• MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    Well, I assume the idea is to see the children before they’re that close…

    That being said, from my small vehicle I could probably tell what shoes someone is wearing from the same distance that the driver of one of these monstrosities can barely tell their hair color.

    I get why trucks exist, I just don’t get why so many people drive them as their primary or only vehicle when they don’t regularly haul anything more than groceries.

    • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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      24 hours ago

      Well, I assume the idea is to see the children before they’re that close…

      It is, but that does not help you when you stop to talk with the neighbour and their child runs in front of your car while you don’t see.

      It should at least be mandatory to have a front & rear facing cameras and proximity sensors for cars like this.

    • flippinfreebird@lemmy.today
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      24 hours ago

      EPA regulations on emissions, in relation to size, caused light trucks (and the SUVs based on them) to grow to the size you see. Ironically, the fuel efficient small pickup trucks and SUVs we grew up with in the 80s and 90s don’t meet modern standards. I die a little inside every time I see one of the Nissan trucks, like the one I totaled. ;_;

      • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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        4 hours ago

        That’s bullshit. Most of the area behind the grill is empty space. Nothing to do with EPA ( which doesn’t even exist any more).

        The truck makers need to justify the ridiculous profit margins on these 60s era technology vehicles, so they just made them taller, to the point people need steps to get into them. I’m sure someone is working on an escalator.

      • BeardedBlaze@lemmy.world
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        21 hours ago

        I’m holding on to my 21 year old 1st gen Colorado like my life depends on it. I’m so mad small pickups aren’t a choice nowadays…

    • SippyCup@lemmy.ml
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      24 hours ago

      They have become prohibitively expensive to have as a secondary vehicle, if someone is in a position to need a truck occasionally, most people can’t afford to have it as anything other than their daily driver.

        • SippyCup@lemmy.ml
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          2 hours ago

          Generally about 80 bucks every other week. Depends on where you live and how much you drive I guess. The tanks are huge and the milage is better than it used to be, though still not great.

      • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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        23 hours ago

        If you only need a truck occasionally, rent one.

        I don’t understand the problem here.

        Also, these monstrosities are gas guzzlers, a smaller vehicle will be cheaper to run. Your argument lacks merit here.

        • SippyCup@lemmy.ml
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          5 hours ago

          Occasionally here doesn’t just mean “I need to haul a load of dirt twice a summer”

          It could mean you need it every weekend for a season, it could mean that sometimes you need a truck right this second but didn’t think you’d need one at all today.

          I’ll grant you that a large number of people who only sometimes need a truck could probably rent one, hell the big box stores near me will rent you one for like 30 bucks for an entire morning, if you’re lucky enough to get one. Some people do just like the fucking things. But a lot of people are using them for shit like baseball equipment and job site tools. Shit that literally lives in the bed of the truck because they do need it frequently enough to warrant having a truck but they also have to haul their children to school every morning and can’t afford a third vehicle just to keep the crap they need somewhat regularly in.

            • SippyCup@lemmy.ml
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              4 hours ago

              Kinda depends. My wife’s cousin is a youth baseball coach, his pickup is generally full of equipment. My sister’s kids all do different sports and their third row is perpetually full of different sports equipment.

        • Jyek@sh.itjust.works
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          18 hours ago

          Renting a truck right now in my area is $200 a day. If I need a truck for a day, I will almost certainly not be in a place financially to rent one

          • squaresinger@lemmy.world
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            4 hours ago

            That’s a common miscalculation.

            Having a smaller car can easily save you $200 per month or even more depending on how much you drive. People are routinely spending an extra few $10k to buy a bigger vehicle (or spend an equal amount of money for a truck lease), and after that they say they couldn’t afford to spend $200 to rent a truck for a day.

            The thing is that you often don’t see the cost of a large vehicle (or of any vehicle in general). While you drive, you don’t pay for anything. Infrequently, you pay for a whole tank of gas, and once a month you pay for insurance, and even less frequently you pay for maintenance. And value depreciation is something you don’t even see at all, it just occurs.

            All of that is more or less hidden cost. When you get into your car you don’t go like “Ok, this drive down to the super market will cost me X$ in fuel, Y$ in insurance, Z$ in maintenance and Q$ in depreciation”.

            But if you rent a car, you clearly see all the cost upfront, so it seems much more expensive.

            • Jyek@sh.itjust.works
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              38 minutes ago

              That’s why I bought the smallest truck on the market. Great gas mileage too. And it was actually cheaper than many new cars coming in under 30k