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this post was submitted on 17 May 2024
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[Dormant] Electric Vehicles
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Pickup trucks don't need to die. They just need to return to being the utility vehicles they used to be with a full bed and not an entire SUV worth of cab. An F-150 now is larger than a 350 was in the 90s, but has less bed than a 77 Subaru Brat. My Mazda B2200 was a great little truck that could hold a stack of plywood and some 2x4s for a weekend project and handled and had visibility like a Civic. Bring that back.
CAFE standards inadvertently killed small pickups because they allow worse fuel efficiency the bigger the vehicle is. Rather than figuring out how to build more efficient small trucks automakers just make them bigger. Congress should go back and fix the legislation, but they won't. So we are stuck with Tacoma's that are bigger than old T100s etc.
Add the "I need a big truck to prove I am manly culture" and even the electric trucks are too damn big. (Efficient to share parts with non-electric trucks contributes too.)
There is one justification for trucks that big. One. Towing. You have to have size and weight to control a load on a trailer with size and weight. But anything that has to be that big should also be mandated to be a cab-over style, so the driver can see in front and also be the one in greatest danger in case of a collision. Take the fucking oversized Tonka trucks away from the overgrown children who drive them. Monstrosities like the Suburban and Expedition should not exist either.
It's a shame that Rivian had to go and try to appeal to the truck nuts crowd. Something the size of a Mighty Max could easily still weigh 2 tons with enough batteries and a motor per wheel. Give THAT the suspension and brakes to handle it and you'd really have something. Hell, give it a small ICE to run a generator and you would have a fantastic hybrid truck. But in America, at least, bigger is better. It's sad really. We could have awesome things.
A fucking Honda Fit (a subcompact hatchback) hauls more volume than a lot of SUVs/"trucks" these days.
My last car (Prius Prime) could haul about the same amount as a lot of modern pickups. Maybe that's why that hated it so much.
Never driven a Prius, but I have driven a couple Fits before and while they're not super fast, they're surprisingly fun to drive on twisty roads. Not as fun as my manual Subie, but nobody's perfect.
Agreed. I was rather impressed by it. Just wish Toyota would pull the thumb out and actually support BEVs rather than doing everything they can to justify holding onto fossil fuels.
Anything small and reasonably low is so much more fun on twisty roads than a big jacked up lifted truck or jeep or whatever. I hate catching up to trucks in my crossover and getting stuck behind them on what should be a super fun mountain road.
I drive a Fit: 10/10 would recommend.
Called a Jazz in many markets, including here. That's actually my old favourite "sensible car". The space inside is just phenomenal. And its really handy size on the outside. Great combination to have.
Driver's car it isn't. You just point it at a direction and tell it when to stop and when to go. No wows, but no complaints either.
It's not so bad in manual really, but they're harder to find especially these days.
Can't agree more. Pickups all now have to cosplay like they are semis.
I guess some people found out their precious trucks were technically still "light duty" so Ford decided to call them "super duty" to make them feel better while putting gigantic pointless front ends.
But if trucks went back to being reasonably practical designs, how could they proudly display truck nuts?