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In the top 10 list, the WRX is the standout. People who buy a WRX are racer/rally types, and they're going to be "enjoying" their car drunk or not. Drunk just

• BoorishBears 5y ago
  What on earth is this comment lol. It sounds like you're trying look down on blue collar workers... Because the majority of cars you didn't mention are workhorse trucks, and if you drive drunk then of course you make bad life decisions. Why would WRX and Audi drivers be excluded?
  • dzhiurgis 5y ago
    Let's not pretend alcohol and drug abuse isn't a thing among hard workers.
    • BoorishBears 5y ago
      Except that's not what they said, they said these are people who generally make poor life decisions...
      • itsoktocry 5y ago
        >The rest of the cars are people who already demonstrate poor choices in life. DUI is just one more. Please tell me what the charitable interpretation of this is. How does owning a truck imply you make poor life decisions, but an Audi doesn't? I mean, at least a truck has some practical uses, while an Audi does nothing a car half the price doesn't. What's even better is that this is just a garbage, clickbait "article" drawing silly conclusions and people use it to attack blue collar workers. Look at some of these comments. So strange.
        • dzhiurgis 5y ago
          I mean people can own whatever they wan't or like or afford. So we are free to have our opinions whether those products fit them or are just for shallow posturing.
          • blunte 5y ago
            That's the thing. This is about human behavior. Why are these vehicles in the top 10 of DUIs? Do they represent the top 10 most sold vehicles (not entirely)? Even if they represent the top 10 most sold, what if the shift in behaviors is one toward bad choices? Gun sales began increasing in 2003 and spiked in 2020 (and were only a bit less in 2021). This suggests a general behavior. Do we accept a general behavior to be ok because it's general? I say this not to specifically tie guns to trucks, although it is a very common association. My point is that poor choices can be a representation of... poor choices, regardless of the outcome. More trucks. More DUI? More guns?
        • blunte 5y ago
          A truck takes more space, uses more fuel, wears brakes faster (due to weight), turns worse, accelerates worse, brakes worse, etc. It underperforms compared to the A4 in every measure except for two things: it can haul a LOT more, and it can tow a LOT more. If you need to haul a lot or tow a low, then a truck is the obvious choice. If not, then a non-truck is much smarter. Most drivers do not need a truck. For trucks to rank so highly in sales (and in DUIs) suggests that a lot of people make bad choices. Driving drunk is just one more bad choice.
  • 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
    In Sydney I've seen utes and SUVs become more popular because of the image they project I suppose. There is one ute owner in my building with a pristine vehicle. I know another person that went from a Mercedes hatch to a ute. I imagine the US also has the same phenomenon of people picking cars to project an image and not to actually use. Are trucks the in thing now? Can this list simply correlate to the current fashion?
    • BoorishBears 5y ago
      Trucks are in but not like these S10 is in for example, as a workhorse. It also hasn't produced since 2004, so it's not a show off purchase. F150 is an example of in as a more showy-off purchase (but also gets used as a workhorse by some)
    • crooked-v 5y ago
      Trucks have been the "in" thing among certain demographics in the US for a long time. More recent is the continual size inflation of them. Trucks that are considered "tiny" now by US standards were the standard size for a personal truck two decades ago, and "normal" trucks now in the US are absurdly large and tall [1]. [1]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-11/the-dangerous-rise-of-the-supersized-pickup-truck https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-11/the-dange...
      • itsoktocry 5y ago
        What do you mean by "certain demographics"? American built trucks are literally ranked 1, 2, 3 of best-selling vehicles in the country. So, can you please expand on what "types" of people are buying and driving these vehicles? Because it seems to me they are incredibly popular.
        • blunte 5y ago
          Well, the US in general has become a "certain demographic". And by that, I mean "less thinking, more led by television advertising and social competition". Unless you're hauling stuff or towing stuff, a truck is impractical. It takes more physical space, uses more fuel, weighs more (and thus wears brakes and tires faster, turns more poorly, accelerates more poorly, brakes more poorly), and increasingly costs more. But it projects an image: You are tough. You belong. You are a man. You are patriotic. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a Rivian. But a Dodge truck is loud, fuel inefficent, unreliable, and aesthetically crude. In October 2021, Ford trucks were the most sold vehicles in the US. By the end of the year, Dodge actually surpassed that with the RAM. Prior to 2021 it was much more a Ford dominance. So why is there no Ford truck in the top 10? It would appear that people who buy Dodge vehicles make poorer choices regarding driving drunk, or perhaps they're just worse drivers and get caught more than drunk Ford drivers do.
  • blunte 5y ago
    Nothing at all against blue collar. It's a matter of reasons for choices. If you're blue collar, does that suggest you cannot discern between utility vs emotional appeal? Ford sells TONS more truck than Dodge. Why does Dodge have more DUIs? WRX cars are visceral creatures that beg to be spanked. They _want_ you to tear around the roads with them. That's what they are made for (well, not so much lately as they've gone soft). Audis are urban wannabe racers, so it's somewhat likely that their owners will still feel a need to race a bit. But without a doubt, nobody accidentally buys a WRX. There's no use case for a WRX other than playing on the roads. So a WRX driver will be screwing around with or without drinking. They will get pulled over a lot. Sometimes, occsionally maybe, they will have been drinking. Thus, they will show up as frequent DUI.
• namecheap435 5y ago
• itslennysfault 5y ago
  It's interesting that it's such specific cars. My second car was a Ford Contour and it's "fine", but also not the cheapest ford car. There was the Escort and the Fiesta in the same time period. Then, for a bit more was the Taurus. A Dodge Ram 2500 is more expensive than a 1500 not to mention the smaller trucks like the Ford Ranger. Point being these aren't just the cheapest cars. I think there is more going on here. It's a very odd list tbh.
  • blunte 5y ago
    I don't recall if the article mentioned years, but I don't think Ford has produced the Contour for many years now. If so, and if the DUI topic is recent, then it suggests well-used (old) Contours. Maybe it's people without a lot of money. Maybe they hate their car so much that they are driven to drink (sorry for the pun ;) ).
  • lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Maybe buying a Dodge (or any Stellantis brand) is a predictor of poor decision making skills?
    • blunte 5y ago
      I tried really hard to not come right out and say that, but yeah. Basically yeah. There is virtually no analysis of options which could lead to "Dodge" unless it was some rare ridiculoudly cheap offering. There may be an occasional Dodge model which miraculously isn't garbage and doesn't break all the time, but if one is limited to US brands it's more likely that a Ford or Chevy will be more reliable, equally or more fuel efficient, and no more unsubtle or flimsy inside than a Dodge.
  • notacoward 5y ago
    A lot of these seem like "second rung" vehicles. "All my friends have X, so I'll get X+1" might be the prevailing dynamic.
• amanzi 5y ago
  Yeah, it's all too easy to draw wrong conclusions from this data. Based on your opinions, you could argue that WRX drivers are more likely to drink while driving, or, you could argue that WRX drivers are more likely to be pulled over because police target those cars more often. I'm not American so have no idea why the Dodge RAM is so high - are RAM drivers more likely to drink? Is it because RAM is more common in certain communities? The Chevrolet S Truck is up there too - possibly for the same reasons as the RAM? Are these trucks really common? Are any of these numbers rated based on overall sales numbers?
  • kube-system 5y ago
    The RAM is a lower priced full-size truck compared to the competition and the S10 and Dakota are probably the cheapest used trucks you can buy. Someone who wants/needs a truck but highly prioritizes price would likely buy one of those models.
    • blunte 5y ago
      From my observation living in Texas for 35 years, _most_ people who buy trucks don't need them. They are buying for the same reason people by Harley Davidson bikes - not because they are the best vehicle for the job, but because they need to compensate for something. Dodge has a repuation for being the "toughest" and "boldest". It's not necessarily earned, as Ford trucks have done far more real work than Dodge trucks. But Dodge has Viper and Hellcat and SRT and other nonsense which is loud and obnoxious (and I do admit to some appreciation of their willingness to try wild stuff and actually pull it off). Honestly, most people don't put a lot of thought and research into vehicle purchase (or any other life) choices. They don't make spreadsheets to compare options, weighting and scoring attributes. They watch TV, and the car ads (which comprise about 1/3 of all ads) lead them to their chocies.
      • rudedogg 5y ago
        > not because they are the best vehicle for the job, but because they need to compensate for something. If you own a home it's pretty reasonable to own a truck IMO. You can pay someone to do the work that requires a truck for you. And for most people it's probably cheaper to do that. But if you're interested in doing your own projects then having a truck can be worth it.
• atty 5y ago
  I don’t understand. Are you suggesting “enjoying” your car while under the influence is not a terrible life decision? And are you equating manual labor (many of whom will purchase pickup trucks for their job) with poor life choices? Seems awfully classist, even with the most charitable interpretation.
  • psyc 5y ago
    But you didn't give the most charitable interpretation. You inferred an extremely uncharitable one, placing words in GP's mouth.
  • blunte 5y ago
    There's absolutely nothing wrong with manual labor. And if you do manual labor, a truck might just be the best choice. Dodge has a reputation for being bold -- the kind of bold like the guy who wants to prove himself to his buddies (and misguidedly for the ladies) by breaking his beer bottle over the head of another guy at the bar. It's not classist just as many stereotypes are statistically accurate, even if they don't represent all cases.
• analyst74 5y ago
  Isn't it also possible that someone who drives a low key car can drink and drive under the radar? I was told once that if I want to look fast, drive red, if I actually want to go fast without being caught, drive black.
  • Gibbon1 5y ago
    I owned a tan minivan once. Cops would look right through it.
• dzhiurgis 5y ago
  Up here trucks are popular among construction workers where alcohol is too.
  • blunte 5y ago
    Construction is fine, and drinking is fine (maybe). But do the Ford truck drivers DUI as often?
• itsoktocry 5y ago
  >The rest of the cars, possibly excluding the Audi (which could be the urban WRX... maybe) represent people who generally make bad life choices Pickup trucks represent bad life choices, but the Audi doesn't huh? Just...wow.
  • blunte 5y ago
    Unless you need to haul big stuff or tow stuff, a pickup truck is a wasteful choice. An Audi A4 is a practical 4-door town vehicle. It may be boring, but it's well made and comparatively efficient. Nobody buys an A4 because they need to make up for feeling like a small person inside, but many truck owners buy their vehicles out of a need to show they are "not a pussy". It's a very cultural problem in the US, particularly rural areas.
    • itsoktocry 5y ago
      >Nobody buys an A4 because they need to make up for feeling like a small person inside Why don't they spend half the money on a Honda if they aren't trying to "make up" for something? An A4 is a "premium" car. You seem to be able to tell a lot about a person based on their vehicle. What do you drive?
      • blunte 5y ago
        Some must be buying the Hondas, because they sell a lot. But the A4 has more of a feeling of performance, so its buyers might be more inclined to drive it aggressively. Ignoring the performance-style Civics, Hondas don't typically induce crazy driving. An A4 is perhaps more likely to. Nobody suggests that premium car drivers don't make bad choices. If I drove a Ferrari, I would get arrested all the time. Maybe once in a while it would be a DUI; but it would likely happen regardless of whether I had been drinking or not. I've owned many cars (10) and driven many more (30+?). My bad behavior vehicle was a Honda CRX when I was young, and my favorite was a Lexus LS430 which I mostly drove under the speed limit. But every vehicle I owned reached it max speed at least once. Most of them did weekly... even my Honda Odyssey minivan. The funny thing about driving is, when you make a mistake, you're more likely to be noticed. And if your vehicle is less capable, you're more likely to make a mistake. Just look at the incidences of Dodge Viper owners who looped their cars (often merely entering a freeway via a curved onramp). To put this into HN terms, Dodge vehicles are like C++. They require extra care to use properly. They can cause you grief from small mistakes, and they can allow you to full on shoot yourself in the foot because of their power. Granted, Dodge trucks aren't especially powerful, but relatively big engines with light rear ends can still cause problems if you're screwing around, especially if you're drunk.
• anthony_d 5y ago
  That’s a pretty intense level of elitism/stereotyping you’ve got there. You’re really saying reasonably priced pickups demonstrate poor life choices? A Hellcat or Range Rover would be a perfectly reasonable choice? How about you just spell out clearly what you have against pickups?