And potentially family. It’s a 4 door truck. It’s a transportation vehicle with a bed and slightly greater towing capacity than a sedan. Lot of suburban dads have these.
I’m a tiny-truck-lover, and want one badly, but my family’s big 'murica truck is waaaay more comfortable than my current sedan :( Unrelated, but do tiny work trucks come with Bluetooth now?
Damn I hated riding in the back of my dad’s Silverado. I’m almost 6ft and I can comfortably fit behind myself in the back seat of my impreza. The new Maverick looks like a pretty cool small truck option
Typical “Everyone drives a big truck so I will too!” mindset that misses the core issue on why kei trucks are the better ones. You simply can’t imagine a world where the Ford Death Cruiser 4 billion doesn’t exist.
Japan, the country that invented kei cars, also has larger cars. You’re not looking at the same chance as running into a hummer, but crashing a kei car into a white plate out here still doesn’t look good for the kei.
Sure, but they’re not banned from highways. It’s not uncommon to see them, although you’re right about lower speed limits-- a lot of highways are about 80 km max
Better to get the one that’s specifically designed to kill toddlers then. If children have to die so you can be less scared of a “mash up” then it’s all worth it.
Not sure if you’re serious but i will answer as if you were.
A common attack against people with large trucks is that they have a large truck to compensate having a small penis. This implies having a small penis is bad/unacceptable. This is obvious body shaming but also contributes to toxic masculinity.
Both of these are unacceptable.
There are many alternative ways to talk shit without playing into these kinds of comments and TBH, the compensation comments have been used so much and are so obviously baseless that they don’t hit very hard, IMO.
well, i didn’t actually say that, and i’m not responsible for others filling in the blanks with their own negative thoughts. as you can see, several others actually managed to conclude something different.
don’t blame the Rorschach test because you see something you don’t like.
you’re projecting your own insecurities onto me and making yourself angry over something you imagined. I a not to blame for things your imagination does.
work out your problems with a professional, not by attacking random internet strangers.
The facts? What are you referring to? I am simply asking a question about percentages. Are you imagining that my question was somehow related to an earlier post?
If you’re so lost that you can’t even maintain the thread of the conversation, I suggest you review the past comments to find your place. As for imaginings, you’re the only one who, as I just mentioned, can’t seem to keep track of the things anyone is saying here, making things up as you go along.
I’m glad we are both in complete agreement that it is definitely impossible for any meaning to be conveyed other than a literal interpretation of the exact words being used.
Your contribution to this discussion has been very valuable and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to hearing more from you
I never said that, but that’s never stopped you from pretending I did, or imagining any other contribution. Why bother for me to participate at all when you’re clearly capable of carrying on both of our parts by yourself?
Listen, you said what you said. Own up to it and learn, or don’t and move on. But you really don’t have to sit there and dig yourself even more into the shit. You sound silly.
Neither is trashing the climate with pointlessly big vehicles just to compensate for whatever insecurities they have. We need to either tax or regulate these stupid vehicles back to a reasonable and safe size.
It’s not just big vehicles that do that. For instance I wouldn’t call a supra a big vehicle but when they wake me up at 3 AM because they have to be louder than fire sirens I feel like that is compensating as well.
In this case it’s not about body shaming but about shaming a means of compensation. Also it’s not really a literal take. “Big dick energy” has nothing do with actual dick size. And being a “Karen” has nothing to with a persons actual name or gender.
It’s penis. He means penis. Like, probably the length and girth of his penis. No one ever mentions penis color or how hairy it is (those are Jeep guys), just always the size.
Sigh. Look, if you’ve never been to a jeep consortium, that’s just how it goes. Hairy things flopping all over, kindof like a rave with more roll bars. I never want to see that much pubic hair again in my life.
I eent to buy a jeep last year and the dealer said he had to inspect my shaft and pubes before he’d let me on the lot. Didn’t wind up buying one, the market adjustments were outrageous!
I’m 99% certain that’s a 2nd Gen Honda Acty. Which means it has at best a .7 liter engine making 45hp.
The wannabe monster truck at minimum would have a 4.3 V6 making almost 300hp. But the particular spec in the picture typically has the 5.3 V8 at around 355 HP.
Kei trucks are cool. But they’re like a big golf cart with a flatbed.
I have a Daihatsu Hijet on my property. Pretty much use it like a quad. Spray paint camo job, 4x4, dump bed, w/ rear locker. Pretty awesome at pulling shit, getting thru muddy spots, etc.
I’ll say this - that little Hijet is a much, much more capable little rig than my 2014 Taco, let alone the stupid bro-dozer in the picture. I’ll probably bring it with me elk hunting next year so I can load up the bed with elk quarters and crawl out of the bush
Kei cars/trucks/vans are limited to the following requirements to be categorized as such per Japanese regulations:
Length − up to 11.2 ft Width − up to 4.9 ft Height − up to 6.6 ft Engine capacity − up to 660 ccs Power − up to 63 hp Capacity − up to 4 passenger seats Load-carrying capacity − should not exceed 771.6 pounds
1200 is technically possible. But it’s past designed brake, suspension, transmission capacity of any Kei truck. I’d urge you to use caution if ever doing it again. Wouldn’t go over 20 mph if you can even reach it at that weight.
I definitely don’t disagree with you on transmission and breaking. You can do 35 with 1200lbs of load but a Toyota Hilux will do a better job and I would not drive a Kai truck on the highway regardless of what’s in the bed, your knees are a few inches of thin sheet steel construction from the outside world.
The smaller truck probably carries more in loads than 90% of all pickups on the roads unfortunately. They’re not being used like they’re designed to be. Or they’re being used exactly how they’re designed to be I guess.
Okay then how about something truck owners do a lot. Which one is better for a husband wife and two kids? Which one can reach highway speeds? Which one won’t make you deaf trying to drive to work?
The Ford Fiesta, a subcompact, can tow 2,000lb. For the vast, vast majority of tow jobs a standard car with a hitch will be just fine. Fuck, half of England tows RVs across their country every summer and they mostly drive cars smaller than Americans.
Oh, and the person driving that Kei truck? He likely doesn't own it, it's for his job. Trucks are work vehicles. Almost no Americans need pickup trucks. It's a luxury status symbol that's highly dangerous. The few times someone needs to haul shit, you can rent one and then you don't have to worry as much about scratching the pristine bed that 99% of American truck owners never use.
Have you ever towed anything? Towing a trailer of that size and weight with a car like that, even if legal, is sketchy as fuck. Especially on hills or mountains. Where I am from its legal to take that picture, it’s not legal to get on the road. For good reason. A capable truck is much safer for that purpose, for everyone.
Doing that in the states would be illegal. Our payload and towing capacity are calculated differently which vastly drops the ammount you are legally allowed to carry. For example a jeep wrangler in Europe has a towing capacity of 5000Lb (2300Kg) but the same exact jeep in the states can only tow 3500Lb (1600kg)
Speeds are a per state basis however a good chunk of them do in fact have separate speed limits for vehicles with trailers. For example, California limits vehicles with three or more axles to 55 MPH (88kph).
Well some people do. I did for about 3 years, 4+ times a week (work and hobbies) but those are all gone now so looking to trade it in.
Not defending the absurd legislation that makes these keep getting bigger but there are a legit few people who actually regularly make full use of everything a full size offers.
I had a 2015 Nissan Frontier a with a tow capacity of about 6500 lbs. Bought a hitch receiver and towing wiring…and never installed it. Never towed a damned thing with that truck, even though I had it in my brain that surely I would at some point.
I like the motto of optimizing for the things I do more frequently, not for the edge cases. It’s up to you to decide where that line is. But maybe if the need for something larger is rare enough, you can find another option like renting something. I know renting is a pain, but if it’s rare you don’t have to do it all that much.
I live in a blue collar neighborhood. Big trucks owned by tradesmen/women everywhere. They absolutely use them frequently for what they’re capable of. Some of them have a second cars for groceries etc. but I’m glad there are not two cars for every truck because parking would be a bitch, and wouldn’t save much gas. If they were to rent for the “rare trip,” it would be the grocery store. No one is gonna rent for a grocery store trip when they can just happily drive their truck. The store is closer than the rental agency.
My dad’s VW Touareg could tow like 7700 lbs, which is more than a lot of trucks and easily enough to pull plenty of boats and campers. Even a compact SUV that can tow 3500 lbs can pull some boats and campers as long as people don’t buy giant oversized versions of those, too.
I can only recommend Our Changing Climates take on this: “Are Men Killing the Planet?”
The title is inflammatory, yes, but it’s a great video that drives home the point of masculine insecurity and a “dominance of nature” spurs a lot of the “masculine” stereotype behind trucks and SUVs.
This person might be a little confused as those beds are definitely not the same length. They might be consuming the mid-size truck 4.5ft bed as the length of that Silverado. I’m being generous to that smaller truck if it has a 4.5ft bed, but the Silverado has a 5.5ft bed standard and also has a wider bed. Specifically greater than 4ft between wheel wells making transporting of standard sized plywood and drywall super easy. Carrying 6 people too is also something that smaller truck isn’t doing, nor is a high towing capacity like 15k pounds. Does the average America need that? Most likely not, but to claim they’re the same is disingenuous.
You can tell the about size by the tire. Considering a standard 5.5ft American truck bed could easily accommodate 4 tires laying down flat and still have plenty of left over space both width and length while this truck seems to struggle with one. Again, 4 tires could fit in the small one standing up, but this comparison is apples to oranges. Both fruits, but different categories.
Judging by the design of the driver door, I’m guessing this is a 90’s Sambar, which indeed does have a bed length of 6.5ft and a width of 4.5ft.
Also, this is normal: “They generally have 1.8 m (6 ft) pickup beds with fold-down sides; dump and scissor-lift beds are also available, as are van bodies. The length limitation forces all of these models into a cab-forward design.”
The sanbar has a horizontal door handle, not a vertical door handle.
IF (and again, based on the wheel in the bed of that truck I’m saying it’s sub 5ft in length) that bed was 6ft that also means it’s not the same size. Which still means that information in the post is inaccurate.
Kei trucks are limited to a maximum length of 3.4 m (134 in), a maximum width of 1.48 m (58 in). At a maximum length it would be half the size of the Silverado, which is definitely isn’t. A Silverado with the crew cab and 5.5ft bed is 242in in length and 81 inches in width.
Ah You’re right, the window design is also straight cross the bottom rather than curved. My new guess is a Honda Acty, which is only 6.3ft. Ill update the comments
And to be fair I upvoted your comment as I agreed it looked more like a 4.5ft bed. But then I looked it up.
I don’t really understand the comment about the Silvarado. Are you saying a silvarado has a bed longer than 6.5ft?
The Silverado is my scale. That’s why I mention its size.
The Suzuki Carry, which has a tire size of 145/70r12. That’s a diameter of 20 inches. The tire looks to be about 3x the bed length of the Kei Truck. I think it’s closer to 2.75xs the tire, but at 3x it’s still 5ft.
I’m mentioning sizes of things for scale. It provides us with a way of identifying the potential length.
Not every Kei truck has the same specs. Kei truck refers to a number of different brands of truck and most offer different length beds. This is NOT a 6.5 foot long bed. The Chevy has a 5.5 foot bed. Put a ruler up to both and you’ll see the Kei truck bed is shorter.
Edit: down voted for stating facts about Kei trucks. This is definitely a place for reasonable discussion.
I always see this comparison. These are very different types of vehicles. I’m happy there are other people out there who realize this.
I feel like that Kei truck is more comparable to a 1000cc side by side. I don’t mean that as a bad thing. But I think their main uses are much more similar.
According to wikipedia, that length is normal: “They generally have 1.8 m (6 ft) pickup beds with fold-down sides; dump and scissor-lift beds are also available, as are van bodies. The length limitation forces all of these models into a cab-forward design.”
Kei trucks can put the sides of the bed down, leaving a completely flat cargo surface. Depending on the model, the bed is 4-6ft long and 3.5-4.5ft wide with the sides up.
Part of the point is that a kei truck can do a good chunk of small utility trips without being gigantic or bad on gas.
Full size trucks aren’t bad on gas anymore. The F-150 comes with a 2.7 litre turbocharged V6 base now, or you can upgrade to the 3.5L twin turbo V6 or 3.5L hybrid V6. Check your local dealers page, you won’t find many 1/2 ton trucks with V8s anymore. They also have aluminum bodies and a 4-door weighs about the same as a regular cab shortbed truck did 20 years ago. Is the truck in the pic significantly more useful than the Kei truck? Not really unless you need to tow with it, or need the cabin space or seating.
I’m seeing like 16-20mpg on a site that compiles user reports of mileage for both the V6 and V8. Pretty sure that’s what my 99 Ranger got so idk if I’d say “they aren’t bad on gas anymore”
The 2.7 Ecoboost, which is by far the most common on sale right now, gets 20-26mpg, the 3.5L Ecoboost gets 18/24, and the 3.5L hybrid gets 25 combined. The V8 gets 17-25mpg, but most dealers aren’t ordering many of those - check your local dealer’s site and you’ll see most new ones are the 2.7 and the 3.5L hybrid Powerboost.
That’s pretty close to the Kei truck pictured, which gets in the neighborhood of 30mpg.
The 2.7 Ecoboost, which is by far the most common on sale right now, gets 20-26mpg, the 3.5L Ecoboost gets 18/24, and the 3.5L hybrid gets 25 combined.
It’s not for a fullsize truck. In fact, that’s the average fuel economy for all vehicles sold in the US in 2022, while cars alone averaged around 31mpg. And considering the Kei trucks only do around 30mpg while having considerably less cargo volume, I’d say it’s not a bad trade off if you need it for specific reasons that a smaller truck won’t do, like towing or hauling larger/heavier items. Does everyone need a big ass truck or SUV? Hell no. But the numbers aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be - at least not for Ford. GM and Stellantis have some work to do.
I can put my tools in the back of my truck cabin. And have the entire bed ready for materials.
I’d also never want to go over 40 mph or get on a suburban freeway in a Kei truck. You will die instantly in an accident otherwise. Their are zero safety features. And they’re not comfortable for any trip with any distance.
Kei truck is for people who work for the metropolitan city and never leave, or a university, or a golf course. Not a private contractor.
Trucks aren’t for private contractors, vans are. They have several times as much cargo space in the back for the same footprint, thanks to the invention of WALLS you can lean stuff on. They’re much lower to the ground so you don’t gotta put a ramp down to load/unload stuff. It doesn’t rain on your shit. There’s a plethora of reasons why every tradesman and their mom has a van here in Europe.
The only reason American tradesmen buy trucks is machismo marketing, insane tax loopholes, and 1% of them actually needing the offroading capabilities (no, driving around a job site doesn’t count as “offroading”, a Sprinter will do that just fine). I will die on this hill. Trucks are absolutely awful vehicles in almost every way, which is why everywhere outside NA they’re a small niche for offroaders and extremely insecure suburbanites.
Contractor here; vans are commonly used for trades that do lots of service work, and trucks for the ones who tend to do new installs/bigger jobs. You’ll see entire fleets of trucks and vans at the same plumbing company for example and see the divide. I’m so often putting gross or unwieldy things in the bed that a van doesn’t make sense, and there are plenty of other reasons a van might not be better. I’ve only ever seen locksmiths in vans for e.g., and never have seen a concrete finisher use anything other than a truck for a different example. It’s a tool at the end of the day and such a weird stance to ignore that certain jobs could be better suited to one over the other.
All of that aside, the “vans” I’m used to seeing that contractors use are essentially big enclosed trucks anyways so not sure why you’re calling one worse. Maybe it’s a regional thing in naming? My truck is smaller than most work vans I see around, so you’re saying I should be using the bigger vehicle that’s less suited to the tasks I need it for?
They’ve also got smaller sizes (down to regular cars with a square trunk like the Kangoo which a locksmith might use).
Ain’t no way you can put even remotely as much in a pickup truck as you can in a Sprinter (or equivalent, there are a lot of companies in that game). By putting the bed much lower and having vertical walls as high as will legally fit in a standard tunnel, space is simply maximized in a way that a high bed with short walls cannot compete with, geometrically speaking. I’ve filled one of these bad boys with enough insulation for a whole house, and didn’t even have to bother with straps. If you’ve got gross shit to put down, that’s fine as well, the bed is built for it… Just hose it down at the end of the day lol, it’s no different than a pickup truck.
These vans are so spacious that they’re frequently converted into minibuses, it’s absolutely wild. Throw in a mattress, bedframe, wardrobe, couple of TVs, washing machine, dryer, and you’ve still got several m³ on top to stuff with boxes and bags and shit. Literally the only downside is that they won’t go up an 45° mud slope, which is why pickup trucks do exist in Europe, mostly in mountainous areas and occasionally on logging trails that get really muddy.
If you’ve got gross shit to put down, that’s fine as well, the bed is built for it… Just hose it down at the end of the day lol, it’s no different than a pickup truck.
Ugh, you do you, but I’ll stick with the truck. Having my tools (and myself!) in a separate and locked compartment from the box where all the gross and messy stuff goes is such a quality of life thing, and I don’t need to hose it down every day because that’s what it’s for. I’ve helped a friend remove a bloated dead deer out if their back yard and can’t imagine not throwing up if I had that in the back of a van…
I can grab stuff from and toss stuff into the box without opening or unlocking a single thing (full hands, big gloves, super dirty, etc), and can reach over the side from either side no problem. Plus a tailgate is such a handy workbench when grinding/cutting/drilling or doing anything messy really.
These vans are so spacious that they’re frequently converted into minibuses, it’s absolutely wild.
Sounds like that’s too big of a vehicle for my tastes. I prefer something a bit smaller for fuel economy and visibility/maneuverability reasons.
Vans are great. Trucks are great. Different tools with different strengths. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all for vehicles, so what works great for some might not for others.
I really like my 2003 Ford ranger. It's small, but can still haul enough that it works perfectly fine for when I'm picking up dirt for my garden. But also it's definitely not fuel efficient in the way that I'd want it to be. I wish they made something that size but newer.
In the US at least, it’s the other way around. The Ford Ranger is 100% Ford, while Mazda actually rebadged the Ford Ranger as the B series for the US market.
I’ve never really been a truck guy, I also hate driving large vehicles in general and both preferences predate both my knowledge and even belief in climate change(I was raised as an evangelical in the south).
If there was something like a Ranger or an S10 from the mid-late 90s with an electric motor I’d be all over it, fuck put out an electric El Camino and I’d rip my sleeves off on the way to the dealership
There’s kits to convert the old Rangers to electric I think and there was an electric model from the 90s sold only to Ford employees. You’re definitely going to drop a ton on batteries though if you were trying to convert one yourself
Man, I tried finding one of those cool websites where you can put like two cars together to compare their size. But it doesn't have the year of my ranger. But yeah, they're smaller than the new trucks by a lot. And they weigh about half as much. If you can get one of the older Toyota's or like a cool little Datsun, they're a little bit smaller, but really kind of in the mid 2000s was when trucks really started blowing up in size and absurdity.
I really like my two-and-a-half-tonnes death machine. It’s small, but can still haul enough that it works perfectly fine for when I need to dispose bodies that I just ran over. But also it’s definitely not fuel efficient in the way that I’d want it to be. I wish they made something that size but newer.
Edit: Just checked cuz I was curious, and that is only 300 lb more than the Tesla model 3. Your comment felt rude and unnecessarily aggressive. I hope you're having a good night.
2002 Tundra here. It is definitely the perfect size for a truck. However, now that it’s pretty old and beat up, and I’ve moved into a denser city, I think it’s getting time for something new :(
I’ve been thinking a good business idea would be to make “restomod” Rangers. With luxury interiors and new engines with more fuel efficient setups. People do want them, but the chicken tax and CAFE makes it so Americans have no choice in trucks.
Yeah, but what if you needed to haul a team of volunteers to do disaster relief with a 9,000 pound trailer filled with water and food and then use the empty bed to haul debris away while rescuing survivors from the flood waters?
For real, these things are basically minivans for suburban dads. The primary thing this thing will be hauling is kids to soccer practice. At Christmas time, though, he’ll go get the tree from Home Depot himself, instead of needing to have it delivered.
Note how the kei truck is still taking up a parking space, and that the “need” to provide such spaces makes the entire street wider than it otherwise could be.
I say that not to excuse the “full size” monstrosity in any way whatsoever, but to remind us all that this is “fuck cars,” not just “fuck big trucks.” ALL cars ruin cities, not only the big ones!
I would argue that the guy with the small truck is there to do a job for someone, and you’d be utterly fucked if you had a burst pipe and he wasn’t allowed to drive in the city. They are the one exception to the rule
The guy with the big truck most likely just uses it to make up for his micropenis, right enough
you’d be utterly fucked if you had a burst pipe and he wasn’t allowed to drive in the city.
Who said anything about not being allowed to drive? He can drive wherever he likes; I’m just saying we shouldn’t fuck up the street building the parking spaces. Where he parks the thing should be his own problem (or his client’s landlord’s problem, as the case may be), not imposed on the public.
It may seem like I’m nitpicking, but that distinction is really important. There is an oddly pervasive issue in urbanism debates where the car-brains and the NIMBYs make a habit of trying to frame the issues precisely ass-backwards. For example, you suggest abolishing restrictions on zoning – literally removing government regulations – and they call you a “big government communist.” Or you talk about adding extra ways to get around by improving bike and ped infrastructure, and they accuse you of trying to take away their freedom to drive.
Or, as in this case, you talk about simply not bending over backwards to make special extra accommodations for cars (i.e. not spending public resources – both money and space – to build parking spaces), and it gets misconstrued as proposing banning driving. I’m not saying you’re a car-brain or a NIMBY, but I’m just saying it’s apparently real easy for people to slip into that Bizarro-World mindset and it needs to be called out when it happens.
Nobody does work out of that truck, it has a bed cover and the wheels don’t look like they have any mud or dirt caked in the tread/wheels. It’s a little pavement princess that probably carries one person 75% of the time.
EPA regulations that car manufacturers used as a way to game the system by not focusing on ICE efficency, hybridization, transitioning to electric sooner.
This is the same reason sedans have gotten larger or disappeared in favor of “cross-overs”.
Add comment