Another day, another Leftist asshole going on a rant about how terrible bog trucks and the people who drive them are.
I’ve spent much of this year learning about car bloat, the process through which smaller vehicles are being replaced by increasingly massive SUVs and trucks.
What I’ve learned: Huge cars are terrible for society, often in ways that are hidden.
A summary ? pic.twitter.com/2EOSnc5TdH
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) August 5, 2023
Problem 1: Car bloat endangers others on the street
Tall vehicles have bigger blind spots and are more likely to strike a person’s torso or head.
Heavier vehicles exert more force crashing into a person, bicycle, or smaller car. They also have longer braking distances. pic.twitter.com/O7XlevZxrD
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) August 5, 2023
Problem 3: Car bloat shreds tires
Heavier cars exert more pressure on tires, eroding them faster.
Tire particles are absorbed into water, where they damage ecosystems. They also float through the air, harming human health when ingested.https://t.co/NN3EguO020
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) August 5, 2023
Some might say: “But people want big cars!”
Not necessarily. US automakers offer no alternative, and car bloat pushes buyers to upsize – if only to avoid being at a disadvantage on the road b/c *others* have big cars.https://t.co/WTGmq1DzhC
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) August 5, 2023
What should we do?
? Tax vehicles by weight.
? Test vehicles for pedestrian and cyclist safety (still doesn’t happen in the US)
? Require a CDL for the most gigantic vehiclesLeft alone, this problem will only worsen. Governments must step up.https://t.co/KQZE3cmpko
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) August 5, 2023
He’s not entirely wrong. Trucks have gotten stupid expensive. A new truck payment is now what a mortgage payment should be. And big trucks aren’t exactly the most fuel efficient vehicles.
And, to be fair, a lot of suburban Americans dont need huge trucks. I used to drive a 2nd generation long bed Ranger and it did about 97% of what I needed a pickup to do.
If you want a big truck, have it. This is America.
I have a Ram 2500 Powerwagon and I love her, but she goes get about 9 MPG with the 6.4 Hemi and 35 inch mud tires. (The Powerwagon doesn’t come in a diesel, and even if it did, the diesel is a $12,000 option and half a million miles, the fuel efficiency and increased cost of diesel doesn’t make up for the initial cost of the diesel engine.)
I have a 1st gen Tundra, which is much smaller, that I use as a work truck and it’s fully capable of doing everything I need it to.
The point is, there should be options for compact trucks. If there were, I highly suspect more people would buy them.
The problem is this assholesl’s solution is more government action. Tax big trucks more. Make drivers get CDLs.
That only makes it worse.
Here is a video on why there are no more compact trucks.
The real solution is to eliminate the CAFE standards.
It should be possible to built something like a 3rd gen Ranger or S10 with a new engine and get 25+ MPGs. But the government won’t allow that to be built economically.
But this asshole is a Leftist.
Government is his God and government regulations are his religion.
He hates big trucks and he hates the people who like big trucks, and he wants to impose his religion on them.
He can’t conceive of that idea that government actually created this problem and that deregulation is the solution.
So he’ll demand more of the thing that creates the perverse incentive to make huge expensive trucks.
Make every 2500 a commercial vehicle and everyone who wants one will get a Class B CDL (which is what you need for a large RV, so not difficult to get), then set up an LLC (also not difficult to do) and turn their truck into a business expense and deduct it.
This is not a man interested in solving problems. He’s a religious zealot conducting a jihad against trucks.
Smaller trucks have started to reappear. And there are truck-like entities such as the Hyundai Santa Cruz.
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As to the rest, well, if pedestrians would look up from their cell phones, and bicyclists would stop acting like (insert epithet of choice here) much of those problems would go away.
Cannot speak for every state, but everywhere I have lived, the vehicles ARE taxed by weight. It is part of the “registration.” The more your vehicle weighs, the more you pay a year for registration.
.
And, will this jackhole be so eager to tax by weight when he finds out his electric vehicle weighs much more than the trucks he hates?
Another cry baby who “doesn’t like” trucks… yawn… eventually these types will weed themselves out of the gene pool..