If you drive a pickup truck in the suburbs, why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not, OP?

It's incredibly wasteful - wastes gas, causes extra local pollution (especially if they are diesels), causes extra wear and tear on the road, creates sightline and safety issues for other drivers etc.

One half of my family were farmers until 25 years ago and legitimately used trucks on a daily basis so I know trucks serve a purpose.

But virtually everything you need to haul with a truck you can get delivered around here, usually for free.

So for most people they are vanity cars, plain and simple.

Just look at how few of these trucks have scratches on them. Work trucks get roughed up and vanity trucks don't.

Several of your arguments can be made against the SUVs and minivans you claim they drove before the trucks. So that makes no sense

Your right they can but I didn't make that argument so your retort is a bit odd. Almost all car trips can comfortably be done in a sedan - I read somewhere that something like 95% of the vehicle miles travelled in this country are people driving by themselves.

In any case to respond to your response to things I didn't say yes the same arguments can be made against SUV's and Minivans - both are much more car than most people need for almost all of their car trips. Having said that pick-up trucks nonetheless are worse than SUV's and Minivans because they do in fact get much worse mileage.

FWIW I've got nothing against Mini-vans - we rent one about once a year when we do a driving trip with my in-laws. The rest of the year we have absolutely no need for one and our family of four does just fine with our 4 door sedan.

[Anonymous]

It is no more and no less a vanity vehicle than a Tesla or a Suburban or an Audi or a BMW. OP, how do you feel about those vehicles?

[Anonymous]

We camp and tow a trailer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is no more and no less a vanity vehicle than a Tesla or a Suburban or an Audi or a BMW. OP, how do you feel about those vehicles?

Well all of those are definitely vanity vehicles. The Tesla at least is a lot less environmentally harmful and even the BMW and Audi are going to get a lot better mileage than a truck and cause less wear and tear on the roads.

But yeah your broader point is a fair one - but are you just figuring out that people make vehicle choices for things that have nothing to do with getting from point A to point B?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We camp and tow a trailer.

We camp and backpack and put our stuff in our car and haul it on our back.

I love the people who think they are macho and outdoorsy because they drive their Jeep on the beach or take it off-road. My 6 year old is strong enough to push down on a gas pedal.

[Anonymous]

My husband uses it for work. He uses it when it does actually snow. We use it when we have a lot of stuff to take to our second home. We use it when we need to help people move something. We use it when we need to take stuff to the dump. It's our 3rd vehicle and has proven to be more useful than we ever imagined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not, OP?

It's incredibly wasteful - wastes gas, causes extra local pollution (especially if they are diesels), causes extra wear and tear on the road, creates sightline and safety issues for other drivers etc.

One half of my family were farmers until 25 years ago and legitimately used trucks on a daily basis so I know trucks serve a purpose.

But virtually everything you need to haul with a truck you can get delivered around here, usually for free.

So for most people they are vanity cars, plain and simple.

Just look at how few of these trucks have scratches on them. Work trucks get roughed up and vanity trucks don't.

Several of your arguments can be made against the SUVs and minivans you claim they drove before the trucks. So that makes no sense

Your right they can but I didn't make that argument so your retort is a bit odd. Almost all car trips can comfortably be done in a sedan - I read somewhere that something like 95% of the vehicle miles travelled in this country are people driving by themselves.

In any case to respond to your response to things I didn't say yes the same arguments can be made against SUV's and Minivans - both are much more car than most people need for almost all of their car trips. Having said that pick-up trucks nonetheless are worse than SUV's and Minivans because they do in fact get much worse mileage.

FWIW I've got nothing against Mini-vans - we rent one about once a year when we do a driving trip with my in-laws. The rest of the year we have absolutely no need for one and our family of four does just fine with our 4 door sedan.

*You're

[Anonymous]

midlife crisis and they feel cooler and younger in the pickup

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is no more and no less a vanity vehicle than a Tesla or a Suburban or an Audi or a BMW. OP, how do you feel about those vehicles?

Well all of those are definitely vanity vehicles. The Tesla at least is a lot less environmentally harmful and even the BMW and Audi are going to get a lot better mileage than a truck and cause less wear and tear on the roads.

But yeah your broader point is a fair one - but are you just figuring out that people make vehicle choices for things that have nothing to do with getting from point A to point B?

Yes, living in the land of vanity vehicles, I have figured this out. Thanks for the help.

BTW, depending on models compared and source used, some trucks get better mpg than minivans/SUVs/BMWs/Audis, so you’ll need be more specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:midlife crisis and they feel cooler and younger in the pickup

So anyone not driving a prius or a civic is having a mid life crisis and trying to feel cool? You folks say the same thing about men who drive SUV's BMW's, Mercede's , Jeeps etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is no more and no less a vanity vehicle than a Tesla or a Suburban or an Audi or a BMW. OP, how do you feel about those vehicles?

Well all of those are definitely vanity vehicles. The Tesla at least is a lot less environmentally harmful and even the BMW and Audi are going to get a lot better mileage than a truck and cause less wear and tear on the roads.

But yeah your broader point is a fair one - but are you just figuring out that people make vehicle choices for things that have nothing to do with getting from point A to point B?

Yes, living in the land of vanity vehicles, I have figured this out. Thanks for the help.

BTW, depending on models compared and source used, some trucks get better mpg than minivans/SUVs/BMWs/Audis, so you’ll need be more specific.

Sure but this is a race to the bottom not the top but your broader point is valid to not judge a book by its cover. I see in a quick google search that some pick-ups get into the mid 20's on the highway. But the first car I drove 30 years ago got better highway mileage than that so that really isn't saying much.

Seriously whatever happened to compact pick-up trucks?

Or these:

Early 1980s VW Rabbit Pickup Truck
1.6-liter diesel
$10,000
45 MPG
The truck that might be able to claim the best truck mpg ever is an early 1980s American built Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup. People have reported finding them for around $10,000 which sounds a little steep for a truck that was built in the ‘80s on a passenger car platform, but your ears might perk up when you learn it’s got a 1.6-liter four-cylinder diesel engine that accomplishes 45 mpg. You might be thinking it’s not powerful enough to haul anything, but by rights, the Rabbit Pickup has been known to tow at least 1100 pounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:midlife crisis and they feel cooler and younger in the pickup

So anyone not driving a prius or a civic is having a mid life crisis and trying to feel cool? You folks say the same thing about men who drive SUV's BMW's, Mercede's , Jeeps etc.

No not just a mid-life crises but anyone driving more car than they need is insecure about something.

[Anonymous]

So why the hate on pick ups today?

[Anonymous]

For our woodworking business.
I have no idea what relevance your seatbelt question has— we always wear seatbelts and the interior of our 2017 F150 is as nice as any SUV. Maybe your son’s teacher lacks common sense.

[Anonymous]

Funny you posted this. I just drove past a pick up truck on Georgia Ave in Silver Spring with the double set of tires and I thought why the hell would you have one of those around here