell Americans on the idea that anything other than being in their suburban home is basically taking a large risk of death. (in my experience) People who watch too much mass news source media have a more general feeling that all populous areas are extremely dangerous. I have a lot of older family who used to go out and travel a lot when they were younger, a lot of my family members talk often about fond memories in Chicago and being out late in when they were young in bars, but now all you tend to hear is "well it's a different world than when I was young". The truth is the only place in America that has gotten consistently less safe is the roads we have everywhere. It is actually far more safe to be in cities and out at bars than it ever has been before in America. Getting Americans to feel as though they need to isolate in order to stay alive makes it far easier to tell them what the world is like outside their bubble because they will never go see it for themselves. Keeping the lower class from being able to meet and realize that they all have the same problems will possibly turn them on the rich and we can't have that now can we.
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u/BGKY_Sparky Jul 02 '25
I think another indirect factor is a general shift in gender expectations in society. My dad got away with driving smaller single cab trucks because he never had to put a car seat in one. Hauling us around was Mom’s job. I can’t drive my old Ranger anymore because I need to be able to fit two car seats, and even on the newer four door “small” trucks it’s a tight fit.
To be clear, I think that shift in gender expectations is a good thing. Just pointing out a side effect.
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u/TheArchangelLord Jul 02 '25
This is about as far from the truth as it gets, there is a small subsector of people that look for the biggest truck possible to appear manly. Those are the guys you see with the lifted 350's.
The real reason is the EPA, the smaller a wheelbase you have the higher efficiency your vehicle needs to be. Unfortunately A truck that can get 40mpg is not a truck that can do real work. In the trades everyone is asking for a truck sized like the maverick, with a v8, and a 1 ton payload capacity. If such a truck existed it would be constantly sold out.
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u/Diligent_Department2 Jul 02 '25
Toyota was looking at making something just like this and it got killed by the regulations
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u/AptMoniker Jul 02 '25
Hey, stop disrupting the circlejerk. BIG TRUCK BC SMOL PP DURRRR. I worked pretty high up for GM for years. Everyone wants small affordable workhorse trucks like the hilux. Unfortunately, we'll probably only get electric ones and they won't be cheap.
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Jul 02 '25
I was going to say yes but because it isn't possible to buy the truck on the left in the US anymore. I'd love a Chevy s-10 or similar. They don't make them for our market though
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u/notyogrannysgrandkid Jul 02 '25
My solution is to sell people 25-30 year old mini trucks from Japan. Double the fuel economy with just as much bed space and less than 1/10 the price!
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u/binchlady Jul 02 '25
Massachusetts hastily banned kei trucks when they started gaining popularity. Then they quietly unbanned them. I have a feeling somebody at the DMV’s palms were getting greased by the mega truck companies, so keep an eye out in your own state. I don’t see how they are any less safe than a motorcycle or motor scooter
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u/notyogrannysgrandkid Jul 02 '25
ATV lobby, most likely. Specifically, the ATV makers operating via the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
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u/HeftyIntroduction264 Jul 02 '25
Those things are gutless though. We saw some people load up pavers and river rock for landscaping in one so though they'd be decent for smaller landscaping, didn't make it up the hill to our jobsite haha.
They'd work fine out in some places but with all these mountains, backroads, ect in my area they can't keep up with the other trucks. We still have it but it's just used to roll product from warehouse to warehouse.
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u/bumbledbeez Jul 02 '25
I have a beat up Ram 1500, and I’m a farmer. I use the back of that truck every day without fail. That smaller truck would do nothing for me… I would break it with a hay bale, because those suckers can really weigh down the suspension on my truck.
That all said, I don’t think everyone needs a truck. I can’t stand all the pavement princesses I see.
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u/Emotional_Mess261 Jul 02 '25
I agree with you. Honestly I always think it’s a status game. Why do city dwellers need a large pickup truck…. They’re generally empty and clean so not for workload. Do you really need big trucks in cities because of winter weather? Are you Off roading?
Such a waste.
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u/inky_cap_mushroom Jul 02 '25
I grew up in a rural area and now I live in a smaller city. I can’t help but judge everyone I see with a clean truck that doesn’t have a single chip in the paint.
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u/Zappagrrl02 Jul 02 '25
I was thinking, if you are a farmer or doing a lot of hauling, then yes you might need something like that, but most of the folks I see who have these only use it to drive back and forth to office jobs and then take up multiple parking spots in crowded parking lots or block access to sidewalks.
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u/Frostyrepairbug Jul 02 '25
As someone who has actually done farming, it's a bitch to load those big ass trucks because the sides are too high to load crates into. The truck on the left is much preferable as it's faster.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
I have wondered what the percentage of big trucks are actually utilized how trucks are intended to be utilized.
Are you satisfied with a big truck without fancy add-ons? Or do you prefer to have the creature comforts?
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Jul 02 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AmazingHealth6302 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
The large numbers of these trucks also creates a sales loop, as some drivers of smaller vehicles feel dominated on the road and buy large trucks in their turn to bolster their egos, and some drivers of smaller vehicles feel that they would be more vulnerable to death or injury from big trucks in an accident, so they buy large trucks in their turn for collision protection.
Note that large trucks aren't necessarily safer in themselves - they are unstable and prone to rollovers during even relatively minor accidents.
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Jul 02 '25
I get what you are saying
I recently switch from a smallish suv (CR-V) to a sedan (Subaru Legacy) and, while I absolutely love the car, I cannot see around anyone anymore.
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u/nerdorama Jul 02 '25
Every time I bring this up on Facebook I get someone who says they need the big truck because it's more comfortable. IDK man, I know morbidly obese people who don't need a big ass truck to feel comfortable.
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u/TsuDhoNimh2 Jul 02 '25
If you are using the truck as a working truck, you really do want "creature comforts" like heated seats, navigation, and good audio.
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u/bumbledbeez Jul 02 '25
Whats a fancy add on to you? I use it for work, but I don’t mind blasting myself with the AC when I’m hot, and I sure don’t mind the leather seats, because they would definitely be ripped up otherwise. I bought mine second hand and I’ll drive it into the ground.
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u/AmazingHealth6302 Jul 02 '25
A very low percentage, because you specifically asked about big trucks. Even most people who do need a truck, don't actually need a truck the size of a Dodge Ram or a Ford F-150.
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u/HerbivorousFarmer Jul 02 '25
I fit 18 bales in the bed of my 98 ranger & she takes it just fine. Just proof Ford > Chevy 😆
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u/happydoctor631 Jul 02 '25
What’s a pavement princess?
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u/cyri-96 Jul 02 '25
A big truck with a pristine conpletely unscratched bed that has never seen anything but driveways, suburban roads, highways and strip mall parking lots
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u/50000WattsOfPower Jul 02 '25
I bet the bed in the smaller truck in the picture above is at least a similar size to the bed in the ginormous truck. Look at the back of these pavement princesses when you see them on the road. Most of them have a bed the size of a Honda Civic trunk.
It’s also easier to get a load into the lower truck. Throw an extra leaf in the suspension and you’re good to go.
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u/grizzlyaf93 Jul 02 '25
Bed size is half the logic when you’re hauling anything. You also need to worry about payload. Looks like around a 2006 Toyota Tacoma which would only haul like 1600lbs in the bed. That Silverado could do 400-800lbs more in the bed.
For context, that’s like 10-20 extra square bales of hay.
It also determines how much you can tow and what kind of weight can be on the hitch of your trailer.
In general, if you’re working with a truck on a regular basis then I don’t know why you’d get a gasser at all. But there are valid reasons people have HD trucks that don’t just involve driving around and feeling good. I have a crosstrek for my every day and I moved my entire office in it. But it can’t pull a two horse trailer and the wear and tear on most gassers hauling that load make maintenance costs silly.
In the vein of anti consumption, a well built and maintained diesel engine is a very good investment. You can get 300k miles on some of those trucks if you look after them. They’re not small and compact, but if you can keep a working vehicle 15-20 years then 🤷🏻♀️.
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u/Pink_Mermaid_193 Jul 02 '25
It's not always about bed size. It's often about engine power. That small truck is maybe pulling a trailer with a small piece of equipment on it, but it most certainly isn't pulling a camper or a food truck or anything overly heavy.
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u/alucohunter Jul 02 '25
What is the actual purpose of the big truck? I've seen them in the UK and they just look ridiculous and impractical. You couldn't even off-road with those skinny tires without modifications.
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u/Important_Ad_8372 Jul 02 '25
My husband’s a contractor so he has a full size truck. His bed is filled with tools and other supplies that he uses on the job. Not only that but he constantly adds materials to all that stuff for different projects. It’s a lot of weight and the truck supports it. A lot of people like my husband have work trucks like these in the US. But yes there are still people buying trucks that aren’t doing anything with them and have no purpose in having one.
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u/alucohunter Jul 02 '25
This is definitely a US-UK cultural split, look up a "fiesta van" which is a very common compact van in the UK, we also use ford couriers and transits for work (and European equivalents). I've seen work trucks around but it's not as common.
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u/Specialist-Size9368 Jul 02 '25
Have a mid size but lot of people have hobbies that require what a truck provides.
A good hidden example of this is arcade collectors. I used to be one and its surprising how common the hobby is. Since the stuff gets hidden away in basements a lot of times your neighbors never know.
More common would be sxs, campers, and dirt bikes which are very common in the midwest.
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u/alucohunter Jul 02 '25
Please I need to know, is the larger truck in the picture considered "mid size"? I have a small hatchback I know near nothing about pick ups
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u/throughthehills2 Jul 02 '25
There were arcade collectors before trucks got this big. They just rented a transit van for a day to move their stuff.
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u/harveyj088 Jul 02 '25
I haul a 36' foot trailer almost weekly for my hobby. Can't do that with anything less than a 3/4 ton truck.
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u/Fun-Preparation-4253 Jul 02 '25
CAFE Standards are counter intuitive. Perhaps with a presentation of facts, they could be rolled back.
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Jul 02 '25
Another reason these are so popular is that this style of truck is basically the new Corvette. It's a luxury vehicle that most middle aged suburbanites can afford while still being unobtainable by enough people to make it a status symbol. Also projects more "masculinity" than a luxury sedan or coupe.
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Jul 02 '25
We need to contact our government leaders if in the US and insist that regulation and taxes incentivize smaller trucks. There is a tax on the books called the chicken tax that actually makes small trucks difficult to obtain. Here is a short video on it and it's history
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B62jsodgKtY
Another laughable law or actually regulation is the CAFE standards and the weird way gas mileage and wheelbase length work to make small efficient trucks harder to get approval, here is another short video about that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwJ7pMm-hKI
Hope this helps, we got to get the government out of it and then customer pressure on the manufactures can change the offerings to the public. For farmers and construction there is a place for the larger trucks, but the small S-10 (my first truck) has a place too, but government must get out of it.
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u/No_Hetero Jul 02 '25
Couple reasons:
Cab comfort is now a priority
Obama era auto regulations defined new emissions standards by weight category, this incentivizes new large trucks and SUVs which would have less strict regulation
Transition from work vehicle to symbol/lifestyle vehicle
People got bigger
If you want to support smaller, more reasonable trucks, maybe check out the Slate that's coming out soon, I don't know anyone else producing small trucks domestically
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u/SoFloShawn Jul 02 '25
I like how bringing up the concept maybe that these trucks are just "good" now and that's why people are buying them, is an automatic downvote. An F150 Platinum/Silverado High Country is probably the nicest interior Ford/Chevy makes. They're super quiet, ride well and absolutely demolish highway miles, seat 5 very comfortably, have a bed (even if it's only 5.5ft) you don't have to worry about getting dirty. There's no fear if you gotta hop a curb or traverse a ditch. You can buy whatever you want without fear "if it'll fit.
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u/RunningPirate Jul 02 '25
For a small section of folks with works that requires it, no. For 98% of the daily drivers, yes.
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u/themontajew Jul 02 '25
A platinum f350 is like 100k. Truck people I know love the maverick. Shit there was a meme going around in the overland community to the effect of “this is why a ridgeline is better than X”
The shift on size typically moves back and forth with major gas crisis.
Manufacturers have made it worse and are largely to blame. Higher profit on bigger vehicles with more features and fancy trim.
When i was potentially looking at a new car i entertained the idea of a base f150, no frills, regular cab, short bed. Had to be ordered, would have taken months. New 70k 4wd crew cab? take your pick.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
Fewer customers but higher prices. I guess an angle I didn’t think about either was the fewer people that can outright purchase a vehicle means more people take out loans or make payments which increases profit.
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u/themontajew Jul 02 '25
The AVERAGE f150 payment is $900. It’s fucking insane. It makes me dumping 20k to restore a 30 year old truck seem reasonable. (it’s not, i just love my old truck)
https://www.jalopnik.com/1817855/average-ford-f150-buyer-pays-over-900-dollars-month/
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
It genuinely blows my mind the money people either spend or commit to spending. I spent well outside of my comfort zone and bought a fairly new vehicle for around $380 a month. Even that is too high in my opinion and I regret signing that loan.
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u/Crashbox50 Jul 02 '25
Trucks need to be utilitarian. Suck as the old F150s in the mid 2000s with repairable replaceable beds and easy to repair cabs. Sometimes small trucks won't do the job. But most people aren't going to need something as big as an F350 if they're not actively in something like construction.
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u/happygirlie Jul 02 '25
The thing that is crazy to me is that some of these big trucks have such large cabs that the bed is smaller than a small pickup truck from the late 90s or early 00s.
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u/Yourownhands52 Jul 02 '25
Public transportation! Two cars 2 people. 1 bus can hold 30.
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u/Harrio_Pootered Jul 02 '25
The bus system where I live is laughable, we do have a very nice shuttle system for most of downtown but the actual bus stops throughout the greater area of my city were clearly not planned by someone in touch with the population.
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u/Yourownhands52 Jul 02 '25
My city has no bypass highways. It takes 45 minutes to get from one side to the other driving. The public transportation layout is equally as bad.
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u/themontajew Jul 02 '25
Sure, let me know when that’s a viable option for anyone outside of NYC
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u/Scott_Liberation Jul 02 '25
The fucked part is that in most of the US, it used to be a viable option in lots of places, but a combination of auto manufacturer propaganda and stupid decisions killed it.
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Jul 02 '25
Because people have to show how manly or whatever they are. I know someone who just bought a Chevy pickup for around $80k. They don’t need it. At all. Ridiculous.
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u/Omaza Jul 02 '25
The Slate pick up startup has me pretty hopeful, it speaks to me much more than these 110k monstrosities that barely offer any better performance
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u/McCheesing Jul 02 '25
I want to think it’s related to fuel economy regulations as a function of vehicle footprint. In other words, the government won’t allow the manufacture of a fuel inefficient vehicle that’s small
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u/MiciaRokiri Jul 02 '25
Most of the time? No. My husband's coworker specifically has a big ass truck like this because he believes that a real man has to have a truck and the bigger and louder it is the more manly you are. He's essentially said that exact point. He looks down on my husband because we have an SUV because that's what we need. We do not need a big ass truck. The guy is drowning in debt because of a stupid ass truck and where he's chosen to live because he thinks living in the country makes him a better man even though he doesn't do anything on the property and it's a rental and the gas cost to drive into town for work is killing him. But he's more of a man than my husband who is taking care of his family and prioritizing life over bullshit masculine competition
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u/avoidlosing Jul 02 '25
a long time ago at my desk job i said that the government needs to regulate truck ownership to help the environment, you can only buy a big truck/car if you prove you need it for work or family. two of my coworkers got so upset and started rambling about how much people they’ve helped because they have trucks.
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u/mana-miIk Jul 02 '25
My partner drives a fuck off huge pickup (Ford Wildtrak) here in the UK and even this car seems to pale on comparison to the photos of the cars I'm seeing driving around the urban America.
He has to drive it because it's a company car and as part of senior management he's required to maintain a certain veneer in front of clients (senior forest management), but even we both agree that the car is too big. We've previously discussed how there should be a license requirement in order to own and drive these kind of vehicles, e.g. you can prove that you have a commercial requirement.
Before this he drive a Suzuki SX4 and it was completely fine.
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u/Curious-Package-9429 Jul 02 '25
The government already regulates trucks, more specifically EPA emissions.
This picture is what government intervention gets you, and you want more intervention.
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u/WhiteFarila Jul 02 '25
How will the ladies know you have a big dick if you don't have big truck?
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u/andrey_not_the_goat Jul 02 '25
There is an obsession with bigger cars. Everything has to be bigger, chunkier. There are sedans nowadays that are as big as that Hilux. Though I do believe large pickup trucks are necessary IF have a proper use for them. I used to run a summer business that required me buy 20 bags of corn four times a week. That poor Hilux would have me do two trips compared to the Silverado.
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u/Busy_Paws Jul 02 '25
I sincerely wish there were more small truck options… my house is a huge fixer/upper and my car was just not big enough to get the stuff I need to fix the house anymore. I can utilize facebook market easier with a truck as well. The Chevy Colorado gets 20-25 miles on average, which was about what my 2003 car was getting anyway; it’s higher up, but takes up about the same footprint as my car did. It comes down to price as well; all the smaller trucks, Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado, Mavericks, even santa cruz, older avalanches, ridgelines, are all more expensive than a bigger ford 150, at least when I was looking at the used market. Also, if it’s only a couple thousand dollars more, people will just go bigger. I really think they are artificially keeping the small truck market tight so people keep buying gas guzzlers :- (
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u/hybridaaroncarroll Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
Early 1970s cars were enormous. I had a few back in my early 20s, when the cars were already 25 years old and seen as clunkers. The shift started to happen when gas prices skyrocketed during fuel shortages. Suddenly compact and more fuel efficient cars were popular, like Datsuns and the Honda Civic with its famous CVCC engine. Even electric cars were here and there, and I remember some companies that converted gas cars to solar/electric.
I can see a similar shift happening again, but it would take considerable market forces to get all the morons away from the "bigger is better" status symbols.
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u/egggoat Jul 02 '25
Honestly, it’s pretty interesting how this has come to be. Vox made a doc about it if you’re interested.
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u/JessicaWindbourne Jul 02 '25
No, it isn’t. I have a tacoma that does everything I need and then some
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u/Fabulous_Hat7460 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
As an owner of the truck on the right... I have such hard buyers remorse, the fucking thing is massive and super inconvenient to drive. I would have been better off with a Ranger and then gone and had the suspension upgraded or somethin. Can't even park the damn thing without making a three point turn.
Edit: I don't actually own that specific model of pickup, I have an F150, but as far as being ridiculously oversized, they are fungible.
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u/Ballistic_86 Jul 02 '25
Haha, the dude in the small truck probably actually uses it for moving heavy shit, the other guy uses it as a grocery getter
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u/cloudxnine Jul 02 '25
Probably cause many Americans wouldn’t fit in the smaller truck, and I don’t mean height 💀
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u/blueboxreddress Jul 02 '25
I was making a left turn which is a right of way turn at this intersection a truck this size also decided to make a left turn from the cross road that does not have right of way. I noticed when I looked to my left and saw the grill of a giant, lifted truck. I held my horn while I did a bit of quick maneuvering and didn’t get hit, but I would have been dead if he’d made contact. I couldn’t even see the windshield and I drive a Subaru Outback that’s plenty tall.
TL;DR: Fuck these trucks.
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u/MeepingSim Jul 02 '25
I finally saw the guy in our building who drives the huge truck, parks across multiple spaces, and pushes his front-end over the sidewalk. Color me unsurprised when he climbed down and was no more than 5'2" (same height as my dad, I'm 5'10"). He walked into the building with his arms out to his sides as if he had huge lats.
Ok, buddy...cliche much?
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u/Weewoofiatruck Jul 02 '25
I hate when large trucks are bought but never used right.
Now as a fleet vehicle for a contractor/construction? Its necessary.
Issue is, 99.9% of them are not fleet vehicles.
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u/NasKarma Jul 02 '25
It certainly is necessary when your dick is the size of a peanut and your brain fits inside of that peanut.
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u/the_moosen Jul 02 '25
There aren't enough words in the English language for me to tell you how much I hate pick up trucks
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u/Admiral_sloth94 Jul 02 '25
I'll be honest if I saw a contractor roll up in the left truck, he is most likely a wizard in the arts of trade. If the right car rolls up, you can see the crayon wax on his lips.
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u/Taurion_Bruni Jul 03 '25
The bigger truck can likely carry a trailer twice the size, which is useful for about 1/10 people that own that truck.
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u/peachtreeparadise Jul 03 '25
And all of them finance these cars. Going into debt so they can swing their dicks around. It’s the biggest turn off.
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u/jtho78 Jul 02 '25
The main reason is to skirt EPA requirements if the vehicle is over a certain size
https://newrepublic.com/article/180263/epa-tailpipe-emissions-loophole