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How the heck did we get here? Most best selling "cars" are now superzied pickups and SUVs.
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this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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I think this is USA only. Maybe mention that in the title. They don't sell half of those cars here.
I wish. More shitty American pickups in the Netherlands each year, further encouraged by a tax loophole.
I hope the gas prices bleed these fuckers dry…
It’s the same in Australia. Tax incentives given to businesses during the pandemic mixed with a large influx of yank tanks available on the market means that there are heaps of these monster trucks getting around. I honestly don’t know how they cope, the roads and parking around here aren’t designed for such large vehicles and this is out in the countryside; I can’t see them fitting in narrow city streets.
I love it. I'd use it here in the U.S. but no one calls each other Yanks internally.
I'm gonna start using it regardless.
I think we need something else. What about Patriot Panzers?
Haha, that's also a good one!
Yank here. I use canyonero or monster truck depending on the type of vehicle.
I bet some people here would drive literal tanks if they could.
Yeah I’ve seen Trucks more often in Sweden as well as other SUVs. The most common car used to be a station wagon of some sort but it seems to be more compact suvs now too
I'm even noticing more trucks and SUVs in Japan now. There are very few of the super doody retard mobiles that seem very common in the US, but I have seen them, and there are plenty of people driving chunky Jeep and Mercedes trucks which still look too large for the streets here. I really hope there is not a trend, but SUVs definitely seem to be increasing in number.
Thankfully very small kei cars are still popular.
We just had a laugh about this this week at work - it's just such a ridiculous size compared to European cars.
Even our cars are getting noticeably bigger. It's a stark difference if you see old refurbished cars from the 80s compared to their contemporary counterparts.
But in part that's because modern cars are so much safer.
Safer for those driving, less safe for everyone else.
This is fine to a degree, but it's really sad that even 2000s cars are small compared to modern cars, which are basically all turning into SUVs and becoming increasingly unsafe for other road users. The Porsche SUV is the most ridiculous looking vehicle I've seen showing this trend, whereas the Mini > New Mini seemed like it was more about safety and practicality if you ever rode in an original Mini.
That's just false when a fucking smartcar can pass NTSB crash test ratings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yFvQppaAdc
Ireland and the UK are headed this way, if not there already.
The pickups make everyone look like posers but the SUVs are decent enough. I drove a couple, I wouldn't say there is more space but seeing them on the road so often makes me consider it the safer option for a family car. I don't want to going under one of them in a crash. That said I only think that this is how their popularity explodes.
That's exactly it. They are actually less safe, but feel more safe, since you sit higher up. They also make smaller cars seem less safe, so it ends up being an arms race.
Absolutely, I think we should tax cars based on their engine size/ weight to volume ratio. Disincentivise this shite.
I dunno about Ireland. I live there and I don't really see people drive that many SUVs.
The number one selling car in Ireland has been the Tucson for the last number of years.
It used to be mondeos, S90s, corollas now it's Kugas, Tucsons, Sorrentos, XC40s, and RAV4s.
Not to mention the absolute loser in Ford Rangers and Raptors. I can see the use in the SUVs but the Hilux and Raptors are such small dick energy. Lads in construction that don't do work.
As an American, Tucsons and Rav4 are the small SUVs. Just wait until you have people that barely know how to drive riding around in Suburbans and Sequoias
They are most likely not road legal here assuming they are bigger than these small SUVs. Definitely not fit for anything more than national roads.
That's probably true, I doubt they'd fit in most parking spaces or make it down a tight street without taking out some mirrors
Another American. Those are small SUVs. Compare those to a Suburban, Tahoe or the like.
I live along the North Circular Road in Dublin and the things are fucking everywhere.
I would say that pickup trucks have far more utility than SUVs! Some SUVs are large and 2 wheel drive, with a weak engine. What is their purpose?
Nissan juke for example... a horrendous car.
I have driven my mother's little Juke around the US. I, personally, find that it is a peppy little thing, though it resembles an angry frog.
I may have gotten lucky, but never had a problem with it through a couple Midwest winters.
I'm just glad she isn't driving a big ol Jeep or Escalade, which she would choose if left to her own devices. She is a small woman and thinks a big car gives her an advantage. Over what? I don't know. I guess boomers are gonna boom.
I live in the UK, and our roads are small. We had small cars:
But SUVs seem overly large without the added benefit of 4x4, or the carrying capacity/utility of a pick up truck
I hope the SUV trend goes... not everyone needs or wants a car that large!
I remember last time I was in London (in the '00s), the streets are so narrow that the bus couldn't get up the hill to the house where I was saying because too many cars were parked on the road and it wouldn't fit. So I imagine SUVs in London are a nightmare.
And this wasn't even central London, this was Harrow.
The few people still driving original Minis must have some butt clenching moment driving in modern traffic. I do love the design of the original mini, but if you get in one now you basically feel naked, as they are so low down, and there is no padding between the metal of the exterior and the interior, not to mention the lack of any modern safety features like airbags and crumple zones.
I mean, I have a motorbike - so I think an OG mini is probably still safer than that! :D
Maybe if you took a SUV, and split it in half lengthways (two passengers, one behind the other) - then the vehicle would be suitable for UK roads (and hopefully not weight 4 tonnes)
My wife has a Toyota Rav4 SUV. I don't love SUVs, but I do admit it's been really useful for hauling stuff and it is 4WD so it's much safer in the winter than my smaller Prius.
Now I like tiny cars. My Prius is too big for my comfort level a lot of the time. My dream car is an electrified Nash Metropolitan. But I do have to admit having an SUV has been useful, and with a family of 3, we can still all go to my daughter's friend's house and pick her up and take her to breakfast without having a monster-sized pickup truck.
I don't know if it's still possible, but (I think) the Lowes chain of hardware stores had rentable pickup trucks. That should be more common. Maybe it would encourage fewer purchase of pickup trucks.