We say that, but if the prices maintain habits will change. After the Iraq invasion in 2003, I saw people buy more and more smaller city cars over the next half a dozen years (at least in Canada).
Even GM, Chrysler and Ford were bringing small cars to the market until 2008-2010.
Once affordability and credit dry up, there’ll be demand for small hybrids, economy cars and electric cars. SUVs and Pickups are just popular because car loans were so cheap. And gas prices have never been as low as the last decade.
What i find most interesting is that the modern style truck that people are buying are actually so awful to use for real work. The increased bed height makes it harder to hand load to the point that they added integrated stairs in the door which doesnt help at all because youre still climbing wasting energy. When getting tools out of the back seat if your not 7 feet tall you cant reach in without physically climbing in. They kinda just suck in comparison to the old. When i see trucks like the one below i genuinely think that person is using it as intended probably likes that model more than something theyd buy new. My brain cant help but comment “thats a real truck with a real contributer to society inside”
style
Gavril D-Series. 🤤
I’m pretty sure that’s a gmt400, haven’t heard of a gavril before!
Even that truck is on the bigger size. Looks like it was even lifted.
nobody is using them for real work. they are status symbols.
they make fleet/commercial vehicles for real work.
Especially in the south, but not limited to, you see a lot of new Z71’s and Raptors with lift kits, brush guards, spray in bed liners and diamond plated bed boxes in office parking lots, all with pristine trailer hitches.
pavement princess compensation carriers
People who modify their Raptors, generally are only making them less capable.
In the US, trucks got so big because of poorly-thought-out EPA regulations that mandated specific gas mileage based on hood height rather than tonnage. In order to be subjected to the lower, more achievable targets, the hood height has to be above a certain number or else the truck can’t be sold.
Can you share a source for the hood height regulations? Never heard anything like that before.
I’m not sure about the hood height part, but CAFE (US fuel economy standards) loosen the MPG requirements as vehicles get larger. The curve is poorly made and it is simply easier to increase the size of the vehicle and hit the looser fuel economy requirements. The regulation with the goal to increase fuel economy…encourages larger vehicles with worse fuel economy.
No kidding, not to mention the footprint regulations forcing all cars to get bigger. Can’t even sell an ICE smart car in the USA anymore because it’s not efficient enough for its footprint! Old Subaru gc8 is a small car and would require 75+ mpg to be sold under current regulations, so we just have bigger Subarus to increase footprint and get them back under regulation. Manufacturers love regulations because more regs = higher price = more profit per vehicle sold. Ever wonder why screens used to be illegal in cars, but now anything under 10k lbs is legally required to have a TV screen and back up camera?
That is not the primary issue. If it would be tonnage the incentive would be also perverse and dangerous for everyone. The emission targets are absolutely achievable, the industry does not want to achieve them or do what is needed to achieve them (lighter, smaller and more efficient vehicles).
The real problem is that authorities allowed the lobbyists to get their way to open an aicraft carrier large loophole to allow rules for commercial vehicle for purely and exclusively private vehicles, designed and marketed from day one exclusively as such.
Not a silver bullet but we seriously need to reform the CAFE standards that reward automakers for producing vehicles with larger footprints.
Trump just lowered the standards lol
Make it illegal to build vehicles that aren’t crash compatible with average sized sedans and coupes, get rid of the light truck exemption that allows regular people to drive work vehicles (pickups trucks) on public roads without a truck driver’s licence or work permit.
Problem with the pickup truck thing is that you would also nuke those of us driving older trucks like my 01 Tacoma, my fucking hood is shorter than the back bumper of some modern pickups. Mind you that could be corrected with height and tonnage specifications.
One of my primary use cases for even owning a truck would be an 8ft long bed single cab so I could drive to the hardware store and pick up sheets of drywall, plywood, or lumber.
You really think I need a commercial driver license or whatever a work permit is to do that?
Absolutely. Extremely few people need a truck that size full time. I was a cabinetmaker for years and I actually needed a truck so rarely that I saved a ton of money just renting one every few weeks and had the option to get a van (which is what most people really want anyway) if I needed one too. Most proper home renovations require a permit so you could tie that to it. I actually had a lot of options for free lumber and sheet stock delivery which is a huge time and money saver even it in the boonies where I lived and of course to my shop in the city. Most people really don’t need a truck, they just don’t take advantage of the services offered to them.
Any home owner should own a truck. I don’t, but I’ll say that my Subaru identifies as a truck (regularly haul trash in it, have used it to move bucked up logs about riding on the bump stops) but I have on a couple occasions had to borrow friends trucks. If I didn’t have friends with trucks, id probably have to get rid of my jeep and replace it with a shitty lil ranger or s10 or something of the sort.
Trucks are demonstrably more dangerous than other vehicles on the road.
My unpopular opinion is that truck drivers should pay a higher penalty when they’re involved in accidents. Every moving violation in a truck gets bumped up, one degree, from civil to misdemeanor, from misdemeanor to felony. By driving a pickup truck you are choosing to endanger other drivers on the road.
They’re also not performance vehicles, but everyone tries to drive them like they are and none of them care to give you any indication of what they are intending to do.
I agree. Funny enough, when the taller vehicles were first becoming popular, “I can see everything” was popular. Well, if your visibility is improved, you should be penalized more for being at fault.
Even more so with all these driving assistant systems, if you rely too heavily on them (thinking OK to text and drive), that’s on you for still causing an accident. Those systems are to aid alert drivers, not replace them.
The older I get, the less and less heed I pay to supply and demand Econ101. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Americans “choose” the most profitable kind of vehicles.
Supply and demand is a framework, not a model. It doesn’t say anything.
Apparently the entire internet failed to learn Econ101.
Supply and demand is correct in isolation. But so is advertising, they have spent decades learning human psychology to make people want certain things, hence creating demand for things that they want to sell. And they have also learned to create scarcity to Jack up prices.
I may be in the minority but I hate trucks. I always will have a smaller sedan. Am US.
Fool! Sedans are the worst form factor vehicle there is. LONG LIVE THE LONG ROOF! Wagons and hatch backs 4 life
I don’t see how that could be a minority opinion. Don’t let the “Americans are bad people” posts get to you.
It’s not getting to me at all. Just saying where I am, majority truck central is a thing.
It’s objectively a minority opinion here in the USA, Ford doesn’t even make sedans anymore because they were selling so poorly.
Meanwhile, I got a raise at my old job because I got a pickup truck.
That’s because Ford neglected their products, choosing instead to invest in higher margin trucks. Everytime they came out with a successful car, they waited until obsolesce before producing a proper replacement.
I would like a small, pre-2012 truck that is just used for hauling shit I need to the house, like wood, pellets, feed, etc.
What I find are dick-measuring vehicles where you have to lean forward to ensure no pedestrians are in front.
Still searching…
I’ve had a 1999 and a 2007 Nissan Frontier. Both “King cab” (meaning only jump seats in the back, not full back seats). The 1999 was perfect. The new Frontiers are like the size of the old Titans, it’s ridiculous.
I’m an EV convert. I really like the Rivian pick-up for a lot of things, but the size is just too much (that and the cost). I currently drive a 2017 Kia Soul EV (and I had a Nissan Leaf before that) and it’s just great. There are a few times where I wish I still had a truck though. When the Soul winds up becoming my son’s car in a few years, I’m hoping that maybe I can swing getting a Slate. I also live in Hawai’i and kei trucks/vans are very popular here. Smaller vehicles with well-thought-out design are the best.
My dad has a '93 Ford Ranger
4 cylinder, 7ft bed, single cab with a bench seat. Gets around 20mpg, which honestly isn’t too shabby even by new truck standards.
Over the years it’s moved a lot of furniture, picked up a lot of bulky lumber and such from the hardware store, picked up a few decent sized loads of firewood, and generally done everything most normal people would need or want a truck for.
The bed is pretty low compared to modern trucks so it’s easy to load and unload, back it up to a curb and you can pretty step right off the sidewalk into the bed with the tailgate down
I have complaints about it, but they’re nothing most people couldn’t live with. It’s 0-60 time is probably best stated as “eventually,” especially if you’re carrying anything significant in the bed. And with no weight over those rear wheels it’s kind of shitty to drive on anything besides dry paved roads so 4wd would be nice. And of course after 30+ years it’s got some quirks and little things that are broken.
But if I could buy basically that exact same truck today, maybe as a hybrid or EV, I’d jump on it. I don’t need more performance, I’m not going to use it to haul a bed full of gravel or anything, we’ve never had to tow with it, and when I’ve towed with my own car it’s never been anything more substantial than a teardrop trailer that a Prius could probably just about handle if they came with a tow hitch.
I really like the maverick, it checks a lot of boxes for me and is overall pretty similar in size to my dad’s ranger but that short bed annoys me, I can’t fit a couch in that.
My brother had a 90s Toyota with a 5 speed and the full 8’ I believe. We did small town construction and it was perfect for general lumber/ladders/groceries/etc.
It also had suffered a bad repair job in a backyard shop at some point and would kind of shibby down the road a little sideways. Insanely reliable though.
I don’t remember typing this today 🙃
Edit: read “absolutely 100% the main usecase”
Liked my s10 but that was the biggest complaint that engine belongs in a small car not a truck.
A hatchback or small SUV with the seats folded down is adequate for that. I fit a full size refrigerator and a 3 seat sofa in my scion xB (no not at the same time).
Got a prius now and fit two IKEA mattresses and bedframes no problem.
Plus you don’t need to worry about people just deciding to grab shit since it’s enclosed.
As messed up as it sounds, after our last move the company bringing our stuff didn’t bring a small truck and their big one couldn’t make it up our steep driveway. In steps my wife with her Scion xD, the baby sister of your xB, and managed to drive everything up hanging out the back (many many trips, no fridge though).
The Prius’ storage is surprisingly well-designed! We borrowed one several years back and I was really impressed with what all it could hold
Theres a reason first gen Tacoma’s are still over $20k for a decent one. and they usually have over 300k miles. Such a great sized, good driving, easy to work on little pickup. (Minus the stupid frame recall).
Everything made today is shit. So hold on to your 90s cars guys.
Much like seeing one of the new post trucks, it’s a fun game to point at “small” trucks and exclaim “look, normal-size truck!” It’s just sad that they’re getting rare enough to point them out.
If you’re fine with a trailer, this would be a viable option. In Europe, almost nobody uses a truck and we still haul a lot of shit around. You’d be surprised what a sedan can pull.
This way you would only have the higher drag when really needing it and the low cost of a smaller car the rest of the time.
Unfortunately in the US almost no small vehicle has rated towing capacity, even when the same vehicles do in Europe. So if you were to tow with a small sedan you’re operating outside of what it’s rated for in the US. So I’m sure manufacturers would use that to deny warranty coverage, or in the event of a crash I’m sure that could play a factor…
Every car in the US has a towing capacity number. Small cars are usually around 1k lbs
Oh, that’s a shame.
I’m not sure how to read the towing capacity in the USA, since it’s documented very differently over here, but it seems they’re petty much the same for the bog standard car I’ve picked (Audi A4). Dragging around 1.5 to 2 tons is probably enough for most people.
Lots of places like furniture, hardware and gardening stores will also just rent you a trailer. So you can just hook it up and carry your stuff home if you need to. And if you need it more often you can just buy your own trailer, they’re not even that expensive.
Ford maverick, size of the old rangers with 40 mpg
While true, they have a lot of issues and are way too techy, and fwd. Give me the ranger.
The current ranger makes my 85 F160 feel small. Or at least low.
That cab though lol I legit just want a single cab truck with no gimmicks, but “the market” all trends to “big car with bed” because they can mark up the price.
Slate truck. Ford Fathom. Only options I’m aware of in the USA.
Am not US but otherwise felt the same, for a long time.
Now recently road conditions have been deteriorating quite badly where I live. With potholes everywhere, sedans and other small cars with delicate suspensions just get damaged all the time by the road. This, along with heavy snow and slush in the winter, has caused me to rethink my stance.
P much same. Have a crossover bc poor and that was the only used car in my area that was clean title, under 200k miles and not a shitty American-made brand, but it averages 32 mpg and I’m wanting my next vehicle to be a hybrid at minimum.
Seeing pristine baby coddling pickups pisses me off every time.
i keep a small truck around so i can take garbage off without having to smell it, or pick up some mulch for my not-lawn
I actively despise those massive pavement princesses and lose respect for any person who has one. They’re a must-have in the “macho insecure man-child” starter pack.
Externalizing their “alpha” BS.
marketing works.
i drive a small hatchback, and everyone who isn’t another small hatchback owner makes passive aggressive commentary about my car. The social pressure to conform and buy a mid-sized or larger SUV/truck is insane, and most folks cave to it. (and now the new thing is ‘you have to buy an EV’ social pressure).
especially as a well-paid middle aged person, the implication is that I am an economic failure at life, and ‘self-respect’ demands I drive a large expensive vehicle to display my status. Like I have had many folks lecture me about how at my age/money I need to own a ‘nice’ car (e.g. 50-60K+ MSRP)
I am in the market for a new car and I am going to get another small hatchback. I have looked at small trucks and other vehicles but the economics don’t make any sense. I’d pay a lot more money for no additional benefit.
FWIW my first car was a 10 year old hand me down SUV. And I absolutely hated driving it. It was huge, slow, and got like 8mpg, but my idiot parents insisted I had to drive it because it was ‘safe’.
I’ve had a few hatchbacks and live them, though for now I just have a trunk and two doors on my daily. Thank you for being one of the few people that don’t tower over the rest of us on the road!
I have a small hatchback too, and I love the little thing. I need something bigger for work, but if it wasn’t for my job I would have zero complaints. My friends hassle me about driving it, but then I mention I fill it up once a week for $30 and they shut up.
Same. For me its also an easy choice. Large vehicles suck ass to drive and are 0 fun. Theyre also much more unsafe for everyone. Give me a hatch that can zip, stop, and handle great. WAY better.
This comment reads remarkably similar to my own situation and past. Driving an '89 blazer while broke was enough to make me never want to drive anything wasteful of gas again. And yeah the SUV roll factor somehow was ignored by my parents too.
And people pay 80k plus for those. It’s ridiculous. I can’t imagine just throwing away thousands a year on gas, maintenance, insurance, truck nuts etc. all while renting an apartment.
And they will keep guzzling gas and you’ll like it!
Maybe it’s because I am in tech, but not a single person in my friends group drives a pickup truck. Even now that I’ve moved to Wyoming, there are no truck owners. To be fair, pickups suck in our weather. A lot of Subaru and vans though.
I guess what I am saying is that maybe gas guzzling pickups aren’t an American thing as much as they are a specific type of American thing.
I have a feeling a lot of the truck owners are regretting their life choices right now with the gas situation. Hopefully that also influences their voting decisions…
They’re popular with a certain personality. White males who need to demonstrate their mannitude. Hell of a lot of money to pay for performative machismo.
It’s blue collar cosplay. They want to be seen as a “working man.” Ironically I think most actual working vehicles have switched over to vans.
Just tell those “personalities” that you can afford driving a small car, because you don’t need your car for compensating something. They’ll know what.
I also work in tech (shocking, I know). Pretty sure the only truck drivers in my org are a few men in the c-suite and one dude who has a small daily driver Ridgeline haha.
Shh, American bad!
For the 2027 model year, GM/Chevrolet are bringing back the
350408! 6.7L of V8 power, up from a measly 6.2L!350ci is 5.7l
As an American, I cannot confirm this.
This big trucks are basically just worse minivans for the most part anyway.
No third row seating option, similar cargo capacity, and significantly worse gas mileage.
Obviously you can tow stuff. But outside of that? Meh. I’d rather have a small truck like a Ridgeline if I were to get one at all.
The thing with the Ridgeline is that it is a mid size truck that is still unibody with a max tow capacity of 5000lbs. The smaller, cheaper Hyundai Santa Cruz also has a tow capacity of 5000lbs. That’s why I went with the Santa Cruz. I do wish it had a foot more of bed length.
I haven’t done a ton of research into trucks, but if I were to get one I’d want something with at least 3k towing and electrified. I’m never going to buy an internal combustion engine vehicle again.
Unfortunately right now the only real electrified options are all huge. You might be able to settle for hybrid and use the Ford Maverick? I don’t know, but my guess is it isn’t rated to tow 3000lbs though. My dream truck, if I could afford it, would be a Rivian R1T. They’re big, but they’re electric and imo cool. The optional built in camp kitchen would be so cool.
Depends if it’s the fwd or awd I think. Heart wants to say the fwd is 2k.
For the Maverick? Last time I looked only models with the specific tow package could do 4000lbs and the hybrid couldn’t get that package. That was also a reason I went with the Santa Cruz. That may have changed (I doubt it) and I don’t remember what the lighter numbers were. I was specially looking for the most capacity for the buck back then. Well without going with a huge, used gas guzzler.
Prius go wooooosh
