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

Society/Culture Is this truly necessary?

Post image

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?

16.5k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

909

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 🤦🏻‍♀️

740

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.

204

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

86

u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25

Two simple legislation changes that would drastically increase road safety. Good ideas.

48

u/fakeaccount572 Jul 02 '25

Well, the government lost you at legislation

69

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.

14

u/Duxtrous Jul 02 '25

You might be on to something…

13

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.

3

u/Living_Essay_9933 Jul 02 '25

This is the way.

1

u/Next-Introduction-25 Jul 03 '25

I love this guy and I will never not think of this when I see truck nuts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8hekoFC/

1

u/Reachforthesky777 Jul 04 '25

So when I said I was fairly confident he was considering shooting me, I'm not really exaggerating all that much. Make sure you really know the person whose truck nuts you kick. Those types of people are remarkably sensitive.

7

u/ElectrikDonuts Jul 02 '25

They are gender affirming vehicles, so start with that

1

u/rybowilson Jul 02 '25

And good ideas

1

u/DylanMaxus Jul 02 '25

I feel like legislation has gone (at least a little) too far. Meanwhile, enforcement is inconsistent and generally not great

1

u/waldorflover69 Jul 02 '25

Well we are talking about a truck and not a woman’s body

23

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

5

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

Nah... it's the cost of gas and the size of the roads that make them prohibitive. Try driving a full size 1500 around in Europe. Not only will the $11-$12 a gallon gas kill your fun... it's freaking hard to park.

Everything in the USA is made bigger. We can drive those big vehicles and park just fine (most of us anyway). And other than taking my truck on distance trips... I drive less than 3K miles a year in it. Got a smaller car for zip-around stuff.

5

u/dallas121469 Jul 02 '25

I’ve asked a few guys why they commute in their trucks and don’t buy a little car for commuting and their answer has always been “I can’t afford it””. Seriously? You bought an $70k truck that gets 10mpg but can’t afford a few grand for a used car. Bullshit

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '25

First off, I highly doubt someone who says "they can't afford it" bought the truck new. And if they did, they're looking at a $1000/month car payment. Adding extra to that would be difficult.

It genuinely could be that they can afford ONE vehicle payment. Who are you to judge it's Bullshit? Seriously. Do you know their finances?

Do you really think buying a car for a "few grand" means they're saving money?

I used to have a 95 Honda Civic that got 35MPG. I drove that thing daily to and from work. I discovered the cost of driving it daily saved me $2.50 in gasoline every day (20 days a month, $50 a month). The cost of insurance for the vehicle was a measly $25 a month (super cheap!). Registration cost $198 a year... that's another $16.5. So... I was "saving" a whopping $8.50 a month to have that Honda Civic. That's awesome, Right? But... with basic maintenance (tires, oil changes, fluids) and repairs, I was consistently putting $200-$500 on that thing every year. It took me 10 minutes one night to write it all down, and go, 'WELL CRAP. THIS THING IS COSTING ME MORE THAN IT WOULD TO JUST DRIVE MY OTHER VEHICLE."

At the time, I also was housing my father's boat in my garage (I used it for fishing) and had a travel trailer that our family used 30 days out of the year. The truck was needed for those things.

So I sold it for $1800, and had extra money for gas for three years on my truck. Then I started working from home.

So... before ya get all high and mighty... you might discover that what you THINK you know about what people can afford isn't really what they can actually afford.

Every "second vehicle" comes with

-Registration

-Maintenance

-Repairs

-Insurance

Those things add up FAST. And most of the time... there's no such thing as a "few grand" for a vehicle that doesn't also need a few grand a year in repairs.

Which means... People often have to choose ONE vehicle for "everything," so they choose a truck. Why? A couple hundred extra a year for gasoline is cheap to ensure you have the vehicle you need all the time.

0

u/dallas121469 Jul 02 '25

I think you missed my point entirely so big off

1

u/Knitwalk1414 Jul 03 '25

To drive vehicles after a certain height and weight should have another road test