I had the same experience when I bought mine.

My self concept changed. Suddenly I was someone who could move anything anywhere. I felt like an animal that had crossed over into a new phylum.

Now I’m someone important to all my friends, and I have new friends. I’m in the club, wherever I go.

Nobody tailgates me. Life is good.

Hahaha they still do it's just harder to see.

It's just the age-old bias of disliking what you don't know because you haven't spent time around it. It's not categorically any different from something like racism.

What if someone dislikes pickups (and other vehicles with those size/height characteristics, purchased for vanity) that objectively make life more dangerous for kids playing in the street, pedestrians, bicyclists, and others in smaller vehicles?

Is that in the same category as racism?

If it's done without any attempt to comprehend why someone would make the choice, to interrogate your assumption that "vanity" is the only possible reason for it, then yes. It's a prejudicial evaluation rooted in your caricature of someone's nature.

Of course, it's an elective choice, and in that way very different from prejudice founded on appearance. But the incomplete analysis, and the contemptuous reduction of the target's motivations, are in common with racist tropes.

Car accidents (including a car hitting a pedestrian) is certainly a problem but I just don’t see how someone could genuinely dislike pickup drivers for a reason like that. Seems like a conclusion in search of a reason.

The trend towards BIG is a major part of that. Compare, for example, the classic Toyota Hilux to a Ford F-150. The latter is substantially taller off the ground and, given how much of the driver's view is blocked, much less safe in a residential area than the former.

Same reason motorcycles nod to each other (in the UK) or give the hand signal in the US.

For the UK if you are mad enough to ride on two wheels in our weather you are in the club.

Story time: Back in 2001 I lived in San Francisco and my little Mazda was going to be in the shop for a while and I needed to rent a vehicle. Long story short the only vehicle I could get my hands on was in the east bay and was a (I shit you not) Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel. Absolutely obnoxious. Being from Texas I was used to driving pickups but a this thing is just shy of a two ton payload capacity. I have no idea what this was doing on the lot at Enterprise or whoever I rented it from.

Well, the dirty looks I got every time I belched black smoke on the streets of SF were a given. What I did not expect (or notice previously) was the other truck drivers (however few) there were in San Francisco. It seems I too was inducted into a little club. Whenever I saw another truck there was always a thumbs up, or a "nice truck". Kinda funny when all I got was dirty looks from everyone else.

> every time I belched black smoke

If you've got visible smoke coming out of a diesel (in any color), something's wrong with the engine.

"Rolling Coal" is a thing in some parts of the USA.

But it probably wasn't "a thing" on rental vehicles in 2001.

"I got a rental car recently and they gave me a bright red pickup because it was the fastest option. I was surprised by the good vibes I got from all the other pickup drivers, lol. It's like I got inducted into a secret club for a day with a lot of waves and thumbs up."

That's interesting ...

Our ranch truck is a "work truck"[1] - basically a fleet vehicle, colored white, with an 8 foot bed.

I get no vibes at all :)

[1] Silverado 1500 with no options.

I'm bought a Tundra mainly because I needed something tow my boat (my old 4-runner was just too small). But, once I got used to sitting up high, having all the space, and having a full sized truck bed for hauling whatever, it's pretty nice.

Same. 2012 Tundra, 140K miles now, bought it new.

Great truck.

Went to surf toyota.com today thinking maybe it's time to get another one, almost exactly the same.

Mine is a 2007 with about the same mileage. I don't drive a lot. I hope it lasts long enough to move to an EV truck.

It works OK that way, they accept new members of their club when you conform. However, I've had my Prius damaged by rural folk (in lots mostly full of pickups) on multiple occasions. (Joys of having family who decide because of politics that they're rural farmers now).

I'm sure rural pickup drivers are lovely folk when you conform to their cultural, racial, and/or lifestyle choices -- that's the point!

But I've never met a Prius driver who felt the need to key or slash a pickup trucks tires, both of things which have sadly happened to my Prius in rural parking lots.

Ever thought about doing a diesel engine swap?

I value my time and money way more than that.