It's time we talked about pickup trucks

[Brew 3,049]

46 minutes ago, locodos said:

Jeans (dungarees) were invented for hard work... then on the basis of aesthetics alone they became popular and everyone started wearing them, not because they were coal miners or lumberjacks but because it became cool.  

Redwing boots...  built for miners, now a fixture on hipsters....   you get it, right?

Trucks used for work, cheap, and purpose built, time passes, and now you have GMC Denali for $80k, Tundras for $70k which are more tailored for public consumption than work.  Sure you can use them to haul and tow but that's not why they are being purchased.

 

As for you advice to sell the Tundra and buy a smaller truck...  well the current Tacoma is the same size as my 1st Gen Tundra (Which is still too big since I'm not towing big boats anymore).  Who makes a "small" pickup truck?  

Or they realized jeans were a better every day wear than whatever they were wearing prior. Again, that logic makes zero sense. Adaptation has more to do with usefulness than it does any cool factor. People wore Jordan’s because they thought they were cool, Jordan’s were worn by a small minority of people because there were better options available for every day wear at better price points. Trucks are no different price wise than a lot of other vehicles, so for $72k (much cheaper options available, but I like my Platinum) I can buy my F250 that does everything when I need it or an okay optioned Tahoe/Expedition/whatever that has similar interior space through the second row and more limited usefulness. Again, trucks aren’t cool, just functional at the price point.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Brew

[crash_davis 23,158]

To everyone in this thread.

Edited January 24, 2023 by crash_davis

[wildcat09 29,453]

It's extremely weird to see anyone arguing that trucks aren't a status symbol. Just go to fucking College Station man and take a look around.

[fattyflattie 4,639]

41 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

At least with Toyota, they're damn near the same price, so why go with the smaller option?

Apparently so other drivers won’t have their pussies hurt as much?  I mean, some people can’t see around and in front of you while their driving. 

[ChickenSandwich 9,856]

Full Size Truck is the new strap sandal/cargo shorts. RIP Smegma Popsicle II

Edited January 24, 2023 by ChickenSandwich

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

It's extremely weird to see anyone arguing that trucks aren't a status symbol. Just go to fucking midland/Odessa man and take a look around.

[Samson's Wig 3,195]

4 hours ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

doesn't answer his question though , ie, why do trucks do the psychotic bullying more than other vehicles? It's all about being big and bad, machismo, I am God, I am self important, the whole world was made for me, GTFO my way little sedan! Which is why i favor unmarked cop cars on the highway.

Let's be honest, it happened when frat boys decided that trucks were the thing to drive about thirty years ago.  Take a bunch of suburban kids who've never done a day of hard work in their life, couple it with the innate self-entitled personality rampant in that group of people, and then throw them into a truck that daddy paid for and turn them loose.  This is the demographic that has driven trucks to larger and larger sizes as they've aged, the demographic who popularized putting lifts on mall crawlers, and the demographic at the heart of this debate.  This is why trucks are everywhere when they don't need to be.  It's the same jackasses who own overpriced cowboy boots for date night but wouldn't know what to do if they got within ten feet of a horse. The same guys who buy their wives suburbans to drive their two kids around in. 

With all due respect to those decent frat guys out there (I'd like to think I'm one of them), it's our brethren that caused all of this by cosplaying cowboy.  As someone who grew up ranching and farming and dreamed of a higher education and a different life, it blew my mind how many of those spoiled guys liked to dress up and pretend like they came from my world. It made zero sense.

I don't have a problem with any of this, even though I don't understand it, fwiw.  More power to them.  But that's how we got where we are in regard to pickups.  Grown men's obsession with that soap opera "Yellowstone" will only make things worse I'm afraid.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Samson's Wig

[South Austin 52,691]

6 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Men across the board are worse drivers. 

It depends on how you define "worse."  Men are by far the most aggressive drivers (tailgating, cutting off, etc.). 

But if it's shit like failure to signal, not recognizing right of way, not realizing the light has turned green, etc., based on my scientific studies over the past couple decades, these are overwhelmingly women drivers.

[956 Worldwide 34,931]

1 hour ago, Brew said:

It’s such a strange discussion worrying about what other people drive and their reasons for driving it. 

So super cereal response— I don’t think at the individual level it’s helpful but at the macro-level we should be asking “why are the trucks getting so big and why do so many people want them more the bigger they get.” Because at the macro level, what vehicles people buy and want to have accommodated have a real impact on the physical environment we all share. 
 

Did you know that pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. have spiked since 2009? And that analysis of pedestrian accidents show that trucks hit pedestrians the most often, followed by SUVs at a substantially lower rate, then cars? And that you’re more likely to die/have serious injuries from a truck strike. 
 

Some of that is due to how big they are, and part of it is due to new safety features like side-curtain airbags that make blind-spots bigger. Which is a great discussion of itself— our cars have never been safer but pedestrians are at greater and greater risk, speaking to whose safety we collectively value.

 

I know that’s not true of surly, we’re all excellent drivers (and watch Judge Wapner) and carefully adjust our driving to compensate for the reduced visibility and greater size, so let’s just say there are a lot of TexAgers who aren’t doing that. 

 

That alone is reason to talk about it, then add things like fuel efficiency and ever increasing infrastructure demand including parking lots to hold these things— collectively, we should be asking what we are doing to incentivize mass purchase of things that have real downsides to how livable and drivable and walkable our roads and cities are (and of course, upsides to the user like convenience and comfort). 
 

No one should say “you shouldn’t have/buy/be allowed to have a big truck.” I think “what can we do to make fewer people feel like they need one” is a bit more helpful.
 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by 956 Worldwide

[BabaYaga 15,377]

10 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

No one should say “you shouldn’t have/buy/be allowed to have a big truck.” I think “what can we do to make fewer people feel like they need one” is a bit more helpful.

Surly, doing the lords work 

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Because ‘murica you fucking commie.

[Deej 77,176]

Salt Life and Yeti stickers just look so much better on a truck.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Salt Life and Yeti stickers just look so much better on a truck.

True. Also, regular sized vehicles never have cup holders large enough for my gallon cup of brawndo.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9,435]

Full Size Truck is the new strap sandal/cargo shorts. RIP Smegma Popsicle II

Great reference and fucking awesome shagster.

[Bateshorn 9,957]

23 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

So super cereal response— I don’t think at the individual level it’s helpful but at the macro-level we should be asking “why are the trucks getting so big and why do so many people want them more the bigger they get.” Because at the macro level, what vehicles people buy and want to have accommodated have a real impact on the physical environment we all share. 
 

Did you know that pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. have spiked since 2009? And that analysis of pedestrian accidents show that trucks hit pedestrians the most often, followed by SUVs at a substantially lower rate, then cars? And that you’re more likely to die/have serious injuries from a truck strike. 
 

Some of that is due to how big they are, and part of it is due to new safety features like side-curtain airbags that make blind-spots bigger. Which is a great discussion of itself— our cars have never been safer but pedestrians are at greater and greater risk, speaking to whose safety we collectively value.

 

I know that’s not true of surly, we’re all excellent drivers (and watch Judge Wapner) and carefully adjust our driving to compensate for the reduced visibility and greater size, so let’s just say there are a lot of TexAgers who aren’t doing that. 

 

That alone is reason to talk about it, then add things like fuel efficiency and ever increasing infrastructure demand including parking lots to hold these things— collectively, we should be asking what we are doing to incentivize mass purchase of things that have real downsides to how livable and drivable and walkable our roads and cities are (and of course, upsides to the user like convenience and comfort). 
 

No one should say “you shouldn’t have/buy/be allowed to have a big truck.” I think “what can we do to make fewer people feel like they need one” is a bit more helpful.
 

 

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.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,980]

1 hour ago, smuggs said:

Cue the "It's NOT A TRUCK!!!1!" crowd:

 

As soon as my kids are out of carseats and I don't need the extra space in the back seat I will be buying something like this. Anything that I need to pull can be pulled with my wife's vehicle, and that is perfectly fine for most uses I need a truck for. I miss how my old 94 Ranger with a five speed 4.0 drove.

[956 Worldwide 34,931]

6 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

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.

Sometimes people stand around and marvel at “how heavy that must be” when they are looking at one of these old land yachts and the reality is that they’re not much, if at all, heavier than pretty moderately sized cars you see on the road everyday. Because yes, all those features add up. 
 

The A-pillar is a big one— it has to be thick for rollover protection and you add curtain airbags and then the higher ride higher and smaller windows and higher belt line (also due to safety) and you see why we keep killing people while making left-hand turns. 
 

And like I mentioned— we judge cars based on how safe they are for the people inside them and not for people unprotected by anything but a meat sack. That’s a policy priority itself. We’ve basically undone the results of the safety bumpers we once mandated. 

[Macanudo 13,092]

One my favorite things to see is Poppaw and Memaw crawling down from theor ginormous pick-em-up truck after they've parked in the handicap spot at HEB and then watch them both use canes to slowly make their way inside.   Yep, they NEED that truck.    And don't you tell them otherwise.

[Bateshorn 9,957]

17 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Sometimes people stand around and marvel at “how heavy that must be” when they are looking at one of these old land yachts and the reality is that they’re not much, if at all, heavier than pretty moderately sized cars you see on the road everyday. Because yes, all those features add up. 
 

The A-pillar is a big one— it has to be thick for rollover protection and you add curtain airbags and then the higher ride higher and smaller windows and higher belt line (also due to safety) and you see why we keep killing people while making left-hand turns. 
 

And like I mentioned— we judge cars based on how safe they are for the people inside them and not for people unprotected by anything but a meat sack. That’s a policy priority itself. We’ve basically undone the results of the safety bumpers we once mandated. 

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

[gmr548 16,640]

So again, it's the driver, not the vehicle

Right. And the drivers of pickups are…

We’re going in circles.

[fattyflattie 4,639]

59 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

No one should say “you shouldn’t have/buy/be allowed to have a big truck.” I think “what can we do to make fewer people feel like they need one” is a bit more helpful.
 

They are available from every major manufacturer except Ram (?).  They are also cheaper. So psychological?  It seems here there’s about 4-5 posters that use and prefer their 3/4-1tons, another 20 that like their half tons, and 100 that would just love a late 80’s Tacoma (likely largely forgetting how that 75hp 22r actually pushed it).  Small trucks are readily available. Don’t see the point in folks stretching their arms to preach how fast they would go buy one, just go.  Dollars to donuts they end up with a 150. 
 

In regards to the environmental aspect, every other charger/challenger I see is an SRT it seems. Do we need to limit that persons “excessive” hp?   To my eyes, they are 10x more aggressive than any of the trucks I see. Maybe the feeling of aggressiveness mentioned upthread comes from being in that smaller vehicle. Personally, im much more worried about the guy in a 6-1000hp Dodge car that he may or not be able to actually harness, than some suburbanite in his 250. 

[Bateshorn 9,957]

4 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

They are available from every major manufacturer except Ram (?).  They are also cheaper. So psychological?  It seems here there’s about 4-5 posters that use and prefer their 3/4-1tons, another 20 that like their half tons, and 100 that would just love a late 80’s Tacoma (likely largely forgetting how that 75hp 22r actually pushed it).  Small trucks are readily available. Don’t see the point in folks stretching their arms to preach how fast they would go buy one, just go.  Dollars to donuts they end up with a 150. 
 

In regards to the environmental aspect, every other charger/challenger I see is an SRT it seems. Do we need to limit that persons “excessive” hp?   To my eyes, they are 10x more aggressive than any of the trucks I see. Maybe the feeling of aggressiveness mentioned upthread comes from being in that smaller vehicle. Personally, im much more worried about the guy in a 6-1000hp Dodge car that he may or not be able to actually harness, than some suburbanite in his 250. 

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. 

[fattyflattie 4,639]

1 minute ago, Bateshorn said:

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’ve (obviously) never owned a fwd car.  Wife had one when we met, but I rarely drove it. You’re right, completely different feel.  My 10 yo can shift gears but she isn’t strong enough for the clutch yet. It won’t do her any good unless she grows up into old sports cars.  But at least they’ll know. 
 

Im not into over licensing shit, but it is crazy to me you can buy a 1000+hp car with nothing but a loan. It’s also crazy to me you can go buy a 350 and a 45’ toy hauler and get out on the highways. I don’t know how you fix it, by the grace of God we go and whatnot, I guess.  We have some friends (wife’s friends) that got into RV during Covid, and just went balls deep. This dude was asking me all sorts of very simple towing stuff, like day 1 I learned as a 10yo stuff.   About a week later, he shows us with a huge 5th wheel. Month later they are dragging it to the east coast.  I will say this, he was very “by the book” and whatnot on his weights/loads/legality.  Something those more comfortable tend to incorrectly view more as a suggestion.  

[tbone_ 14,259]

FWD cars really bug me with how they handle and steer.

[Celery Man 21,027]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

Let's be honest, it happened when frat boys decided that trucks were the thing to drive about thirty years ago.  Take a bunch of suburban kids who've never done a day of hard work in their life, couple it with the innate self-entitled personality rampant in that group of people, and then throw them into a truck that daddy paid for and turn them loose.  This is the demographic that has driven trucks to larger and larger sizes as they've aged, the demographic who popularized putting lifts on mall crawlers, and the demographic at the heart of this debate.  This is why trucks are everywhere when they don't need to be.  It's the same jackasses who own overpriced cowboy boots for date night but wouldn't know what to do if they got within ten feet of a horse. The same guys who buy their wives suburbans to drive their two kids around in. 

With all due respect to those decent frat guys out there (I'd like to think I'm one of them), it's our brethren that caused all of this by cosplaying cowboy.  As someone who grew up ranching and farming and dreamed of a higher education and a different life, it blew my mind how many of those spoiled guys liked to dress up and pretend like they came from my world. It made zero sense.

I don't have a problem with any of this, even though I don't understand it, fwiw.  More power to them.  But that's how we got where we are in regard to pickups.  Grown men's obsession with that soap opera "Yellowstone" will only make things worse I'm afraid.

I think you’re vastly overestimating the influence of frat boys

[texashorne 1,178]

Trucks are awesome and very functional. Long story but I actually own 2, a '16 Silverado and '08 F150. 

I had a great opportunity to buy my old man's Silverado when he retired and took it, simply because these new trucks run 50k and up now. It's my head truck in waiting if/when the f150 bites the dust. 

I'll always own them because they can do just about anything at any time. 

Any of you truck haters on this thread arguing that people don't need them better not be driving anything bigger than a Toyota corolla. 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,980]

19 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

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 just checked, and AWD passed 50% of car sales in 2020, so there are going to be lots of folks that have never learned on FWD or RWD soon.

[SHOOTER12 8,853]

22 hours ago, Deej said:

Maybe that man isn't trying to overcompensate for other shortcomings?

 

22 hours ago, JMFP said:

Maybe? I guess he probably drives just what fits his needs. I dunno. Maybe dudes that drive pretty trucks or fancy sports cars (or anything not utilitarian) all have small dicks or maybe they just enjoy them? 

Maybe he's just a nerd whose wife drives around with his nuts in her purse.

[SHOOTER12 8,853]

22 hours ago, South Austin said:

Somebody has to.

When I moved to Texas from North Carolina in 1993, I said to myself, "Holy shit there are a lot of pickups in this state!"  Now I don't give it much thought, even with how ridiculously large some of the models have gotten.  I'm much more likely to scoff at the douche bag driving a Corvette.  

Watch it son, your mom likes riding in my Vette.

[Bateshorn 9,957]

16 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

I just checked, and AWD passed 50% of car sales in 2020, so there are going to be lots of folks that have never learned on FWD or RWD soon.

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. 

[gyroprotagonist 2,595]

10 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

No one should say “you shouldn’t have/buy/be allowed to have a big truck.” I think “what can we do to make fewer people feel like they need one” is a bit more helpful.
 

i read the first page and then skipped to the last.  This question of "what can we do to make fewer people feel like they don't need one" is to basically ban them from downtown/high pedestrian traffic areas.  redo parking lots to relegate trucks/SUVs to last row/farthest from door parking enforced with civil fines.  lower the height of parking garages a few inches to make it impossible for them to enter.  Another big deterrent would have be insurance costs.  if trucks are truly hitting more pedestrians then it seems natural that premiums would be higher.  now i am not championing those things (I drive a truck), but it would take some very heavy handed tactics to change things so that trucks were relegated back to 'work only' status and not used as daily drivers for city folk.  I doubt this will happens as most American cities reactions to traffic/parking is just build more lanes/spaces.  it's way more convenient to me in the short term, but likely unsustainable long term as city populations continue to rise along with their 'burbs and there are no incentives (good or bad) to reduce driving other than some jobs extending WFH.

I drive a truck (plain Sierra 2WD 1500) mostly because the cab is big and my 6'7'' frame fits in nicely (no sunroof though, those make the cab too short).  Me putting my seat all the way back still leaves a little room for the kids in the back seat.  All mid size and some full size sedans leave no room in the back seat if the front seats are pushed all the way back.  It's 99% a kid hauler and we take all road trips in my truck.  Used to trucks were way cheaper than a big 'luxury' sedan that had a real back seat and spacious front seats.  That's not really the case anymore i guess.  The Toyota Tundra Crewmax had the absolute biggest back seats and most room between front seats and back seats.  loved that truck but it legit got 13mpg or so.

 

[Bateshorn 9,957]

A

3 minutes ago, gyroprotagonist said:

i read the first page and then skipped to the last.  This question of "what can we do to make fewer people feel like they don't need one" is to basically ban them from downtown/high pedestrian traffic areas.  redo parking lots to relegate trucks/SUVs to last row/farthest from door parking enforced with civil fines.  lower the height of parking garages a few inches to make it impossible for them to enter.  Another big deterrent would have be insurance costs.  if trucks are truly hitting more pedestrians then it seems natural that premiums would be higher.  now i am not championing those things (I drive a truck), but it would take some very heavy handed tactics to change things so that trucks were relegated back to 'work only' status and not used as daily drivers for city folk.  I doubt this will happens as most American cities reactions to traffic/parking is just build more lanes/spaces.  it's way more convenient to me in the short term, but likely unsustainable long term as city populations continue to rise along with their 'burbs and there are no incentives (good or bad) to reduce driving other than some jobs extending WFH.

I drive a truck (plain Sierra 2WD 1500) mostly because the cab is big and my 6'7'' frame fits in nicely (no sunroof though, those make the cab too short).  Me putting my seat all the way back still leaves a little room for the kids in the back seat.  All mid size and some full size sedans leave no room in the back seat if the front seats are pushed all the way back.  It's 99% a kid hauler and we take all road trips in my truck.  Used to trucks were way cheaper than a big 'luxury' sedan that had a real back seat and spacious front seats.  That's not really the case anymore i guess.  The Toyota Tundra Crewmax had the absolute biggest back seats and most room between front seats and back seats.  loved that truck but it legit got 13mpg or so.

 

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?"

[956 Worldwide 34,931]

48 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

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 could get behind this. Honestly, I’d be completely unfazed if we introduced an upper HP/weight ratio for road vehicles. Many of those cars already have a special “track” key or setting and you’d just have severe penalties for using it on the road. Hell, very soon you could require software that detects a public road and you could only enable it off of one. 
 

Because yes, modern performance is nuts. And will get more so with EVs. I vividly remember in the 1990s reading a Motor Trend (on a road trip). It was the first drive of the Dodge Viper issue, and it has a side story on the “five second club.” It outlined the physics of a sub 5.0 0-60 time. At the time, only some European exotics (not just the garden variety Ferrari), the A/C Cobra, and some monster Corvette and muscle car special packages had managed it. 
 

Now you can rocket your BMW SUV to 60 in 5.0 seconds. Your new Silverado with the 6.2 can do it in 5.5.  The exotics and Hellcats running around 3.0 or even below are fucking rocket ships, twenty years ago that ground performance was reserved for a drag strip or the Monaco Grand Prix.

That said, physics are real. More weight behind more speed means more damage when you hit a person. Statistics and numbers are real— 60k Challengers sold per year vs. close to a million F-150s. 
 

There’s a lot of other options besides licensing. For instance— the simple step of making pedestrian safety at least as important as occupant safety would change what we build and buy. We could have minimum visibility standards, as measured by computer modeling.  I’ve yet to hear persuasive argument as to why occupant safety should take so much precedence over the safety of people you may hit. We could also take the simple step of saying that light trucks and SUVs don’t get special emissions and CAFE standard treatment…..

Edited January 24, 2023 by 956 Worldwide

[Celery Man 21,027]

1 minute ago, Bateshorn said:

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?"

 

[Pato del Muerto 52,882]

I’d beg for places to put in larger parking spaces near the back for trucks.  I can walk. As is, I look for spots where I can park next to a grass strip or some other non-parking spot so that I can hug that feature and not crowd the other side. 

[Aqua Buddha 14,654]

2 hours ago, wildcat09 said:

It's extremely weird to see anyone arguing that trucks aren't a status symbol. Just go to fucking College Station man and take a look around.

Or any job site where every sub has an F-250 with a lift kit and ball nuts.

[Aqua Buddha 14,654]

Let me just leave this here.  Took this pic yesterday at a Sam's Club:

 

 

6666CFB9-00A4-4D7C-AE9C-DC897313EA3B.h

Edited January 24, 2023 by Aqua Buddha

[Bateshorn 9,957]

I just see FREEDOM!!! 

[Pato del Muerto 52,882]

4 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Let me just leave this here.  Took this pic yesterday at a Sam's Club:

 

 

6666CFB9-00A4-4D7C-AE9C-DC897313EA3B.hUnavailable

Retractable steps are nice, but spendy. Guy probably rolled his ankle getting out of it. 

[Samson's Wig 3,195]

36 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I think you’re vastly overestimating the influence of frat boys

Perhaps.  The fake cowboy culture certainly transcends frats, even if they're at the very heart of it. Every asshole city slicker in Texas has a pair of boots.

 

[Celery Man 21,027]

One thing I was thinking about when VW bought back my TDI and I wound up replacing it with a truck was longevity. This is partly because there are so goddamn many of them but.. out of cars from 1993 that you still see on the road, many of them will be trucks. Some will be Hondas or Toyotas. Almost none will be Oldsmobiles. This plays right into the stereotype but American trucks are built tougher than American cars. Ford spent more time making sure that they were getting everything as right as possible on the F150 platform than they did on the Fusion. I kinda marveled when I first got my F150 at all of the little details I kept finding throughout the vehicle, and how solid everything felt. I found a storage compartment last year that I didn't even know existed for the first 6 years of owning the truck. Any major defect with the car, it's fairly reasonable to assume it's going to impact a several hundred thousand vehicles and the fix will be known and available. There is something to both how solid the F150 is and what it means that it is the most popular vehicle on the planet.

It is fucked up about the cafe standards. I'm curious about the spike in pedestrian deaths in 2009 and somewhat skeptical that it can be attributed heavily to large trucks (at least, not if it's actually a spike).

 

Holy shit I just looked up to see what the current slate of Ford cars even was and... apart from the Mustang, they stopped altogether with cars? Wow.

[956 Worldwide 34,931]

16 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

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. 

So I once did for work some aggressive (not defensive) evasive driver training that involved thrashing retired police package Crown Vics around a race track and skid pad. (Also got to learn how and where to ram a car out of your way).

Anyway, it was very apparent who had learned to drive on American RWD sedans/trucks once we started flinging the Panthers around and there was a generational divide. The instructors told us it was an issue, as there was no source of cheap standard FWD fleet cars to buy up to replicate what people might meet in the wild. 

[Celery Man 21,027]

2 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

Perhaps.  The fake cowboy culture certainly transcends frats, even if they're at the very heart of it. Every asshole city slicker in Texas has a pair of boots.

 

right i don't know that you're correct that frats are at the very heart of boot wearing or fake cowboy culture

Edited January 24, 2023 by Celery Man

[Brian Fantana 6,708]

9 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Let me just leave this here.  Took this pic yesterday at a Sam's Club:

 

 

6666CFB9-00A4-4D7C-AE9C-DC897313EA3B.hUnavailable

Dude's dick is so micro it's starring in the upcoming Ant Man flick

[Your Mom 4,871]

22 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Watch it son, your mom likes riding in my Vette.

Don’t flatter yourself.  

[Samson's Wig 3,195]

4 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

right i don't know that you're correct that frats are at the very heart of boot wearing culture

I didn't intend to claim they're at the heart of boot wearing culture.  They're at the heart of unnecessary boot wearing culture.  Big difference.  They also pioneered unnecessary boat shoe wearing culture, but that was after my time.

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Samson's Wig

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Perhaps.  The fake cowboy culture certainly transcends frats, even if they're at the very heart of it. Every asshole city slicker in Texas has a pair of boots.
 

I don’t have a pair of boots. And I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more Texan than that awhile Ted Cruz.

[Bateshorn 9,957]

6 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

So I once did for work some aggressive (not defensive) evasive driver training that involved thrashing retired police package Crown Vics around a race track and skid pad. (Also got to learn how and where to ram a car out of your way).

Anyway, it was very apparent who had learned to drive on American RWD sedans/trucks once we started flinging the Panthers around and there was a generational divide. The instructors told us it was an issue, as there was no source of cheap standard FWD fleet cars to buy up to replicate what people might meet in the wild. 

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. 

[TXLNGHRN10 341]

I don't understand how this is even a topic
I have a home, a bbq pit and a camper I tow every now and then. I don't see how owning a camry fits in with my outdoor, home improvement lifestyle. 

How much mulch can you fit in the trunk? What about the shitty roads I drive on to go fishing or hunting. Hell the shitty roads around Austin will fuck up a car's suspension as it is. 
If you don't want to own a truck, then don't. Ride your bike or drive your prius or tesla for you 1% and don't worry about it. 

[Your Mom 4,871]

5 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

I didn't intend to claim they're at the heart of boot wearing culture.  They're at the heart of unnecessary boot wearing culture.  Big difference.  They also pioneered unnecessary boat shoe wearing culture, but that was after my time.

 

You’re obsession with peoples shoe choice is odd.  How about people who wear athletic shoes but aren’t engaging in sports?  Or wearing Jordans but don’t play basketball? Hiking shoes when not on a nature trail?   Boots with a heel out on your ranch but not on an actual horse with feet in stirrups?   How about women wearing yoga pants while not practicing yoga?

I don’t wear cowboy boots these days but I get the appeal.  They look nice and are comfortable and easy to put on.  Who cares?

Also drive a truck because I needed one 17 years ago and the one I bought then still runs great and has been paid off since 2010.  Next car will be an EV but not until I absolutely have to buy one.