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Re:The end of the manual transmission is near? by Retric on Thursday August 25, 2022 @11:43AM (#32595292)
Unless you want to toss a snow plow on the front and actually deal with it.

That’s the thing even in urban areas you will see pickup trucks cleaning parking lots etc.

Re:The end of the manual transmission is near? by mrguyorama on Thursday August 25, 2022 @12:31PM (#32596136)
Even where I grew up in northern maine, where everyone had two trucks, 10 feet of snow per winter was reliably expected, and everyone runs a farm, very few people would plow their own driveway.

For personal driveways, people had cheap push snow blowers. For the roads, we had big plow trucks and literal construction equipment was used for large roads and parking lots.

Very few people plow, because plowing is harder than snow blowing, more damaging to your lawn and driveway than snowblowing, and just all around less effective. And the few people who do actively plow their own driveway will either start a business to do other people's driveways (a common way for 16 year olds to make money in the winter) or just straight up plow neighbors driveway for free or payment.

Even in this literal heaven for trucks, full of farmers, outdoor activities, mud, and construction, 8 out of 10 trucks were driveway queens.

Re:The end of the manual transmission is near? by Retric on Thursday August 25, 2022 @04:38PM (#32599658)
Interesting, where I grew up both snow and trucks where significantly less common, but that meant infrastructure to deal with it was also more adhock.

Back then I would say around 1/3 to 1/4th of households in the area with large trucks had a snow plow, but I only knew one guy with a snowblower. Of course that also related to how long it took the state to deal with back roads after even a minor snow event.

Re:The end of the manual transmission is near? by dumpsterlid on Thursday August 25, 2022 @11:13PM (#32602957)
Yah but even then, I suspect a 4x4 suv would be better suited than a pickup for that... its just people use absolute incredible shit tier beater trucks for plowing similar to how people use shit tier cars to deliver pizzas. I dont think its because a beater truck is better than say a 4x4 SUV, it just is (was?) easier to find a beater truck.

If somebody is using a nice truck to snow plow they are pissing away money. Ice, constant torquing stress on the frame, hitting shit hidden in the snow, salt on main roads everywhere (depending on place) etc... it is fastest way to reduce the value of a vehicle next to driving it into a brickwall or driving it off a bridge into the ocean.