Taking a pickup for a grocery run is like using a jackhammer to push in a thumbtack.

I own a cow. Because I own a cow, I often need to get bales of hay from the local co-op. I need a bed (or a trailer) to bring those back to the farm. A pickup can do this.

I grow vegetables. Because I grow vegetables, I occasionally need to pick up a yard of compost. I need a bed to bring that back to the farm. A pickup can do this, too.

I own a tractor. Because I own a tractor, I need to be able to tow said tractor to the nearest dealer or machine shop to get it serviced and repaired. I need a vehicle that can tow a trailer carrying multi-thousand-pound many-foot-long tractor + loader + three-point implement setup. A pickup can do this, too.

I cook using ingredients I don't grow myself. Because I cook, I need to be able to buy groceries. I need a vehicle to bring as many groceries as I buy at once back to my house. Would you really suggest that if I already have a pickup for the above three needs, I should keep a second non-pickup vehicle around just to run to the supermarket, the doctor, or local watering hole?

That's a lot of expense when I could just have a general-purpose vehicle that does it all. HN seems to be all about general-purpose computers that can do more than you might need day-to-day. The same can apply to vehicles.

Of course. So could a semi, a backhoe, and a dump truck do all these things. Point being, use the right tool for the job.

If you're using the pickup to haul to and from the jobsite 99% of the time, sure it doesn't make sense to buy something else to do errands around town on the weekends.

You'd be in the minority though.

Most household pickup owners in North America use them as a car. Here in Alberta there are more pickups sold every year than any other vehicle category. They are simply using the wrong tool for the job, and defend their 'fashion' choice by the once a year they throw in a bag of compost from home depot.

Furthermore, most North American households have 2+ vehicles, they do in fact have a choice as to which tool to use for groceries.

Good thing we live in the USA and can drive whatever we want to the store.

Not sure 'we can drive whatever we want to the store' is a rally cry to be particularly proud of, neighbour.

We seem to think because we have the freedom to drive a V8 half ton dually less than a block to the mailbox with the aircon blasting, that it somehow makes it any less of a stupid thing to do.

Most North Americans translate whatever freedoms we've been granted into one: the freedom to thoughtlessly consume and squander without restraint. I guess it remains to be seen whether your freedom is a good thing or not, but the way things been going I suspect it aint gonna go your way forever.

Even a 5-year-old knows: if you keep using your transformer as a projectile aimed at your brother, it's gonna be taken away.

> Even a 5-year-old knows

How lucky that we're all grown up adults and the government is not our mommy!