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Originally Posted by rousseau
I agree with every single word in this video and am disgusted by how massive SUVs and pickup trucks have taken over our roads.
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Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin
Not Just Bikes can sometimes come across as a sanctimonious know-it-all, but in this one he's 100% on the mark. The size creep and market share domination of SUVs - and the complete lack of any sort of policy response - is infuriating. We have less road space than ever, so why are cars getting bigger? Carbon emissions have never been more important, so why are we making cars less efficient? Road & pedestrian fatalities have never been higher, so why the fuck are we making cars more dangerous? It's completely backwards. And they're not even practical or fun to drive.
It's depressing to look at any car maker's current lineup. Just about all of them are dominated by big, dumb trucks; while on the opposite end, subcompacts have all but disappeared. Even traditional manufacturers of sports cars like Porsche and Aston Martin have gotten into the SUV game; while manufacturers known for their compact cars like Fiat have discontinued their tiny 500s and Spiders in favour of the crossover 500X.
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Originally Posted by SFUVancouver
Agreed, that Not Just Bikes video hits the nail on the head about increased risk to everyone as vehicles have gotten larger and it being a woeful dereliction of regulation to just pretend that the "light truck" classification only applies to a small segment of sales for work trucks and utility vehicles.
It is absolute insanity that all roadgoing vehicles do not have to share some degree of compatibility between bumper/crumple zones. Likewise, the combination of generally much more elevated headlight placement on light truck-based SUVs and pickup trucks and nuclear blast brightness of headlights these days is undeniably dangerous. Not Just Bikes sometimes comes off as sanctimonious in his videos, but his outrage about this subject is absolutely warranted.
How has it come to pass that the majority of automakers can seem to just give the finger to basically everyone and build dangerous products that have killed, are killing, and will continue to kill people due to their fundamental design?
How is it possible that crash testing doesn't compare vehicles of different classes and hold the more dangerous party to a higher standard?
Why is visibility of and lethality to pedestrians seemingly not factored into vehicle regulation at all?
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I agree with all of the above.
I actually had to take a break while watching the video because of the narrator. His sanctimonious, 'bitchy' tone and obvious bias (and in some cases, lame examples) take away from the effectiveness of the video (IMHO). However, once I got past that, I realized that he has echoed just about every grievance I've had with the American (and therefore, Canadian) auto industry over the past 30 years. And by association, the 'car' buying public in supporting this foolishness over the years.
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Originally Posted by 1overcosc
Just watched the NJB video - its very comprehensive; he touches on many details that are usually left out of these discussions. One is that many newer trucks aren't even really useful for the tasks that pickups are needed for - with design changes like shorter beds. Many older guys I know who love trucks rant about this all the time.
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That's a great point. While I've never "needed" or wanted a truck, I do know guys (mostly older, but some younger) who own trucks and they say the same thing. Older "full size" trucks were smaller and lower, with full-size (8 ft) beds, meaning they could carry more stuff and were easier to load - you could even load items from the side, which is all but impossible with today's behemoths.
Two of the 'younger' guys I know had the old-style Ford Rangers, which were smaller pickups and were more than adequate for what they needed to haul around (one guy was building a shop in his back yard, and the other was always doing work around his house, so hauling building supplies, bags of concrete, etc.). One of the guys' Rangers rusted out, and he couldn't find a similar sized pickup on the market (because nobody makes them anymore), so he instead got a utility trailer to haul behind his Civic, that was adequate for most of his hauling needs.
So... yeah, huge pickups and SUVs have nothing to do with actual usage and capability for most people - it's all about 'style', 'image', egos (or more accurately, insecurities), and following the flock. That said, I recognize that some actually do have practical use for the large capacities of some of these trucks, but that's why automakers offered medium-duty trucks for those who needed that sort of thing.
Good video - should be mandatory viewing (with a different narrator... lol) for anybody looking to purchase a new vehicle. Thanks for posting it, Truenorth.
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