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  • So I've used huge stupid trucks for work a lot. Bush work. So shitty roads in the middle of nowhere, heavy loads.

    Here is what I've learned:

    The beds are undersized proportionate to their size, so it's pretty common to put canopies on them, which raises the center of gravity even further than it already is (which is pretty goddamn high). Rollovers are common, and loading the things is in itself hazardous. I've loaded a lot of shit in and out of these things, and had a bunch of close calls. It's a long way to fall, and you're more likely to fall than in a shorter vehicle.

    The build quality is overall pretty bad, so the pillars are huge. Stupid large, which creates really big blindspots where there just don't need to be.

    These trucks aren't really designed to go off road, so things like traction control tend to really get in the way. That whole system is built off of ABS (which doesn't work in situations where your traction is limited), and this will effectively kill your power when your tires start to spin. You have to override the default settings of these trucks to get them to work as advertised. It will make you stuck when you don't need to be.

    The high hood is dumb. You have to look far ahead to maintain safety, because the blind spot in front of your truck is huge. Do you know what happens when you're on a steep climb around sharp corners? You straight up can't see. The only safe way to go is to get out of the truck and drive from memory. It's legit fucking stupid.

    The blind spots in the rear of the truck is enormous. I've driven trucks with empty beds where I can see out the rear view mirror, and I've driven trucks with canopies that cover up the rear window. There's basically no difference in visibility.

  • I to sometimes feel like I am cosplaying as a man too. I'm not trans, it's just about being an "adult" whatever that means. But I am just a mushy little whiny thing inside of a robust outer shell.

  • I think that any Vic exempt form CAFE standards or protected from import competition by huge terifs, should require a commercial license to operate. Give the automakers a choice, sell the vehicle outside of their special safe space, or shrink the market that can buy it drasticaly.

    • or protected from import competition by huge terifs

      Europe never opened their chicken market.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

      The Chicken Tax is a 25 percent tariff on light trucks (and originally on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy) imposed in 1964 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.[1] The period from 1961 to 1964[2] of tensions and negotiations surrounding the issue was known as the "Chicken War", taking place at the height of Cold War politics.[3]

      Eventually, the tariffs on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy were lifted,[4] but since 1964 this form of protectionism has remained in place to give US domestic automakers an advantage over imported competitors.[5] Though concern remains about its repeal,[6][7] a 2003 Cato Institute study called the tariff "a policy in search of a rationale."[4]

      Largely because of post–World War II intensive chicken farming and accompanying price reductions, chicken, once internationally synonymous with luxury, became a staple food in the U.S.[12] Prior to the early 1960s, not only had chicken remained prohibitively expensive in Europe, but it had also remained a delicacy.[13] With imports of inexpensive chicken from the U.S., chicken prices fell quickly and sharply across Europe, radically affecting European chicken consumption.[13] In 1961, per capita chicken consumption rose up to 23% in West Germany.[13] U.S. chicken captured nearly half of the imported European chicken market.[13]

      Subsequently, the Dutch accused the U.S. of dumping chickens at prices below cost of production.[13] The French government banned U.S. chicken and raised concerns that hormones could affect male virility.[13] German farmers' associations accused U.S. poultry firms of fattening chicken artificially with arsenic.[13]

      Coming on the heels of a "crisis in trade relations between the U.S. and the Common Market,"[13] Europe moved ahead with tariffs, intending that they would encourage Europe's postwar agricultural self-sufficiency.[14] European markets began setting chicken price controls.[13] France introduced the higher tariff first, persuading West Germany to join them—even while the French hoped to win a larger share of the profitable German chicken market after excluding U.S. chicken.[3] Europe adopted the Common Agricultural Policy, imposing minimum import prices on all imported chicken and nullifying prior tariff bindings and concessions.

      Beginning in 1962, the U.S. accused Europe's Common Market of unfairly restricting imports of American poultry. By August 1962, U.S. exporters had lost 25% of their European chicken sales.[13] Losses to the U.S. poultry industry were estimated at $26—$28 million[3] (equivalent to $251.53—$270.88 million in 2022).

      TTIP came probably as close as things have been, but ran into opposition from European poultry farmers again.

  • Favorite truck I ever owned was an early 80s Silverado. 8' bed, cloth bench seat, power/computerized nothing. Simple, functional, throw some bricks and sticks in the back without a second thought of scratches and dents...

    Fancy crap on a truck is just that much more to go wrong, but I'm sure it makes you real comfy.

  • As I mentioned on another thread, I'm trying to reduce my car dependency by walking and cycling more often but I do intend to buy "one more" car; preferably a 80s/90s Toyota pickup but a Land Cruiser 80 series is also in the cards.

  • Oh man I saw a pair of tiny trucks like those at the junkyard made. Made me sad, they were gutted for parts.

101 comments