They say everything is bigger in Texas, but at the end of the day, everything is just bigger in America.
A TikTok video from transportation expert molesrcool (@molesrcool) highlights the striking differences between two comparable trucks – one made in Japan, the other in the US – and shows how much unnecessary space the trucks take up in the US.
@molesrcool It’s embarrassing, not bragging, to have a full-size pickup truck that you don’t actually need. A light truck on the other hand gives you 95% of the utility in a much smaller package. #truck #f150 #pavementprincess #greenscreen ♬ Twin Peaks Main Theme (from “Twin Peaks”) – Geek Music
““These two trucks have the same bed length,” he explained, showing an illustration of a Japanese Subaru Sambar (a compact style known as a light truck) and an American Ford F150. “The entire Subaru basically fits into the blind spot of an F150, but the bed is 90 percent of that length. So why do people in the U.S. feel like they need a giant pickup truck?”
“The answer, of course, is that they don’t really need huge trucks.”
He went on to break down some statistics from a survey of F150 owners, which showed that only 28% of F150 owners frequently haul loads and only 7% frequently use their truck for towing.
For either purpose, “a small truck or even a small car would be sufficient,” he explained. One commenter agreed, saying, “For construction work and the like, a van is much better than a pickup truck.”
Given these facts, the video creators point out that it’s surprising that so many Americans don’t opt for smaller, more affordable, and more fuel-efficient pickup trucks. “We have an epidemic of car addiction in America, and an even worse addiction to trucks and big SUVs. Not only are we dependent on cars, we’re dependent on cars that are much bigger than we actually need,” they explain.
Much of this is down to infrastructure and an over-reliance on cars: According to data shared by molesrcool, Americans are much more car-dependent (92%) than the rest of the world, where people tend to bike or walk more (around 30%).
Commenters agreed: “Honestly, it pisses me off that the auto and oil companies have been manipulating our country’s infrastructure,” one person wrote. “The amount of space parking takes up in America is insane,” another wrote.
“Paying for parking is one of the most egregious things in our society,” one person lamented.
In another video, molesrcool demonstrates that giant lifted trucks have blind spots so huge they can obscure the entire vehicle, meaning these vehicles are not only inefficient and polluting, but also pose a danger to non-truck drivers on the road.
Sign up for our free newsletter Cool News and Practical Information It’s easy Please eat it. While helping the planet.
