Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society”

Re:Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society” by mwbajor on Monday August 07, 2023 @02:52PM (#37038957)

"There is NOTHING preventing small SUVs that hold 5 people and cargo, get really good mileage, and are cheap(ish) - but they don't exist used because they don't exist new."

I have a chevy silverado with a crew cab. I put my 6 family members in it regularly. I get 20-25mpg on the highway because the engine shuts down 4 cylinders when I'm cruising. I have had hondas, toyotas, BMWs and I have to say in my opinion, american full-size trucks are the greatest cars on the road today in terms of trading-off size, efficiency, reliability, range, price (maybe not now) etc. I never thought of myself as a "truck guy" until I got one. Its a hard pill for many to swallow.

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Re:Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society” by tomtheelder on Monday August 07, 2023 @03:27PM (#37039649)

20-25 miles highway is absolutely appalling. Like shockingly terrible. A conventional ICE minivan would get 10-15 extra mpg with additional room for passengers, and would cost less. A reasonably sized hybrid would easily get double the mileage.

In my opinion, full size trucks are the absolute worst vehicles on the road in terms of those trade offs. You get pitiful gas mileage, a tiny cab, high prices, and the thing is absolutely massive despite most folks only generally using a tiny portion of it at a time.

IMO the only justifiable reason to drive a pickup is if you tow or carry extremely volumes of stuff on a near daily basis.

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Re:Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society” by bombcar on Monday August 07, 2023 @03:43PM (#37039889)

I'm not sure what ICE minivans you're thinking of, except maybe the Sienna?

> The Carnival matched its EPA combined rating during its stay with us, averaging 22 mpg. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a38417315/2022-kia-carn...

> No matter which trim you select, the 2023 Honda Odyssey mpg will be 19 city/28 highway/22 combined.

These are not 10-15 extra. Maybe 5-10 extra. The Sienna might pull 15 extra.

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Re:Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society” by frumper on Monday August 07, 2023 @04:18PM (#37040403)

I sure am glad no one needs to justify their car purchases by you. Daily use of a pickup with extreme volumes sounds like an unreasonable high bar for justification. What if it was every other day?

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Re:Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society” by mwbajor on Tuesday August 08, 2023 @11:47AM (#37050815)

Yea, I also carry stuff in the bed alot of times.

I don't need extra room for passengers, I need extra room for other stuff, lumber, pipes, etc. I've had a van before, and I think the tradeoffs are better in terms of the truck. Not all folks that have trucks are soccer moms that use it to drop off the kids like you think.

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Re:Car Bloat: “Huge Cars Are Terrible for Society” by bombcar on Monday August 07, 2023 @02:55PM (#37039001)

The truck market in the USA is pretty darn competitive, and people don't buy them because of "penis issues" as many seem to think. If they sold the six door version, I might go with one, but you can't load tiny kids in the front bench. https://www.kingseriespickup.com is a bit beyond me :D

They're damn usable vehicles, especially if you consider the entire market from the Maverick up to the super-duty.

Someone should do the math on the environmental aspects of one largish vehicle for a family vs a largish + smaller (e.g, when does the fuel savings of the smaller finally out run the cost of acquiring said smaller).

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