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It might surprise you that the overwhelming majority who buy trucks do so because they work a blue collar occupation such as construction, electrician, etc. not

It might surprise you that the overwhelming majority who buy trucks do so because they work a blue collar occupation such as construction, electrician, etc. not because they want to "roll coal" on your overpriced Tesla. These folks generally don't have a 500k/year WFH FAANG gig and yes filling up your truck so you can work makes the difference in how much food you can put on the table. "Let them drive EVs" has turned into a modern day SV version of the Marie Antoinette (mis)quote. Where do you suppose they plug these EVs in at the jobsite? The elephant in the room that no one addresses being the complete lack of EV infrastructure.

squintychino 5y ago
I'd really like to see some statistics on this. The majority of people that I see driving around in trucks have bed covers on them, which leads me to believe they're not being used for their intended purpose. They seem to be more status symbol rather than utilitarian.
duped 5y ago
I do not believe this anecdote. The top selling vehicles each year are full size pickup trucks, last year alone they accounted for 10% of sales (1). The F series has been America's most popular car for 40 years (2). Are they really being bought in the "overwhelming" majority by trades people? The numbers suggest they're just popular cars. Americans are in love with pickup trucks, it's an entire subculture. And at least where I live, which has some nasty weather conditions, the trades people I've worked with over the last few years all drive vans. Landscapers and garbage pickers are some of the exceptions. (1) https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/pickup-trucks-dominate-americas-10-best-selling-vehicles-of-2020.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/pickup-trucks-dominate-ameri.... (2) https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/ford-pickup-remains-americas-top-selling-truck-for-45th-year.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/ford-pickup-remains-americas...
bsder 5y ago
> It might surprise you that the overwhelming majority who buy trucks do so because they work a blue collar occupation And yet so many new trucks have a single driver hauling a trailer with stuff while the bed is empty because the bed is too short to carry anything useful. The extra cab area, of course, isn't useful because there's only one person. The bed area isn't useful because the cab area has shortened the bed. So, that driver has to expend the space and weight for a trailer because he bought a truck that isn't useful as a damn truck.

squintychino 5y ago

I'd really like to see some statistics on this. The majority of people that I see driving around in trucks have bed covers on them, which leads me to believe they're not being used for their intended purpose. They seem to be more status symbol rather than utilitarian.

duped 5y ago

I do not believe this anecdote. The top selling vehicles each year are full size pickup trucks, last year alone they accounted for 10% of sales (1). The F series has been America's most popular car for 40 years (2). Are they really being bought in the "overwhelming" majority by trades people? The numbers suggest they're just popular cars. Americans are in love with pickup trucks, it's an entire subculture. And at least where I live, which has some nasty weather conditions, the trades people I've worked with over the last few years all drive vans. Landscapers and garbage pickers are some of the exceptions. (1) https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/pickup-trucks-dominate-americas-10-best-selling-vehicles-of-2020.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/pickup-trucks-dominate-ameri.... (2) https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/ford-pickup-remains-americas-top-selling-truck-for-45th-year.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/ford-pickup-remains-americas...

bsder 5y ago

> It might surprise you that the overwhelming majority who buy trucks do so because they work a blue collar occupation And yet so many new trucks have a single driver hauling a trailer with stuff while the bed is empty because the bed is too short to carry anything useful. The extra cab area, of course, isn't useful because there's only one person. The bed area isn't useful because the cab area has shortened the bed. So, that driver has to expend the space and weight for a trailer because he bought a truck that isn't useful as a damn truck.