• Wooster@startrek.website
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    10 months ago

    But car buyers’ preferences have also shifted dramatically to larger trucks and SUVs in the past 10 years or so, and even more towards high-tech and comfort amenities in the form of cameras, sensors, radars and large infotainment screens," he said.

    You can’t buy a smaller truck because the manufacturers lobbied that large trucks are exempt from stricter emissions and thus they don’t have to engineer a smaller, more efficient truck.

    • CherenkovBlue@iusearchlinux.fyi
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      10 months ago

      Ford’s only car on offer is the Mustang, everything else is some kind of compact SUV, full size SUV, or truck. Other automakers are similar (some offer more sedans and hatches still). Guess I won’t be buying a Ford when I need a new car.

      • the_weez@midwest.social
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        10 months ago

        I really liked my focus. And when I went to buy a new one they tried to sell me a hideous SUV. I’m not bringing any kids to soccer, I don’t want your gas guzzler. I bought a Subaru because they still make cars. Tall vehicles suck ass to drive and I wish more people realized it.

        • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Yea, ‘22 or ‘23 was the last year for those. Mustang is all that’s left and its time is limited imo.

          • limelight79@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            I kind of doubt that. Mustangs exist in part to bring buyers into the dealers. They actually buy a new Edge or Explorer, because there’s now a link in the buyer’s mind between Mustang performance and Edge performance. Same with Corvettes and Chevrolet dealers, for example. Halo cars.

          • Talaraine@kbin.social
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            10 months ago

            I’ll be keeping my Fusion hybrid for a decade at least. Maybe it’ll become a collector’s item xD

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      And you can’t buy a new car without those high tech things. And also this shit isn’t “high tech” anymore. Large screens are dirt cheap. Aftermarket rear view cameras are going out to eat money. Idk about radar and sensors but as technology matures and becomes cheap it finds its way into every car. A budget car should be nicer now than 20 years ago because nice things have been around longer.

    • e_t_@kbin.pithyphrase.net
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      10 months ago

      The kicker is that that engineering has already been done because small trucks exist in other countries. Several Japanese automakers sell kei trucks in their domestic market. They could sell them in the US with minimal modification.

      • bluewing@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Need to add:

        Crash certified bumpers to 5mph Engineered crumple zones Re-enforced A and B pillars Re-enforced doors Air bags

        And I’m quite sure I’ve forgotten more than one other thing they would need to add Kei style trucks to make them roadworthy in many states. And once you make those upgrades, plus the cost of all the federal testing that would be needed, how much do you think one of those little trucks would cost?

        • Fox@pawb.social
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          10 months ago

          There is also the trifle that they’d need to be redesigned to place the driver controls on the left. And then of course nobody would buy them even if they were exempt from most of that, because they were made to do 25km/h through Japanese villages and are not well suited for American freeway use.

    • esc27@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Some of that is due the chicken tax (post WW2 tax on imported trucks passed in retaliation to a tax on chickens…) Thankfully “small” trucks are having a resurgence. The Ford Maverick has sold extremely well and rumors are other brands are planing to re-enter the small truck market.

    • usualsuspect191
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      10 months ago

      Are the smaller trucks like the Maverick not available in your area? Or do you mean something like a Kei truck maybe

      • tburkhol@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        A 2024 Maverick has a wheelbase of 120" and curb weight of 3600 pounds. In 1991, Ford’s compact pickup, the Ranger, had a wheelbase of just 108" and curb weight of 2800 pounds. “Small” trucks have gained a foot and half a ton. The Ranger itself is now a 5000 pound behemoth that outweighs the 1990 F-150 by 1000 pounds.