Bateshorn

It's incredibly un-nerving. You are turning and the car just....doesn't turn. It plows forward even though the front wheels are literally pointing to the right or left. The solution is to loosen/lighten your grip on the wheel, let it spin back towards center and straighten the tires, re-establish grip, then re engage your turn.

I don't think anyone is questioning your ownership of a truck. It's the guy that's never put anything in the back of the thing other than a suit case that is the target.

At the Porsche driving experience, they have two completely different skid pads to simulate over and understeer. I mastered the oversteer pretty quickly: my Mom's car that I learned to drive on was an 80s caprice that would lose the rear everytime you braked in wet weather so I was pretty used to it. The Understeer was harder to understand and master, even though all my cars are FWD. The instructor said it's because it's harder to put a passenger car into understeer under normal driving conditions. You have to really push the car to edge of it's performance envelope to make it happen. It's part of the reason it's standard on almost all cars: better grip and normal driving handling characteristics.

I just see FREEDOM!!!

A As a manlet, every time I see one of you lumbering giants try to fold yourself into a tight space, I have to fight the urge to say "How's that being tall working out for you now?"

Almost all AWD these days, except maybe Subaru, is FWD until the system detects slippage, then it transfer power. If you've ever had a AWD and the car seems to slip for a half a beat, grab and straighten out, you've felt the differential transfering torque in real time.

More importantly: We need to require a special license to drive one, along with Mustangs and Camaros. Almost no American's learn to drive RWD cars these days. They handle very differently under load than a FWD car. You take your foot off the gas under hard acceleration, particularily on shitty/cold tires, and the back end will break lose. Most of us, parents, and grand parents learned to drive on a rear wheel drive. Millenials and younger did not.

I guess Biden is going all in, cost wise. It'll be interesting to see if we are sending our Abrams or transferring them via a third party nation. It makes a difference from a Pentagon book keeping perspective.

Yeah, the curb weight on that 240 was approximately 3000 pounds, giver or take the same as my 2012 VW Gti.

I realize you and I are having a different conversation than the rest of the “Muh FREEDOMS!” going n here. But look at this 1990 Volvo 240 DL for sale: https://www.smartmotorguide.com/L49458048 That was likely one of, if not the safest car available at the time. It’s a death trap compared to modern vehicles, but that’s mostly due to braking/traction control, occupant safety improvements. All that stuff is heavy and necessitates using Aluminum instead of steel to offset the weight. Look at how thin the A/B/C pillars are. Look at all that trunk room! That car probably has the same structural rigidity (if not more without crumple zones) than a modern car. And that’s because it’s primarily steel. Modern trucks are growing because it’s impossible to keep them safe and modern for the occupants given Newton’s laws, without using enormous amounts of Aluminum. And that has very profound effects on the world those trucks interact with. Especially pedestrians.

To use a different version of Given’s Razor: If somebody tailgates you, you found a tailgater. If everybody tailgates you, you’re driving too slow, move over.

Seeing people talk about finances and espouse a "working class" lifestyle with a Chevy Tahoe and an F250 in their driveway: My brother in Christ, you are leasing two luxury vehicles.

Ironically (again No CR), the Obama administration's (and to a lesser degree CARB) attempting to improve auto safety and efficiency at the same time ended up pushing both manufacturers and buyers into less efficient vehicles. It wasn't by design, but it's easier to make the safety requirements in a larger vehicle than it is in a VW Golf. The companies make more money on the crossovers/SUVs/trucks, and the beancounter, marketing, and sales people took it from there. I'm as guilty as the next: I bought a VW Alltrack because I wanted the extra bit of lift and all wheel drive (despite the fact it's cheaper to just switch back and forth from winter to summer tires and you will get much better traction). The extra weight of the Haldex knocks about 5 miles off the MPG. The performance of modern cars is truly mindblowing. My 2012 GTI performs better than a mid 90s Carrera from a timing perspective. Jay Leno had a great line when talking about his 80s Countach, which was his daily driver for awhile (and I'm paraphrasing): There is more technology difference between that 87-88 Countach and a modern sedan, then the Countach and the Model T.

East Coast parallel parking is an Olympic level sport.

I think gas and vehicle cost is the simplest explanation for the sudden interest/move to medium trucks. I live in a heavily Central American community and the contractors around here universally drive two trucks: old full size beaters, and Tacos, of many vintages. The only full-size driveway queens I regularly see is the fat white guy who’s gonna show up on day one to give me the price for the job.

Much like America is really an insurance company with a military, most domestic auto manufacturers are really lending companies that specialize in SUVs/Trucks. And in the case of Dodge, it’s a predatory lending company. /noCR/ Light duty trucks are subject to easier emissions standards than cars. Due to their size and that exemption, They are easier and cheaper to engineer, update, and produce, relative to cars, across a manufacturing line over time. With marketing, they sell for far more money and with much greater profit margins. It’s an easy decision for the companies to push trucks as the ultimate product. Until the US closes the light truck exemption, and/or gas prices get and stay high, this trend will continue /noCR/

As much as it pains me to say it, since those LOYAL FOREVER! Maroons will never let it go, but Austin High is very good (use the Notre Dame tune): Beer beer for old Austin High Bring out the whiskey, bring out the rye Send those freshmen out for gin, and don't let a sober SENIOR in We never stagger, we never fall We sober up on wood alcohol All ye saints of Austin High are out on the drunk again

As somebody who lives on the Eastern seaboard and does not have giant, Kramer-esque, Texas roads, Pick ups are the bane of my existence. Also, trying to figure out which of you guys actually need a pick up and which of you just have little dicks.

Yeah, to me, some sort of Practice Squad Dress out Activation makes most sense to me. You activate the player from the Practice Squad on game day? They get a bonus or something. But the thin ass rosters is brutal.

Every year I have a sip or two of Longhorn Kool aid in August, watch a couple of games, then we have our annual garbage September outing, and I basically become Jerry's girlfriend here:

Lol. My kids are in college now, so IDGAF if people judge: My first wife and I benedryled our kids when they were young for flying. It has a couple of benefits: as a first gen antihistimine, it has anti-motion sickness properties. As a mild disassociative, it makes kids docile and sleepy. One time we boarded the flight, got settled, and proceeded to put a dropper full in each child. Since we were four across, I was across the aisle, although we often would switch to allow the other person a few minutes of not having to be on child overwatch. The dude in the window looked me dead ass in the eyes and said thank you and bought both my wife and I a drink once the cart came by.

re: Troop appearance…. They can’t all be this guy, huh?

I walked away from the Cowboys after Jerry bought the team and have never looked back. Apathy is slowly driving me away from the Longhorns.

Este. The quality of the game drops off so badly in December as we lose starters and end up with guys who were roofing houses or in practice squads a month earlier in starting roles.