I’ll just leave this here. Took this shot of my car a few years ago.
Why does it remind me of this two
these*
Who am I to disagree?
Ugh, that reminds me - just a few weeks ago, I ended up next to this monstrosity:
With it being that high up off the ground, using the truck bed for any actual purpose is going to be difficult, unless you have an actual semitruck loading bay in your back yard.
That truck has not, and will not, experience a single second of actual work.
Nor will it ever leave pavement.
A dock, it’s called
perfect working height for unscrewing part of the diff
I like your car
Thanks!
I’ll add to this too, taken a while ago of my old car in an Australian shopping mall, and Nissan Patrols aren’t even the most egregious here.
Before I read your comment, my stoned, dumb ass was wondering what the arrow was supposed to be pointing at.
I’d much rather drive the Miata. There’s a reason that when I was forced to purchase a car after almost 20 years without one, I opted for a Miini Cooper. Sure, they’re cute, but I was ecstatic to look it up and find it was only about an inch larger than my first car, a 1983 Renault Alliance MT.
Small cars rule.
Smart car here :-D
I miss my mini. With the rear seats folded down, it had a surprising amount of cargo capacity.
The shift to these ridiculously large trucks is partially consequent of the poorly-implemented Obama fuel economy regulations. The regulations were determined by wheelbase and tread width, which disincentivized manufacturers from making mid- or small-sized trucks. The bigger they made them, the less restricted they were by fuel economy. Larger vehicles also ease constraints on engineers; they don’t have to struggle fitting a lot into a small body. Once large trucks became the default offering, they morphed into the annoying cultural “status” symbol we know today.
Anyway I have a Miata MX-5 and I love my tiny car.
The CAFE act caused most of these changes and was signed by Clinton in the early '90s. Obama may have made things worse, but the roots of the problem go back much further
CAFE standards date to 1975
Ahh, didn’t realize that. I guess Clinton expanded them?
I also love your tiny car, even when I see one from behind the wheel of my slightly less tiny Civic, which I adore.
Long before that though, back when SUVs became popular because they were trucks and didn’t have to obey sedan fuel economy. This was back in the late 90s
Say it with me folks!
Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer!except for the one I saw today with the wheels tilted so only the inner edge of the tire touches the ground
No no, Miata is always the answer. Clearly, Miata is in that case answering the question “how do I look like a bellend without spending too much money, and clearly communicate that while I understand mechanics, I probably shouldn’t”.
Miata
I would consider anything “slammed” no longer viable as a vehicle since they can’t clear a speed bump. I don’t even think they should be road legal because your reaction distance dramatically increases with those setups.
That reminds me of when I lived in Houston and they re-did the speed bumps in the parking lot of my apartment complex. There were some guys there who had small pickup trucks that they had lowered like that and they had a spoiler on the back of the bed. It was pretty funny to watch when one of them got stuck on the speed bump.
Emotional support truck vs. Sports car
I mean, a Miata is a good car, but a hatchback seats a family and gets the groceries.
I traded my minivan in for a civic hatchback. It easily does 99.99% of what I need a vehicle to do. For that last 0.01% of the time I rent a truck for $50. I save money and my car fits in the garage.
Exactly! I live in the suburbs, where every driveway seems to have a massive full size truck (because they barely fit in the garage)–and also, where I am 15 minutes away from at least 3 places where you can rent a pickup for like 5% of the monthly payment on one of those beasts.
Hatchback gang rise up
(2019 Bolt EV)
I miss mini-trucks. Compact size cab with full size bed, engine from a sedan and 4wd. Good economy, much cheaper, great utility, better handling, less dead children, and a lot more fun out on the trails.
Caustic masculinityfear of smol pp ruins everything.I strongly agree. One thing to add to your list: easily being able to lift things in and out of the bed, even from the side.
It’s just marketing. Australia shares a lot of American culture and we still have car based utes, though larger vehicles are also becoming popular here
The amount of times I’ve looked at the Aussie and Japanese markets and just sat jealous…
Sometimes it’s not good here. We only have 25 million people and we drive on the left, so we miss out on quite a few vehicles
I used to work with a guy who had a Tachoma that he loved and he only used it for offroading. He kept a pair of spare axles in the bed to swap out on the trail if he snapped one.
Never knew we were body-shaming people & yet here we are.
Speaking of Mini-Trucks, I actually see them in use in my area a lot (usually the 3-wheeled variety)
Pp size matters not, big truck people are still afraid.
“It’s the only thing that makes me feel significant in a society that I struggle to understand” - Large truck owners (if they were literate)
I get the argument, but it’s pretty obviously disingenuous.
The 250 is much less common than the 150. There are admittedly plenty of them. The 250 is bigger in every dimension.
And even my WRX towers over a Miata.
I just think Miata to 250 is a pointless comparison. And I say that agreeing that Miatas are fun and that the 250 (and even the 150) are way, way too big. I have a buddy with a 150, and it’s filled with his tools and lumber every day. I’d argue the 250 is totally unnecessary for 90% of trades, and I specify trades because your average Joe certainly doesn’t need one period.
The 250 (rather 3/4T trucks in general) have limited consumer purpose, outside of towing large campers or car haulers. It’s also the smallest class that is recommended for gooseneck/5th wheel towing.
Commercially, there are more applications for it like hauling fluids, or as a snow plow, as well as the same towing arguments for consumer use. However, once you get into that stuff, you’ll find a 3/4T lacking, which is why you’ll see more 1T (350/3500) commercial trucks. They really are a bit of a silly ‘in between’ size.
For trades however, I would argue that any standard pickup truck is not the appropriate tool, vans are far more suitable for their use. Large “indoor” storage, tall enough to walk upright in, low to the ground so easy to enter/exit with tools, and they can be outfitted to store stuff on the walls.
I had my windows replaced a few years ago, and the work crew rolled up in a cube van, and inside it was set up basically as a woodworking shop, pretty much ready to go. They didn’t have to unload tools, set up tables, etc., just un-fasten some safety clamps, plug in an extension cord, and off they went. Maybe 15 minutes from parking to starting work, and that’s including taking some time to chit-chat with me.
I appreciate that insight, as I have very little of my own. My buddy is kind of a jack of all trades, framing one day, sheetrock one day, finishing the next. I think he likes the idea of unloading the bed easily, moving from one site to the next. I seem to recall his complaint about the van being associated with needing to kinda rejig it depending on the tasks he was performing, and if he had one of those days where he’s visiting multiple sites, doing multiple jobs, the truck was just easier. But that’s my faulty memory and zero experience.
All I have is having driven ambulances. I started back on the van conversions, older F350s. The boxes were squat only, no standing room. I left for about 10 years, roughly, and upon my return the ambulances were now F450 Super Duties. Absolutely massive, couldn’t stand it. I’m a good driver, I’ll toot my own horn, but I’d ride with a bunch of people who just could not navigate the big rigs into tight driveways, but there was this desire for size, and so we had what we had. I won’t lie, they were comfortable, all air ride equipped. But they were big, and adults could get lost in front of them. They did have all around cameras, but it’s crazy to rely on them.
Since my departure (two young kids and my own business is hard to find time to volunteer at the moment), they’ve gone the way of the Sprinter-type vans, which I can appreciate. I’m sure there were some sacrifices, but I also feel like 90% of the equipment we carried was hardly used. We’re also in suburban New Jersey, so it’s not like we’re responding to places and being the only ones on scene, so someone else will show up with the gear that I’m sure they did away with.
In sum, big truck (generally) unnecessary.
I ran into a guy driving a F650 as his daily commuter when he was going for coffee at Starbucks. He made sure to tell every person behind the counter how great of a vehicle it was.
He had to jockey it to get into the parking lot.
While the F250 is less common than the F150 we’re still faced with a plague of oversized, dangerous, and ecological driving disasters on our roads.
One way that your WRX and a Miata do favorably compare is bumper hight. If a collision the safety features built i to both cars would be fully engaged. In OPs example the truck would just roll up on top of the car bypassing pretty much everything.
So I do think even the stock F series trucks have to meet bumper height requirements. A whole separate issue are people raising their shitty truck without making adjustments to the bumpers. We see trucks and tractor trailers with Mansfield bars, yet Joe Schmo with his jacked up pavement princess does what he wants, and doesn’t even have a million dollar policy to at least remunerate the family of whomever he kills.
I thought my Veloster was pretty small… but it looks fat next to the Miata
Completely agree with this. It would be interesting (and more valuable) to see the difference between mean or average car size over the years. Especially since (in Europe at least), there has been a rapid increase in SUVs, and, I am guessing, a decline in compact cars.
🎵 12 yards long, 2 lanes wide 🎵
65 tonnes of American pride!
Top of the line in utility sports
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts
Baby, I may have micropenis, but my monster truck will vibrate enough to make you orgasm!!!
Some time later, the woman breaks up with the dude and starts a relationship with the truckDon’t forget the spousal abuse
I’ve tried to get in a Miata once. Had to put the top down and my eye level was over the windshield.
I’m 6’4" and fit in my 19 just fine, I have MAYBE an inch of head room left with the top up. Now the solstice I tried to get on? No fucking way. Was it an NA?
Edit: sweet reference on the handle.
I’m 6’, but I have a comparatively long torso, so I generally have the seat set as low as possible in a sedan to be at a comfortable height, and even then, my head nearly touches the ceiling. Life before height-adjustable seats was interesting.
Sheesh, I’m kinda the same way, my mom calls the men in my family bulldogs because of our short legs. Are you like… Deadpool when he was ripped in half by juggernaut, and then started regenerating?
6’2 and owned a smart for years.
6’2 and I lay down and sleep in my smart during my lunch break.
“Everyone needs to drive a vehicle, even the very tall.”
My problem is usually width. Most vehicles aren’t built for anyone physically wider than average (while yes, i am also overweight, id still have this problem no matter what). Some office chairs give me hip pain, and most armrests can’t be adjusted out far enough to not be digging into my ribs.
There’s also just nowhere for my left leg to comfortably go in an automatic, at least with a manual i had the clutch to keep that leg moving.
I was in Rome last week and pleasantly surprised to see how many tiny cars they use.
There were plenty of Smart cars, but also many other ultra minis like Citroën AMI, XEV Yo-Yo and Renault Twizy.
They’re not just concept cars or used as gimmicks like elsewhere. People actually use them for their daily business.
The traffic in Rome is insane though. The reason they use tiny cars isn’t that the roads are small, but due to congestion and parking. It makes very little sense to own a car there at all.
It makes sense for Rome though, these cars are expensive and appeal to the fashion sensibilities of the population there, rather than just using the good public transport there. It’s a signal of wealth, rather than an actual functional commodity.
I found this out the hard way the last time I expressed my love of the AMI
Yep my uncle’s work van in the UK was as small as my Honda Fit. Just two barebones front seats and an empty cargo space.
I mean why would that not be so? I no longer own a car but when I did, it was usually oversized for what I needed to transport (me and my backpack).
I have a small 3-door Corsa and it is oversized for my cargo :D (me and you guessed it, my backpack lol)
i live in malta and got an xev yoyo amonths ago today. It’s my daily driver.
For those that haven’t seen a Citroën AMI:
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/citroen-ami-2020-2-door-coupe-vs-mazda-mx-5-1989-roadster/
If you need to explain to Trump why many american cars do not sell well in Europe just show him this image. Chances that he’ll get it is higher than zero at least.
I cannot imaging driving around this hulk of a car all day. How would I even find parking space?
I think looking for a parking space in what is, effectively, a lorry - is a bit of a waste of energy. It will only fit into >=4 spots anyway, might as well just stop wherever you need. You’ll be a hated by everyone anyway.
Not taking a piss - are they legal in EU to drive on a B cat license?
