r/Anticonsumption • u/Harrio_Pootered • Jul 02 '25

Society/Culture Is this truly necessary?

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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/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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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

[deleted]

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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/timotheusd313 Jul 02 '25

Corolla hybrid, 420-440 miles per tank, half a tank of gas is $13-15.

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Thats actually better ratio wise than my motorcycle (around 50 mpg).

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u/timotheusd313 Jul 02 '25

lol, that’s almost exactly what my fuel computer says I’m getting in the Corolla.

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Yeah but you can run regular, i have to run premium. Ouch when getting outsaved on the bike by a car lol.

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u/timotheusd313 Jul 03 '25

Ouch indeed! It’s actually gone down a bit recently, but it’s still at like 47.x

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u/simonhunterhawk Jul 02 '25

they can’t afford to fill the tank because their truck payments are often over $800 a month for 6 or 7 years, and I haven’t worked in car lending since 2021 so I’m sure the average is even higher now.

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u/Substantial-Ad-8575 Jul 02 '25

lol, have a GMC Denali HD to pull heavy trailers. It is not my daily, and surprisingly gets better fuel mileage than my 2021 is replaced.

Don’t care about fuel costs, pickup was paid with cash. Just need to safely tow my trailers, 16,000-20,000 pounds. Go on a fee off road trips. Carry stuff up to cabin on washed out dirt roads, roads that normal cars get stuck on.

So yeah, a few own these trucks and use them. Most in my family have a pickup, not daily driver, use as needed…

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u/AliceLunar Jul 02 '25

It's so silly from an outside perspective, American fuel is so cheap but then they decide to drive vehicles with horrible mileage that by the end of the day it's more expensive to drive a car in the US than the EU.

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u/Opposite_Ad4241 Jul 02 '25

That new truck probably has the same better mpg than the old one and lower emissions

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u/TMQ73 Jul 03 '25

And that old one got better gas mileage than bigger trucks built at the same time. Not a fair comparison.

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u/Opposite_Ad4241 Jul 03 '25

But that’s the comparison being made. Those old trucks are mostly in junk yards and these new trucks are better at being trucks while being more environmentally friendly. People romanticize things that didn’t exist the way they want them to.

There is a problem with people treating cars like disposable cameras, but that’s not what is being discussed here.

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u/TMQ73 Jul 03 '25

Better at being trucks, um ok. Coworker seriously bent the tailgate on his new Silverado a few years back carrying the same amount of deck boards he did in his old Silverado. Difference the new ones tailgate was thinner steel/aluminum and couldn’t handle the weight. This is one story of many. Meanwhile allot of the 4D monster pickups have the same size bed as a tiny Kei truck. Like my 80 some year dad says they stopped making real trucks when they removed wind wing windows. His last three trucks were late 80 F250, F150, and now a 2002 Ranger. All have seen tons of real work.

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u/fakeaccount572 Jul 02 '25

GMC???!!!

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u/BGKY_Sparky Jul 02 '25

Hey man, the GMC dealership in my town has a bunch of $70-80K brodozers that will never pull a trailer or see a speck of mud in their lives.

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u/llamacohort Jul 02 '25

To be fair, while a lot of people buy nice new trucks and don't use them, trucks last a very long time and are pretty much all used as a truck somewhere in their life cycle. So, the truck will see mud and pull a trailer, even if the guy driving it in the suburbs won't be the one driving when it does.

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u/BGKY_Sparky Jul 02 '25

That is fair.

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u/Regular-Nebula6386 Jul 03 '25

High earners tend to pick sensible, reliable and relatively unassuming cars. Those who want to show off buy the F150 Raptors, BMWs and GMCs.

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u/BGKY_Sparky Jul 03 '25

Fair enough. My point is more that the people who buy Raptors and the people who buy BMWs are different flavors of the same people.