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The hurr-durr narrative is a bit disingenuous. It’s not just the loony MAGA/Conservatives buying these cars as depicted in the comic, it’s centrists and progressives who arguably have more money who are buying these cars.
I thought the main reason was price, EVs needing massive batteries, and automakers unwilling to pay small car taxes and opting more for light trucks to save costs.
it’s centrists and progressives who arguably have more money who are buying these cars
What are they to buy alternatively? The basically non-existent sanely sized cars?
Exactly, which is why I reject the premise of the comic. People are just buying what’s available/affordable, not out of some ideological creed
This is a bit dramatic. There are plenty of sanely sized cars available, and its not like everyone yearns for them but is forced into a suburban. Last time I checked you could still buy a corolla, an H-RV, a leaf, crosstrek, civic, Prius, several minis, a Mazda 3, BMW 1, etc. If people literally just bought rav4s instead of giant SUVs the average vehicle size would be significantly smaller, even though the rest of world thinks those are huge too.
…the mazda 3 is BIG, unfortunately they don’t offer the 2 stateside anymore, not even in puerto rico…
The hurr-durr narrative is a bit disingenuous. It’s not just the loony MAGA/Conservatives buying these cars as depicted in the comic, it’s centrists and progressives who arguably have more money who are buying these cars.
to anyone who has to travel across the US for work you quickly start to realize that is hard to tell the Democrat and Republican drivers apart and this comic got both sides included
definitely two sides of the same coin
another common theme in the United States is the belief road signs are not really there especially speed limits
only a few drivers follow the road signs to the detriment of safety even in work zones
big vehicles with people that see no need to follow road rules are very common and the few drivers following the rules either get bumper humped or pulled over
very toxic driving environment in the US and at this point it would be safer without speed limits
also sedans do suck and are definitely too small but do drive all day so nether region room is important as much as cargo room is
You’re right, and I shouldn’t have painted all the progressives out of the picture like that. I guess I just meant to say that most people buy what they can rich or poor, rather than out of some belief
also sedans do suck
Nah. I had a 2005 Camry for almost two decades and it was pretty roomy, had a massive trunk, and was not very large at all.
…keep right except to pass and most of your concerns will melt away; that’s how i drive rented trucks with speed limiters, slowest vehicle on the road with no worries…
That is eleven reasons!
A question for big car drivers
How the fuck do you drive?
I have a slightly longer and wider than usual SEDAN and I struggle in the city. I can’t imagine steering a massive hunk of shit
Drive an electric F150. It’s legitimately a skill to drive the thing. I went from a “Prius C/Aqua” to the truck because I have a horse to haul. I legitimately think there should be a special license endorsement to be allowed to drive it. I would vote to require such extra testing if given the chance.
I would like to see fines for reckless driving have a “large/lethal/unsafe modification” upgrade.
You wanna get drunk and meatcrayon yourself? Be my guest. Get blitzed and take your dually Dodge Ram with 4" wheel spacers down residential roads at highway speeds? Hope your ass is ready for a lifetime prison sentence.
Oh man I would be all over tiered licensing. For size and performance, the basic license probably shouldn’t cover that can accelerate like a Tesla.
I’d reckon all the electric cars accelerate in the same tier unless it’s the bz4x/Soltera which are literally the worst vehicles on the market right now.
Nissan Leaf 0-60 in 7 or 8 seconds depending on model. That’s about the same as a standard Mazda 3. The Tesla Model 3 can do it in half the time. Not even close to the same tier.
I stand corrected lol. Nissan leaf is basically just stuck in 2014 in all honesty. They still even use the Japanese connector that no other car uses. It’s basically a glorified golf kart. I completely even forgot they sell them new still.
Everything else > bz4x/Soltera >> Leaf lol
If you buy a 2025 Leaf for over 20K, you got robbed lmao.
Lol you think the leaf is bad, my cmax plug in take 12 seconds to get to 60mph on electric only
To be fair, that car was last sold new in 2017 according to my search. I was arguing for 2025 models.
I don’t think “Leaf bad” undermines the actual point that a 3 second 0-60 time is wildly unnecessary and dangerous for the average driver, it was just illustrating that not every EV is performance-spec. I’d personally gate anything faster than 6, maybe 5 seconds under a “sport” license and traffic violation penalties should be more severe in that class of vehicles to more accurately reflect the relative risk to others.
Gating licensing based on acceleration speed doesn’t really make much sense. It should be based on vehicle mass, stopping distance or driver visibility. Being able to quickly accelerate makes it safer for highway driving and it’s the driver’s responsibility not to treat the suburbs as their personal drag strip.
Oh absolutely. However, the Leaf is bad for every other reason besides its acceleration speed though.
The fact that there’s no special licensing needed for RVs despite being the same size as buses and larger than most commercial trucks makes no sense.
1000% yes, it’s absolute madness. Should need a CDL for those.
Very carefully.
Went from a subcompact coupe to a “midsize” crossover, and it’s terrifying. Can’t see shit near me because of how high I sit. Can’t see shit next to me because of the big-ass B pillars, and the short window puts the pillar right next to my head.
The main 2 reasons I switched?
1: My hybrid coupe was a horrible gas guzzler at 36MPG, the SUV gets 90+ MPGe.
2: People in big-ass SUVs kept trying to kill me. Hasn’t happened nearly as much since I got a car that would do consequential damage to them if they run into me.
Get those stick on mirrorlets, that let you see around the B column and right into your blind spot.
Any mirror from any brand would work, here’s the first link off DuckDuckGo: https://www.autozone.com/safety-and-security/blind-spot-mirror
They’re a game changer if you have a hard time seeing there. Takes some fiddling to angle them just right, but worth it.
I have a legitimate work reasons to own a pickup and I don’t drive in the city. When I do, it’s a box trunk for deliveries and I hate it. I fucking hate staring at shiny Escalades with only one person in it.
You just cant see whats in your way up close, so it’s less anxiety inducing to drive than a full size sedan. “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” 🤪
But more seriously, its probably the trick of perspective: the higher the seating position makes the vehicle footprint feel smaller and feel like you’re moving slower and also makes it easier to see over the smaller cars in traffic 😅
(I don’t actually own one but have driven my sisters one on occasion)
I just think the mindset is a left over from the colonial days when there was so much land to settle on, that building big is not an issue. The principle carried over to many other things, like having big possessions are seen as good.
honestly, top right is relatable.
Just rent a truck from home Depot. They’re like $45 a day.
And fuck you if you’re under 25, I guess
Oh well in that case, if 24 year olds can’t move pianos, sure: fuck pedestrian safety, non huge SUV drivers and the climate.
It doesn’t actually have to be either-or; we can have trucks with significant hauling capacity and have safe roads. My truck is smaller than my last minivan, with a bigger box than most new trucks. I’d go even smaller, but kei trucks aren’t very common here
For the roads to be safe, they need to be designed for these trucks to feel like they are intruders that inconvenience others and so must slow down and politely respect pedestrians and bikes. As opposed to building cities with the comfort of trucks as the first priority, where everyone else feels like they’re intruding in the SUV’s waya and inconvenience them.
72 bucks for 3 hrs, plus gas.
Don’t believe the advertising lies.
Source: rented one to move last year.
Still cheaper then the extra car payment for getting a car twice as big as you need for rare occasions.
No argument there.
The bottom right is really the only valid reason. I’d love to get a small car but between them not really being sold in the US anymore and the crash incompatibility, I gotta pass.although there is increasingly little to live for so maybe I’ll just get a donorcycle and say fuck it
Get a small enough car and you can just pass under them.
No, it’s a terrible reason. It’s complicit with the system for a level of danger reduction that is really not enough, and intentionally endangering other kids for your own children’s benefits. You merely continue the cycle. It’s short sighted at best.
Well, if you kill an entire family or children, you take multiple future gigacar drivers off the road, so in a way it’s actually rather productive for the movement.
I settled on a mid sized suv as the compromise. Seating for four, and I have a family of four. Big enough to go with traffic but small enough to be reasonably efficient. Big enough to carry a lot but small enough to fit in narrow lanes and parking spots
And the other reason: To make yourself feel better about your teeny weenie.
It’s safer for drunk driving if the other cars are the ones turned to smithereens.
Dey stupid and it makes their penis seem bigger.
I drive a truck because it’s the vehicle my mother always wanted and she finally got one before she passed.
When we lived in the country we got tired of using a trailer to move everything and was using the bed more often.
Edit: also, there are cars where I have to put my head through the moon roof if I sit in front and lay down if I’m in the back. I know not every car is like that, but I’ve never been as comfortable in a car like I am a truck.
And and, I got the highway version instead of more towards off roading so I get like 30 mpg on the highway.
We have pretty small cars but we often are transporting six people. So we end up driving two cars pretty regularly. It’s not so bad when we’re just going across town, but we’re traveling to Toronto and Florida for two trips this summer. We have rented a big SUV for trips like that before, but it costs more overall and sometimes it’s nice to have two vehicles while we’re there because we don’t all six want to go the same place every moment of our week.
Most big SUVs I see have one person in them though.
Ever tried a minivan?
Yes, technically I own one but it has major issues and we use it only as our version of a truck to go the two miles to the local Home Depot. It loses all power and will stop if you try to drive it up a hill. But I can fit a full sheet of plywood in the back with the middle seats out. We’ve tried renting minivans, but we’ve had two problems.
One is that they’re never available - they’ll take your reservation but when you show up to get it there are none available so they substitute a large SUV like a Chevy Tahoe. A Tahoe has way more space and would cost more to rent, which are benefits, but they’re also far less fuel efficient which isn’t great.
The other problem is space. A minivan can move six people but modern minivans don’t really have space for luggage for six people for nine days in the back. I even own a nice hard sided roof luggage carrier I use with my Subaru Crosstrek, but rentals never have the roof bars you need to mount it up there.
For now, our little cars are decently fuel efficient. I would consider buying another minivan but our youngest is 15 so I think at some point soon we’ll need less people-carrying capacity.
A Tahoe has way more space
A Tahoe has way more bulk in terms of exterior dimensions than a minivan, but I dispute the idea that it has way more interior passenger+cargo space. Even if the width and length are the same (e.g. big enough for a sheet of plywood), the minivan’s interior should be taller (because the floor isn’t so high above the ground) and the seats should be better at getting out of the way.
A minivan can move six people but modern minivans don’t really have space for luggage for six people for nine days in the back.
I’ve owned a long wheelbase Ford Aerostar and, more recently, a Kia Sedona, and I’ve gotta admit I miss the Aerostar. Still, the Sedona definitely isn’t small.
I currently own a Kia Sedona but as I explained in another comment I only use it to drive two miles or less on flat ground. It came in two wheelbase lengths, and we have the longer wheelbase so there’s a decent amount of space for luggage, but I can’t drive it anywhere I would bring luggage.
Most modern minivans are smaller than that Sedona and have significantly less cargo space. If you’ve never driven or ridden in a Tahoe, they are bigger on the inside, no question. Yeah they’re higher off the ground, but they’re taller, wider and longer. So if everyone has a small suitcase and a backpack, even if only the suitcases fit in the back, the backpacks can fit in the seating space much more comfortably than in a van.
Also, I’ve never intentionally rented a Tahoe. I try to rent a minivan, I get a Tahoe. But they are more comfortable for a group of six, and that matters if you’re driving 17 hours straight or something like that.
It came in two wheelbase lengths, and we have the longer wheelbase
TIL! Mine is apparently the long wheelbase version, so that’s nice.
Most modern minivans are smaller than that Sedona and have significantly less cargo space. If you’ve never driven or ridden in a Tahoe, they are bigger on the inside, no question.
I have been in the inside of a Tahoe, but I admit, it’s been a very long time so I guess the new ones may very well be bigger than I expect.
Also, I thought the Kia Sedona was a “modern minivan.” Mine’s only… uh… 18 years old. Oh.
Well, it’s modern compared to my other cars, at least.
Still, I don’t understand why a 2025 minivan would be smaller, especially when the trend for every other class of vehicle is to get bigger over time.
I’d guess it’s mostly about fuel efficiency which is legitimate. I think the Tahoe falls into a light truck category because it’s on a truck frame. Not sure about the newest models, but it was on a truck frame for most of its existence, and those towing ratings are higher than ever.
“Light trucks” or vehicles like large SUVs don’t have to meet the same efficiency standards as most cars, minivans and smaller SUVs which often use more of unibody frame. It’s bad regulation at work.
This. The solution is a people-carrier. The ground clearance of an SUV or the cargo bed of a pickup truck won’t help with anything.
The ID. Buzz looks pretty sick atm, but it’s a tad expensive.
That is really cool, I wish it was more practical for me, and that is more than just the expensive price tag. I’ve purchased quite a few new vehicles, but none of them were ever over $22k. I do like a lot about it, but I also regularly drive long distances on remote dirt/unimproved roads and sometimes drive cross country for 20 hours nonstop. So for now a smaller vehicle with more ground clearance and range makes more sense.
Plus it only has two cup holders.
Wow. My old broke down Kia minivan has thirteen cupholders.
My old Odyssey had 18!
That’s honestly crazy. I used to joke that the van has 13 cupholders and 7 seats because in Korea it’s a 13 seater. But in what world are you using 18?
if anyone else didn’t know who https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorstein_Veblen was
This ignores the role of advertising in making people want things.
They wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work.
Also the companies either not selling smaller models at all or selling under powered econobox trash.
They don’t sell them because they make a bigger profit on giant trucks even if they have to pay for ads to convince people to buy them.
They would be advertising anyway, but yes people do have a tendency to see more value in volume even if the value isn’t actually there. It goes along with the US fascination with buying in bulk.
Yes, but what they would be advertising would be different. They want people to buy more of the thing that makes them the most money.
If small efficient cars were more profitable they would advertise them instead of giant luxury trucks.
YSK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compliance_car
Some jurisdictions require that auto makers offer low or no emission vehicles, a vehicle is considered a “compliance car” if it is clear that the company producing it is only doing so in order to comply with these regulations, rather than viewing them as a source of profit. This is generally identified by low production volume, sales limited to only regions where the law requires it, and low effort design.
My taxes paid for the road, I’m going to use the road. It’s called getting value for your money, walklet-tier comic XD
