EPA regulations are designed to encourage better gas mileage, but they are based on vehicle size. So instead of making more fuel efficient engines, auto makers realized they could just make bigger trucks with the same shitty engines to meet the guidelines.
Yeah this is the ridiculous thing about the EPA, we could really use more small trucks but they're going to have to be electric to get anywhere in the market. With the current footprint based fuel economy standards there's no incentive to actually build more efficient small trucks.
See that's the problem with you truck people; a V6 is considered weak in your world.
Meanwhile the V6 in my Genesis Coupe is fast enough to get me to 60 MPH in under 6 seconds. And unlike a truck, it can actually take a corner at speed.
Unless you're a farmer, there's no reason to own a truck. I even bought one once to see what the hype was all about; got rid of it after less than a year cause I was sick and tired of getting 18 MPG and not even having fun while doing it. If I'm going to get poor fuel economy, I should at least be able to go fast.
EDIT: I mean I get the "more practical" argument, but let's be honest with ourselves here: How often do you REALLY use the truck bed? With the money you're saving in gas by driving something smaller and more economical, you could easily afford to rent a truck each and every time you need to move something. You're literally spending twice as much as you need to in gas, just for those occasions where you might need to use the bed. A U-Haul is less than $100/day (inc. gas + mileage); you're spending more than that every time you fill up, when you could be saving over $50 each time at the pump. It's simple math.
For a huge amount of people they make perfect sense, if you can only have one vehicle and don't live somewhere where parking is an issue. It really is a all in one vehicle, Haul, tow, people mover (crew cabs) and 4wd for rough weather.
Comparing a sports car to a full size truck is idiotic, its like comparing a road bike to a mountain bike they are just different vehicles.
A van or minivan can do everything a pickup can while being safer, more fuel efficient, and smaller in profile. A van can carry more than a pickup truck can, both in passenger and cargo capacity, especially with the shrinking bed sizes of modern trucks. There is a reason farmers tend to hold on to older trucks. There are very few good reasons to go for a pickup truck over a van for the average person.
What???? I would never load the back of my van with gravel, mulch, top soil. The tractor couldn’t dump it in, and shoveling it out and cleaning it after are no where near the same.
That's the problem with you car people, wasteful acceleration and high speed maneuvers are considered important. And unlike a sports car I can actually use my truck to get things done.
/s
I guess we live in different worlds 'cause it turns out I need to carry large items or pull a trailer far more often than I find myself needing to take a corner at high speed or floor the gas. Maybe we just have different definitions of utility as I don't race or run away from things ¯(ツ)/¯
Yeah. So let's not paint the whole world one color. Just because it doesn't meet your needs, AND you simply don't like them, doesn't mean everyone else needs to be like you.
0 to 60 doesn't mean shit in a truck. Why did you buy one in the first place? Cornering at speed?? .. Not what trucks are meant to do. Why the hell would you buy one??
Glad you like your car. I'm sure it's nice. If you're getting 18 MPG, you've managed to accomplish what many late model trucks cannot... Get under 20mpg.
Disclosure: I own a 2003 F250. I don't park like the asshat did in the pic, and I don't care how fast my truck goes. I don't roll coal and I run biodiesel to reduce emissions.
People buy the cars they want. Bitching about people car choices is like bitching about people's food preferences. Putting the blame on people for super poor fuel efficiency standards is sort of more in line, but even then, the people who are supposed to make these changes from DC but fail to do anything keep getting reelected. I wouldn't want to buy a full sized pickup where I live, because I think it'd be a nightmare trying to park anywhere. But as long as there aren't extenuating variables (as in the truck pictured in this post), I let people do what they want.