this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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This is a really braindead and disingenuous take. The F650 is a commercial vehicle. Attempting to pretend that "Americans" drive these is moronic, because the number of private citizens who drive one of these as a personal vehicle is probably in the triple digits in a country with a population of 332,000,000.
I know it's fasionable to farm for upvotes these days by blaring AMERICANS BIG TRUCKS BAD. But no one is "driving these to McD's to get a McFlurry." Very, very few people own one of these just to be "decadent."
You may as well get on your high horse about Americans driving big rigs all the time while you're at it. Because they totally do!!!!! (It's true!) Ones who are truck drivers, you know, delivering the goods you rely on every day.
On the very outside edge of the graph, there are probably a few outliers who own one of these to tow something enormous: A big horse trailer or a box trailer with their airplane in it or something. I have never seen one of these on the road that wasn't an actual commercial vehicle like a tow truck or similar.
The problem with obviously ridiculous whinging like this is that it dilutes the actual useful message, which is that America's transportation infrastructure is fucked up, and our reliance on fossil fuels (not just trucks) is Too Damn High.
Yeah these communities should be "we are all victims of car dominated society and infrastructure: here is the problem and here are some solutions" but instead they're just people who have never set foot in North America getting triggered by vehicles 90% of the population isn't even aware that it even exists.
They're also living such sheltered and cushy lives that they have the outright luxury of sitting around on the internet bitching that other people should confirm their lifestyles to whatever their unrealistic pipe dream is, and do it overnight.
You're never going to catch me living in a city, ever. Walkable and bikable utopia or not.
My dude, the top 5 cars sold on the USA are Ford trucks, Silverados and RAMs. They might not look like much to you but in any other country those things are humongous. The RAM trucks are an abomination that should never be on regular people's hands, and even a F250 is gigantic if you compare to a regular sedan like a Civic.
They might not look like much, because they aren't. The trucks you mention are vastly different than the one pictured. Also, "shouldn't be on regular people's hands" doesn't even make sense. The regulating body that ensures the proper training has given me a license stating that I have the ability to drive a truck. I'm a regular person. What are you even trying to get at here?
Nah they're not actually all that big if you take into account what they're designed to do. Maybe even a lil small. How do you expect to load pallets of construction materials in anything smaller? That is, after all, it's intended use. Complain about SUV sizes because those definitely don't have to be so big, but trucks are that size for good reason. People using them as commuters? That's not the truck's fault. Blame the soldier not the gun. Blame the craftsman not the tool. Etc.
I could see a work truck with many heavy tools and spares for hydraulic machinery being one of these trucks.
How is this a practical commercial vehicle? How do you even put something in the back of this thing? Does it come with a loading ramp?
Our message includes "current day cars are Too Damn Big", and this shit is the perfect example.
It's not, though, because statistically speaking no one is driving it.
The whole point was that this isn't really a day car, except in the minds of non Americans assuming what Americans really drive.
Now of course if they had used an F150, particularly comparing a modern one to what "full size" trucks used to be, fair and accurate point. The standard full size truck including the f150 tries to resemble a big rig a bit too much, just not as insane as the pictured F650 would be if anyone used it as such.
Give it a couple of years
F150 is also a commercial vehicle. Yet it is the single most sold vehicle in the US for decades. For decades, Karl!
Nope, you can buy it as a personal vehicle at any Ford dealership. Just walk in and buy one, and slap personal plates on it. You can't just buy an f650 without calling ahead and ordering one. And even then it's just the frame, drivetrain, and cab. No bed or anything unless you get add-ons. Definitely a different scenario.
You understand the F150 is the best selling vehicle in the US right? It's not a fear cry from this monstrosity.
If the rednecks would spend their money on trucks instead of meth these would be all over the place.
And you realize the F150 is hugely dissimilar to something like the 650. right? The only commonality is that they're both trucks and they're both made by Ford.
The current gen F150's have their own stupid design aspects, as well, and you'd never catch me buying one. But they're not comparable. The F650 is 20.5 inches wider than the F150 and in its shortest factory bed configuration is 19.3 inches longer than the longest factory bed and cab combination of the F150.
They. Are. Not. The. Same. Thing.
Do you even realise that you're defending owning an F150? That's not a normal car to own, not even close. F150 is closer to F650 than it is to Fiat 500.
It's a very reasonably normal vehicle to own if you do a lot of towing, construction, etc. Heavy vehicles exist for a reason. No it's not for commuting or shopping trips, but there are many other reasons to own a vehicle.
People outside of US do that all without F150 and other American cancer. You don't need a truck for anything.
Do you not realize a truck is a van without a top? No difference. Trucks are extremely useful in the US. Yes you can do those things without a truck, but it's easier with a truck. Honestly with your "American Cancer" statement, you're sounding pretty xenophobic and I don't appreciate it.
You got me...it's not even TWO FEET bigger...clearly that's a completely different vehicle.
That's hilarious...I honestly thought I was kind of bullshitting about the dimensions...Phew...
Go out to your car (or your neighbor's car if you're one of those types) with a tape measure and some masking tape, and mask off 20.5" from the side of his vehicle to get a feel for how much bigger that is. Do the whole thing, all the way around. Make a whole box the size of the footprint of an F650. Tell me if it will even still fit in its parking space anymore.
And then kindly shut the fuck up, because you are obviously either a little kid with no perspective or experience with the world, or you have the mentality of one.
I'm really sorry you're 4 feet tall and feel envious of us 6-footers, but it is a big difference
You have to go get a specialized company to make it look this way it does not come like this. Is the f150 ridiculous yes. But this truck is a far cry from an f150. It's like saying an f150 is equal to a flat bed tow truck or an international bobtail. F150 cost ~37,000 vs f650 cost ~70,000 and that comes with only the cab,nothing on the back where the bed would go.
These 2 trucks are not comparable because they are for 2 different markets.
The F150 has always been the bestselling truck in America, through all its iterations, which includes when it was about 40% smaller.
Which reinforces OPs pic. Big trucks are an obsession with Americans.
It's a valid stereotype.
He could have used a more accurate picture of a modern F150, and made the point well without inspiring folks to think "oh the Internet has made this person think Americans are all out driving F650s and I can put aside their ill informed point".
An F150 is still ridiculous. If he were concerned that people were desensitized to how ridiculous it is, could have included a comparison picture from 30 years ago to show what trucks used to look like, or a reasonably sized sedan.
If you want to sway hearts and minds, avoid claiming an example as representative when the audience is likely to recognize that example as something they have never actually seen casually on the road.
But was it always the best seller vehicle? (This is not a gotcha, I don't know).
Possibly. I took license with my response for sure as I don't follow it closely or own one at all, but it's done fairly well.
Iirc it was for like 40 years in a row and it's always close to the top