This morning I woke up to the Weekend Editor causing a flame war by saying pickup trucks are stupid.
I thought she was right but then I posted this to oppo and I finally understood “it.”
It was explained quite well by RamblinRover:
It’s aspirational in a sense, and given what Americans consider is a good size caravan, it´s good that they have the equipment to haul their dreams.
While yes, a Transit Custom is both cheaper, and better in most measurable ways, in Europe and Mexico (supposedly) speed limits for people that are towing are lower. So the Transit would make sense in Mexico because we don’t drive doing 150km/h with a trailer many tons heavier than our vehicle behind us. It’s very much an American problem... which is why I did not understand “what if you need to tow a boat, in a canyon, with your family, with gear in the back, and also a dog doing 80mph in an uphill section.” but given how many times versions of that situation were commented I suspect it’s a real grievance among US motorists.
But the best arguments for pickup trucks as dailys is that, “it” doesn’t matter. In the end what car purchase more expensive than a Camry is actually rational?
While trucks are a pain in the ass all around the world, in the wide and spacious domains of the United States of America why would it matter?
An average lane in Los Angeles is probably 1.5 times as wide as a Super Duty, and cars are being replaced by SUVs that have crash structures higher up so that they don’t become roadkill in an incident.
also trucks handle surprisingly well nowadays, I don’t want to admit it, but after seeing an escalade tearing up Muhuland drive, and driving a Suburban up the Sea to Sky in British Columbia, I cannot deny that dynamically those trucks are approaching tall car levels nowadays.Did I even mention that the fuel economy is not terrible?
In conclusion, I’ll never understand trucks unless I move to the United States or Canada. But in the meantime I guess I just don’t have the damming information to complain about them without being handed over 130+ responses saying “Who gives a shit, they fit here, I fit in them, and so does my shit”
So yeah...