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What is wrong with the US "car" industry today (www.carsized.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
35 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

This is no caricature and to scale. Guess which one of the two vehicles is not available in the US and which one is not available in the EU.

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[–] 27 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (16 children)

I think Trump is twisting arms to get our child-killing trucks and SUVs into Europe.

Europe really needs to grow a pair.

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  • [–] [S] 11 points 2 weeks ago (13 children)

    Well, the Cybertruck isn't street legal in the EU to this day and I don't foresee that to change.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 weeks ago (12 children)
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  • [–] [S] 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (11 children)

    I am not too worried. US cars are simply increasingly less competitive by the day. Transition to electric is going on at a good rate. In a few years only Tesla will have competitive offers, (possibly not even they). Gas guzzlers will be items for the rare confused with too much money. Maybe some of those electric abominations could be an issue but then I'll want to see that first. So far I don't see any indication for that. Most people want affordable cars.

    Also for any of that to happen in the first place, a number of laws would have to be scrapped and that needs majority in the Council and European Parliament. Given the hostility from the US and the not too popular nature of that demand let them try. Chances are very high that this "pact" will be obsolete by the time anyway.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    Gas guzzlers will be items for the rare confused with too much money.

    Rich people will always have their toys. But I think gas guzzlers will stick around longer for more poor people. They can't afford new cars, and can barely afford used cars. The middle and upper class will transition to electric, and their old ICE cars will be sold (or occasionally given) to the poors.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

    I doubt that. The reason is simple, as soon as the EV used market balances out, used combustion engine cars will be more expensive to operate, making them an overall more expensive option, on top of being worse and more maintenance intensive. Norway is wealthy but not everyone there is rich. Yet they have 97% BEV among new sales now. Denmark will be next, soon enough and once Belgium and the Netherlands get there, the "only rich can afford BEVs" will be disproven for good. Without new ICE vehicles, also the used market will disappear eventually.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    @Jiral @schipelblorp - I'm not sure it's even a few years. American brands already feel like also-rans in Europe, and the economic tipping point for EVs vs. ICE vehicles is already in the past. I don't think politicians could stop this even if they wanted to.Sure, some people will still feel the need to buy obnoxious vehicles to show the world that they're arseholes, and the existing stock of ICE vehicles will be sold at a discount to people who need a low up-front price despite the increased operating costs, but even that latter segments will rapidly get smaller and smaller.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (7 children)

    I think you're overly optimistic. There are stupid, rich asshole everywhere.

    Though I think a European infrastructure just wouldn't support cars this size, so hopefully aggressive ticketing on the local level will discourage people from buying them.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (6 children)

    Yes, but if it is just a small number of people it can't impact road safety as much as if there are masses of these vehicles on the road. I mean there are some idiots with Cybertrucks and individual certification in the EU, even though they appear to have largely shut up as the reputation of that thing has gone down the train even among Teslarites and lovers of oversized cars.

    I am just not convinced that there will be a large number of people enticed to buy overpriced outdated vehicles with questionable quality reputation, no matter their size. Even if there will be some.

    I am more worried about oversized cars from Europe itself or Asia but they got some dampening with the current energy prices and when it comes to EVs they came with an incredible extra price tag. There range matters and the huge tanks need to overcompensate with so much more battery capacity to have at least moderate range, that you pay a fortune to get a worse product.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (5 children)

    Everything about cars is self reinforcing enshittification. Biking and walking would be GREAT if there were no cars, but once there are cars, everybody needs to get a car to avoid getting by a car. And then, once they have cars, they want to get bigger cars to protect themselves, and then other people get even BIGGER cars to protect themselves... it can happen there.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

    The safety is mostly a lie though. The big cars are hardly safer even for those inside, even compared to smaller cars and even if all the others are driving obscenely large vehicles. They are just more dangerous to everyone else.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    They are just more dangerous to everyone else.

    If you've been driving a smaller car (like I have), you absolutely get tired of people in massive vehicles who just try to drive through you because they either "didn't see you" or felt they could bully their way in because they're bigger.

    And when it comes to getting your next car, in the back of your mind you do end up thinking about maybe caving in and getting a bigger car - you'll be less likely to get into an accident (because they'll see you or be more reluctant to bully you), and less likely to be injured (because your cars are off more equal weight and height).

    It also doesn't help that, because the manufacturers are so penis-focused, it's harder to find a reliable smaller car.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 weeks ago

    That is such a BS argument that people in these compensation cars can't see people in regular sized cars. While road view is much worse, small cars are not that small nor are they that low. If that ass in a big car crashes into yours, what will most likely happen is that they take just as much of a hit as you. Don't let yourself being bullied, they can only bluff and if not, sitting in an oversized car yourself only helps you by placebo effect.

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    • [–] 22 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

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  • [–] [S] 19 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

    The one in front is the more useful and better pickup truck, isn't it? Same bed size, much lower to the ground, ie easier to load and unload, potentially also from the side. It surely is also easier to navigate. But then, most of those huge pickup trucks (driven by end consumers) never carry more than some groceries.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

    That's certainly my opinion. I used to have one and it was great. Easy to load/unload stuff out of the bed. Easy to see around when maneuvering in parking lots or whatever. Tires were cheap. My dad's truck is more similar to the one in back, that thing handles like a school bus and has 2ft shorter bed than my old one did. It's also higher off the ground so I have to climb in and out of the bed instead of just being able to step up into it like I could on my truck. Which is annoying. I have no idea what advantages people see in these newer monstrosities. My car is getting expensive to maintain and I would like to get a truck but I fucking hate all the options available these days. If they could make an EV like the front one in that picture I'd be first in line.

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    • [–] 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    These big cars should be illegal. Or at least require a special license. Hate seeing them here in the city taking up a ton of space.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

    They should be charged for the waste of space and danger they pose to others, for no good reason.

    The Cadillac Escalade IQ (the white monstrosity) is a prime example for that. "But I need such a big car for my 4 kids" is an excuse I read. How many families still have 4 kids aside, such a large family can also get a PV5 from Kia. ... ok, it would if one could actually buy the PV5 in the US. Do you see a pattern?

    Still lets compare the PV5 and the Escalade "IQ":

    The PV5 has slightly more space inside, also flexible with option for 3 rows, costs 44500 EUR (incl. VAT), weighs 2.7t and has a WLTP range of 397 km.

    The Escalade "IQ", slightly less space, 1 m longer hood (dramatically worse road view), 20 cm wider, 130000 USD (before tax?), 4t ?!!!, but you get 750 km WLTP range

    https://www.carsized.com/de/autos/vergleich/kia-pv5-2025-van-vs-cadillac-escalade-iq-2024-suv/

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    • [–] 7 points 2 weeks ago

    I would not ever buy an American car. These companies are pure trash.

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    [–] 5 points 2 weeks ago

    I always see scratches on the paint jobs of those big trucks taking up 4 spaces in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Three times I almost got caught.

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    [–] 4 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

    Capital serving fragile egos

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  • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

    Capital only serves capital. If small cars made more money they’d push them in their advertising and there would be more available.

    Capital used regulatory capture to make large, profitable vehicles more available, then sold people on the idea that they needed one.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    Small cars are dangerous because larger cars can crush them.

    This is the legitimately the logic.

    The world is an insane asylum.

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    • [–] 4 points 2 weeks ago

    Obama. Everything he's signed off was half-assed and we're paying for it and I voted for him. /lightnsfw replied with a picture; that sized taco was my first truck and I wanted something even smaller like the old VW pickup.

    So essentially the bill for higher MPG vehicles had so many loopholes that basically every car became a tank; it's generally impossible with the crash rating system requirements. Hence why hybrids and electric are so popular. But they also bring their own problems, weight. My tiny infinity/nissan will be a metal coffin met with a tesla. Same goes for the tacoma, and I don't want to imagine the my old vw cabrio in that scenario.

    Also the height is important in a lot of areas, well the space between the tires and the axle and engine. Where I'm at, my nissan would become a boat.

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    [–] 4 points 2 weeks ago

    Abolish personal vehicles

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    [–] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    Driving here - because I have no choice if my family is to remain supported and moving would mean not supporting family - is a daily exercise in dodging oversized vehicles that are piloted by people who haven't the faintest concept how to actually handle their vehicles at any speed and who drive them far too fast. I keep safe distances, and the number of times I have had two to three cars swerve in front of me simultaneously to then all slam on the brakes and force me to take evasive action is honestly too many to count. I miss my walkable city that allowed me 30 years of life with no need for a vehicle that wasn't public transit.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago

    My young ex terrified me the way the drove one of those huge SUVs like it was a car. They were constantly at the edge of the vehicle's performance, braking needlessly late and taking corners sharp instead of turning wide, constantly engaging the vehicle's ABS and traction control on what they thought of as a casual drive around town. Most people seem to have no idea that they are driving a heavy vehicle or what that means.

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    • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago

    Bigger is more comfortable to sleep in I guess and can hold more personal items. :P

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