Speaking as a Dutch person, our infrastructure just isn't made for cars this size. People basically need to enlarge their driveways to park something like this. So if you need to park a car like this it's almost impossible. That would stop most people from getting one, except the type of person that does buy one...
Seems to be what those in most of the US would call a standard size pickup truck. Not “compact” like a Hilux/Tacoma, nor comically oversized like the oft-lifted 3/4 or full-ton trucks.
God bless - nothing wrong with having the right tool for the job and not being frivolous. I too have an overly large truck but it's a 3/4 ton (2500 HD) and almost 15 years old. I don't drive it more than necessary but I own 20 acres and often enough I need to tow, haul or pull something that I couldn't do without it. I'm going to keep this thing on the road until it dies or there's an economically viable green alternative. But it's crazy to think of the resources that go into a new one and I couldn't justify it for a few mpg better, so I'm very happy to have a trustworthy mechanic 😁
And, while I really like the Rivian and the F150 lightening, they would be glorified very expensive toys and I'd still need to keep my big truck for the hard jobs, so they'll wait till I win the lottery ¯(ツ)/¯
I still don't understand what the point of a short box is. You can fit a decent amount of materials in it but why not just go for a full size box. Go figure.
I’ve got one, I can still haul anything 12’ and under legally with with tailgate up/down and flagged. And it gives me enough room to haul my kids around in the backseat.
A full size bed can’t have a crew cab, and any combination over that won’t fit in a 20’ garage, so you would need a non-standard “deeper” garage.
They fit a niche, just like most things. It’s not meant for everyone.
Saw another post on here about how ridiculously oversized the Ranger parked next to them was. Had to laugh as an American, can't even imagine how some of the 3500 brodozers you see here would look on a European street
It is in Texas. I have a pretty small car, and when I lived in California, I was constantly barely able to fit in parking spaces. In Texas, the parking spaces are huge to fit the trucks. It's so nice.
Yes it is, to say it isn't is just a lie, even if only one due to being under informed. To put it like this, talking about big rigs, 18 wheelers, or whatever you would like to call them, here in the US you mainly see "long nose" (American) styles, although yes you do still see "flat nose" or "cab over" designs, they are the European style, as the roads in Europe tend to be smaller than here in American, mainly due to some of those roads being much older than the USA is.
I'm in the U.S., and this a problem here. Part of it is financial -- auto makers found a market for morons who will finance a $50,000 truck they have no need for.
And they drive like they are invincible. Last week I (Mazda3) almost got crushed by two of these road monstrosities. After taking evasive action to a avoid a head on collision, I got tailgated by another idiot who very nearly rear ended me.
This is also a rural area with no street lights, and a lot of these trucks are designed with a second set of headlights that blind you.
US trucks are ridiculously oversized and typically never see any actual "truck" usage. They're also insanely expensive and are often redneck status symbols. As an American, I'm sorry they have infested your continent.
Source: I live in a yeehaw state where people own $70,000 trucks while living in a $7,000 hovel.
both work, not sure if there's a real historical significance to using one over the other.
in my opinion, "all hat, no cattle" has stronger assonance, and flows better as a phrase. especially with a slight southern USA accent, it has a satisfying cadence
We luckily rarely see them here. I saw one once (could have been a nissan? It was so big it was taller than me and I'm 6 foot..).. the owner had attempted to park it in a local car park, it took up two bays and still stuck out into the road. I felt sorry for them.. just nowhere to put something like that.. how the hell they managed to manoeuvre it in and out of the car park I have no idea..
It's a pickup truck. And probably not used for anything a truck would be used for. They're everywhere in America and just as annoying.
I personally don't see the point in having a vehicle this big unless it's used for work (hauling materials and towing trailers) And 95% of the time, it's not.
Too late. All our car companies folded so dickheads here are starting to buy Rams. The smallest utes you can buy here are the Hilux/Triton/Ranger/BT50 which are all about the same size and much bigger then the ones we used to make.
Welp, that's really disappointing. Once upon a time I thought the Holden Ute was pretty cool looking, and I liked stuff like the El Camino (dunno if y'all had those in Aus, but iirc they were discontinued in the US in the 80s).
I hate the weird "I wanna big car" thing in the US. I can understand wanting lots of footroom and feeling like you're in a tiny room instead of a car, but you don't need a massive pickup for that. If that's what you really want, buy a surplus humvee and take it somewhere to get a custom interior, new shocks fitted and maintenance done. It'll probably be more interior space than you'll know what to do with for half the cost of a brand new Ford, and it'll probably do off-road better as well. Bonus points if you replace the engine with a modern, more efficient diesel or do a full electric conversion. Imagine how much torque you could get out of an electric motor hooked up to a decent gearbox on that frame.
You and me both. I had a 97 Dodge Dakota Sport, which is barely bigger than my CUV. I miss that thing. I hauler a fridge in it once to help my friend out. Haven't had a need to haul a fridge since, but still, never know when a truck bed will come in handy lol. I just hate that the smallest size now is enormous. Even "sport" models are what used to be standard size anymore.
The way I'd see them coming back is if we improved on electric vehicle design to make it efficient for the size without losing safety or affordability especially long term.
My deep dream is a revival of the El Camino but with current or next gen electric motors. Small with a bed for hauling larger items without the issue of fuel efficiency
Lol... I had to ask my gen z kid if he knew what they were... He didn't so I showed him... Then I asked him, "car or truck"... He says car so that's the answer from the future of America... 😂
LoL. Still to be fair from the front they very much look like a car and the chassis is probably more car than truck. It's one of those weird in-between things but I suppose it is still better at carrying a load of whatever than a standard sedan.
Ute is also body on frame (in aus at least) but I would still call the oversized emotional support vehicles trucks instead of utes. That being said, most single cab utes have a bigger bed than a truck like an f150.
I mean the truck bed is like 3 feet long, you can't do anything with it, it's never been off-road, and it has two full size rows of seats. It's an SUV in denial.