The shift to these ridiculously large trucks is partially consequent of the poorly-implemented Obama fuel economy regulations. The regulations were determined by wheelbase and tread width, which disincentivized manufacturers from making mid- or small-sized trucks. The bigger they made them, the less restricted they were by fuel economy. Larger vehicles also ease constraints on engineers; they don’t have to struggle fitting a lot into a small body. Once large trucks became the default offering, they morphed into the annoying cultural “status” symbol we know today.
Anyway I have a Miata MX-5 and I love my tiny car.
The CAFE act caused most of these changes and was signed by Clinton in the early '90s. Obama may have made things worse, but the roots of the problem go back much further
CAFE standards date to 1975
Ahh, didn’t realize that. I guess Clinton expanded them?
I also love your tiny car, even when I see one from behind the wheel of my slightly less tiny Civic, which I adore.
Long before that though, back when SUVs became popular because they were trucks and didn’t have to obey sedan fuel economy. This was back in the late 90s
🎵 12 yards long, 2 lanes wide 🎵
65 tonnes of American pride!
Top of the line in utility sports
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts
Baby, I may have micropenis, but my monster truck will vibrate enough to make you orgasm!!!
Some time later, the woman breaks up with the dude and starts a relationship with the truckDon’t forget the spousal abuse
Here in Alberta, young men hatch out of their eggs with a mullet on their head and the keys to a Ram in their hand. It’s basically a social pressure at this point.
But I need my insanely large blacked out, lifted, with black rims, f-250. I have to get 3 bags of groceries.
Of course off-road capabilities are required. How else would I drive on nicely paved suburban roads?
Just always gotta be prepared for the one day a year snow stays on the ground. Even in June.
Guess what destroys offroad performance though?
An insanely long wheelbase coupled with a top heavy design…
Well, it’s marketed to the same people who think that a Cybertruck is an offroad vehicle.
Thanks Obama
Are red & blue lines under the pic are the calibrated references, whilst the car pics are not?
i just want a 97 Tacoma again
If anybody wants to come burn mine…
That was two words.
I’ll just leave this here. Took this shot of my car a few years ago.
I’ll add to this too, taken a while ago of my old car in an Australian shopping mall, and Nissan Patrols aren’t even the most egregious here.
Before I read your comment, my stoned, dumb ass was wondering what the arrow was supposed to be pointing at.
Why does it remind me of this two
these*
Who am I to disagree?
Ugh, that reminds me - just a few weeks ago, I ended up next to this monstrosity:
With it being that high up off the ground, using the truck bed for any actual purpose is going to be difficult, unless you have an actual semitruck loading bay in your back yard.
A dock, it’s called
That truck has not, and will not, experience a single second of actual work.
Nor will it ever leave pavement.
perfect working height for unscrewing part of the diff
I like your car
Thanks!
It literally looks like you could just drive under that fucking monstrosity lmao
the upsetting part is that the body would fit under and the windscreen and above - the fragile parts - would get hit by the bulk of the truck… cars are made to crumple on their noses etc - nasty gore scenes ensue
It’s a temptation every Miata owner faces.
just wait for the cars to get even bigger and you can just cut through traffic by driving under them
I’d much rather drive the Miata. There’s a reason that when I was forced to purchase a car after almost 20 years without one, I opted for a Miini Cooper. Sure, they’re cute, but I was ecstatic to look it up and find it was only about an inch larger than my first car, a 1983 Renault Alliance MT.
Small cars rule.
Smart car here :-D
I miss my mini. With the rear seats folded down, it had a surprising amount of cargo capacity.
Say it with me folks!
Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer!except for the one I saw today with the wheels tilted so only the inner edge of the tire touches the ground
No no, Miata is always the answer. Clearly, Miata is in that case answering the question “how do I look like a bellend without spending too much money, and clearly communicate that while I understand mechanics, I probably shouldn’t”.
Miata
I would consider anything “slammed” no longer viable as a vehicle since they can’t clear a speed bump. I don’t even think they should be road legal because your reaction distance dramatically increases with those setups.
That reminds me of when I lived in Houston and they re-did the speed bumps in the parking lot of my apartment complex. There were some guys there who had small pickup trucks that they had lowered like that and they had a spoiler on the back of the bed. It was pretty funny to watch when one of them got stuck on the speed bump.
The big one should not be legal.
The big one is a work truck and should not be driven as a commuter. It really shouldn’t be allowed on roads where cargo trucks aren’t allowed.
It should require a CDL
Agreed.
Even as a work truck it’s comically large. You can get the same amount of cargo space in a far smaller vehicle, this one’s only advantage would be the sheer horsepower which you only need for very specific work.
It is made for towing massive trailers.
It’s made for carrying tiny penisses. Cars that are actually made to tow massive weights look like this
or this
This is a weird argument to put here. You’re actually advocating against the smaller option.
I advocate for using the right tool for the right purpose. I’d rather have one real truck on the road that is able to transport a decent amount of stuff, driven by a professional truck driver with a professional drivers license than three of these wannabe trucks that are driven by wannabe truck drivers.
Those are impractically large or not highway ready for horse trailers and other comparably sized trailers that are used for working. The F250 and 350 sized trucks are for in between light loads and those loads.
Not everything needs to be at the extremes of tiny or semi trailer.
I thought you were talking about massive trailers and not horse trailers. Noone needs a clown car to tow a horse trailer or something comparably sized. Your average station wagon is totally capable of that.
One of the most common and reliable pickups was the 1970 Chevrolet C10 Long Bed:
Height: 65.8 inches Length: 207.75 inches Width without Mirrors: 65.8 inches Ground Clearance (Front): ~8.1 inches Ground Clearance (Rear): ~8.1 inches
This is a 2025 Regular Cab Long Bed Chevrolet Silverado 1500:
Height: 75.6 inches Length: 229.7 inches Width without Mirrors: 81.1 inches Ground Clearance (Front): 8.1 inches Ground Clearance (Rear): 8.1 inches
The “farm truck” excuse is nonsense.
In case you aren’t trolling, I’m talking about horse trailers that anyone familiar with horses would understand.
Also comparable trailers.
None of these should be driven around in a city regularly. These trucks are not made for commuters or small spaces. They are for large farm, construction, and other work that requires more than a light truck but not a semi or tractor. They are comparable to delivery trucks and vans. In fact, large vans are just enclosed versions of the trucks. This was the van version of the F350 of its day.
Emotional support truck vs. Sports car
I mean, a Miata is a good car, but a hatchback seats a family and gets the groceries.
I traded my minivan in for a civic hatchback. It easily does 99.99% of what I need a vehicle to do. For that last 0.01% of the time I rent a truck for $50. I save money and my car fits in the garage.
Exactly! I live in the suburbs, where every driveway seems to have a massive full size truck (because they barely fit in the garage)–and also, where I am 15 minutes away from at least 3 places where you can rent a pickup for like 5% of the monthly payment on one of those beasts.
Hatchback gang rise up
(2019 Bolt EV)
