No words

Here in Alberta, young men hatch out of their eggs with a mullet on their head and the keys to a Ram in their hand. It's basically a social pressure at this point.

If anybody wants to come burn mine...

Are red & blue lines under the pic are the calibrated references, whilst the car pics are not?

The shift to these ridiculously large trucks is partially consequent of the poorly-implemented Obama fuel economy regulations. The regulations were determined by wheelbase and tread width, which disincentivized manufacturers from making mid- or small-sized trucks. The bigger they made them, the less restricted they were by fuel economy. Larger vehicles also ease constraints on engineers; they don't have to struggle fitting a lot into a small body. Once large trucks became the default offering, they morphed into the annoying cultural "status" symbol we know today.

Anyway I have a Miata MX-5 and I love my tiny car.

The CAFE act caused most of these changes and was signed by Clinton in the early '90s. Obama may have made things worse, but the roots of the problem go back much further
- CAFE standards date to 1975
Long before that though, back when SUVs became popular because they were trucks and didn't have to obey sedan fuel economy. This was back in the late 90s
I also love your tiny car, even when I see one from behind the wheel of my slightly less tiny Civic, which I adore.

🎵 12 yards long, 2 lanes wide 🎵

65 tonnes of American pride!

Baby, I may have micropenis, but my monster truck will vibrate enough to make you orgasm!!!
\ Some time later, the woman breaks up with the dude and starts a relationship with the truck

Don't forget the spousal abuse

i just want a 97 Tacoma again

That was two words.

Thanks Obama

But I need my insanely large blacked out, lifted, with black rims, f-250. I have to get 3 bags of groceries.

Of course off-road capabilities are required. How else would I drive on nicely paved suburban roads?
- Guess what destroys offroad performance though?
  An insanely long wheelbase coupled with a top heavy design....
- Just always gotta be prepared for the one day a year snow stays on the ground. Even in June.

I was in Rome last week and pleasantly surprised to see how many tiny cars they use.

There were plenty of Smart cars, but also many other ultra minis like Citroën AMI, XEV Yo-Yo and Renault Twizy.

They're not just concept cars or used as gimmicks like elsewhere. People actually use them for their daily business.

The traffic in Rome is insane though. The reason they use tiny cars isn't that the roads are small, but due to congestion and parking. It makes very little sense to own a car there at all.

Yep my uncle's work van in the UK was as small as my Honda Fit. Just two barebones front seats and an empty cargo space.
It makes sense for Rome though, these cars are expensive and appeal to the fashion sensibilities of the population there, rather than just using the good public transport there. It's a signal of wealth, rather than an actual functional commodity.
I found this out the hard way the last time I expressed my love of the AMI
i live in malta and got an xev yoyo amonths ago today. It's my daily driver.
I mean why would that not be so? I no longer own a car but when I did, it was usually oversized for what I needed to transport (me and my backpack).
- I have a small 3-door Corsa and it is oversized for my cargo :D (me and you guessed it, my backpack lol)

I mean these are also two different types of cars. But it is actually so weird to see even two cars of the same type made in different times next to each other. It’s like somebody messed with the scale slider in the level editor. It’s uncanny.

- I don't want to defend the overly supersized truck too much, but I do want to point out that even these are two different class of vehicles. Sure, you can cram 4 smallish people into that old Ford Ranger, but nobody is going to be comfortable or happy about it. Also, that small ranger has far less cargo and towing capacity.
  Of course, a good chunk of truck owners do not need that much capacity and big trucks are just a toy/status symbol to them. Which is stupid. But there are use cases where those trucks are actually needed, and a small Ford Ranger won't cut it.
  That said, I do wish we could get more small pickup trucks again. The maverick is a good start.
- in australia, i make sure to kick and dent every yank tank i see parked. its not often - we have more of the smaller pickups (though we call them utes)

I'll just leave this here. Took this shot of my car a few years ago.

I'll add to this too, taken a while ago of my old car in an Australian shopping mall, and Nissan Patrols aren't even the most egregious here.
Ugh, that reminds me - just a few weeks ago, I ended up next to this monstrosity:
- perfect working height for unscrewing part of the diff
- With it being that high up off the ground, using the truck bed for any actual purpose is going to be difficult, unless you have an actual semitruck loading bay in your back yard.
Why does it remind me of this two
- these*
I like your car
- Thanks!
It literally looks like you could just drive under that fucking monstrosity lmao
- the upsetting part is that the body would fit under and the windscreen and above - the fragile parts - would get hit by the bulk of the truck… cars are made to crumple on their noses etc - nasty gore scenes ensue
- It's a temptation every Miata owner faces.
- just wait for the cars to get even bigger and you can just cut through traffic by driving under them

If you need to explain to Trump why many american cars do not sell well in Europe just show him this image. Chances that he'll get it is higher than zero at least.

I cannot imaging driving around this hulk of a car all day. How would I even find parking space?

I think looking for a parking space in what is, effectively, a lorry - is a bit of a waste of energy. It will only fit into >=4 spots anyway, might as well just stop wherever you need. You'll be a hated by everyone anyway.
Not taking a piss - are they legal in EU to drive on a B cat license?

I miss mini-trucks. Compact size cab with full size bed, engine from a sedan and 4wd. Good economy, much cheaper, great utility, better handling, less dead children, and a lot more fun out on the trails.

~~Caustic masculinity~~ fear of smol pp ruins everything.

I used to work with a guy who had a Tachoma that he loved and he only used it for offroading. He kept a pair of spare axles in the bed to swap out on the trail if he snapped one.
I strongly agree. One thing to add to your list: easily being able to lift things in and out of the bed, even from the side.
It's just marketing. Australia shares a lot of American culture and we still have car based utes, though larger vehicles are also becoming popular here
- The amount of times I've looked at the Aussie and Japanese markets and just sat jealous...
Never knew we were body-shaming people & yet here we are.
Speaking of Mini-Trucks, I actually see them in use in my area a lot (usually the 3-wheeled variety)
- Pp size matters not, big truck people are still afraid.

Emotional support truck vs. Sports car

I mean, a Miata is a good car, but a hatchback seats a family and gets the groceries.

Hatchback gang rise up
(2019 Bolt EV)
I traded my minivan in for a civic hatchback. It easily does 99.99% of what I need a vehicle to do. For that last 0.01% of the time I rent a truck for $50. I save money and my car fits in the garage.
- Exactly! I live in the suburbs, where every driveway seems to have a massive full size truck (because they barely fit in the garage)--and also, where I am 15 minutes away from at least 3 places where you can rent a pickup for like 5% of the monthly payment on one of those beasts.

I'd much rather drive the Miata. There's a reason that when I was forced to purchase a car after almost 20 years without one, I opted for a Miini Cooper. Sure, they're cute, but I was ecstatic to look it up and find it was only about an inch larger than my first car, a 1983 Renault Alliance MT.

Small cars rule.

Smart car here :-D
I miss my mini. With the rear seats folded down, it had a surprising amount of cargo capacity.

The big one should not be legal.

The big one is a work truck and should not be driven as a commuter. It really shouldn't be allowed on roads where cargo trucks aren't allowed.
- Even as a work truck it's comically large. You can get the same amount of cargo space in a far smaller vehicle, this one's only advantage would be the sheer horsepower which you only need for very specific work.
- It should require a CDL

Say it with me folks!

Miata
\ Is
\ Always
\ The
\ Answer!

except for the one I saw today with the wheels tilted so only the inner edge of the tire touches the ground
- No no, Miata is always the answer. Clearly, Miata is in that case answering the question “how do I look like a bellend without spending too much money, and clearly communicate that while I understand mechanics, I probably shouldn’t”.
- I would consider anything “slammed” no longer viable as a vehicle since they can’t clear a speed bump. I don’t even think they should be road legal because your reaction distance dramatically increases with those setups.

I get the argument, but it's pretty obviously disingenuous.

The 250 is much less common than the 150. There are admittedly plenty of them. The 250 is bigger in every dimension.

And even my WRX towers over a Miata.

I just think Miata to 250 is a pointless comparison. And I say that agreeing that Miatas are fun and that the 250 (and even the 150) are way, way too big. I have a buddy with a 150, and it's filled with his tools and lumber every day. I'd argue the 250 is totally unnecessary for 90% of trades, and I specify trades because your average Joe certainly doesn't need one period.

One way that your WRX and a Miata do favorably compare is bumper hight. If a collision the safety features built i to both cars would be fully engaged. In OPs example the truck would just roll up on top of the car bypassing pretty much everything.
- So I do think even the stock F series trucks have to meet bumper height requirements. A whole separate issue are people raising their shitty truck without making adjustments to the bumpers. We see trucks and tractor trailers with Mansfield bars, yet Joe Schmo with his jacked up pavement princess does what he wants, and doesn't even have a million dollar policy to at least remunerate the family of whomever he kills.
The 150 ist just as stupid a car as the 250. If your buddy really needed a car to carry tools and lumber around, he'd drive something like this:
But that doesn't help curing fragile masculinity. One of these cars is big enough for a family of nine and their luggage. The other one isn't even big enough for one man and his ego:
- I have a grand caravan I use for hauling shit around.
  I can lay 8 sheets of 1/2" 4 foot by 8 foot drywall in that van.
  How many can you lay flat in a 250? ZERO!
- This "just buy a van" crap really needs to stop. There are plenty of reasons specifically to get a pickup truck. The F250 isn't even sold to customers without a commercial account with Ford. Work vans and trucks are often made on exactly the same platform with a different shell put over it. The van will tend to have worse gas mileage due to the frontal cross section usually being higher (they ride a bit lower while having a same or higher ceiling height).
  The problem is really the F150 and similar. It's still gigantic, it's sold to whomever can apply for an 8 year/25% interest rate loan, and is rarely used for anything like actual work. The diesel version was also discontinued, which pushes some people--the type who do actual work with it--to either buy the F250 or find a somewhat older F150 model.
  It is outright impossible to buy a small truck in the US. I know guys who do real work with it and they aren't happy having to buy a big machine. No, not the Maverick. That's "well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it" but for trucks.
- Ha, he had a rape van prior to the F150. He thinks the access in the 150 is better, and who am I to judge, because I don't live it day in and day out, so I'll defer to him.
I ran into a guy driving a F650 as his daily commuter when he was going for coffee at Starbucks. He made sure to tell every person behind the counter how great of a vehicle it was.
He had to jockey it to get into the parking lot.
While the F250 is less common than the F150 we're still faced with a plague of oversized, dangerous, and ecological driving disasters on our roads.
The 250 (rather 3/4T trucks in general) have limited consumer purpose, outside of towing large campers or car haulers. It's also the smallest class that is recommended for gooseneck/5th wheel towing.
Commercially, there are more applications for it like hauling fluids, or as a snow plow, as well as the same towing arguments for consumer use. However, once you get into that stuff, you'll find a 3/4T lacking, which is why you'll see more 1T (350/3500) commercial trucks. They really are a bit of a silly 'in between' size.
For trades however, I would argue that any standard pickup truck is not the appropriate tool, vans are far more suitable for their use. Large "indoor" storage, tall enough to walk upright in, low to the ground so easy to enter/exit with tools, and they can be outfitted to store stuff on the walls.
I had my windows replaced a few years ago, and the work crew rolled up in a cube van, and inside it was set up basically as a woodworking shop, pretty much ready to go. They didn't have to unload tools, set up tables, etc., just un-fasten some safety clamps, plug in an extension cord, and off they went. Maybe 15 minutes from parking to starting work, and that's including taking some time to chit-chat with me.
- I appreciate that insight, as I have very little of my own. My buddy is kind of a jack of all trades, framing one day, sheetrock one day, finishing the next. I think he likes the idea of unloading the bed easily, moving from one site to the next. I seem to recall his complaint about the van being associated with needing to kinda rejig it depending on the tasks he was performing, and if he had one of those days where he's visiting multiple sites, doing multiple jobs, the truck was just easier. But that's my faulty memory and zero experience.
  All I have is having driven ambulances. I started back on the van conversions, older F350s. The boxes were squat only, no standing room. I left for about 10 years, roughly, and upon my return the ambulances were now F450 Super Duties. Absolutely massive, couldn't stand it. I'm a good driver, I'll toot my own horn, but I'd ride with a bunch of people who just could not navigate the big rigs into tight driveways, but there was this desire for size, and so we had what we had. I won't lie, they were comfortable, all air ride equipped. But they were big, and adults could get lost in front of them. They did have all around cameras, but it's crazy to rely on them.
  Since my departure (two young kids and my own business is hard to find time to volunteer at the moment), they've gone the way of the Sprinter-type vans, which I can appreciate. I'm sure there were some sacrifices, but I also feel like 90% of the equipment we carried was hardly used. We're also in suburban New Jersey, so it's not like we're responding to places and being the only ones on scene, so someone else will show up with the gear that I'm sure they did away with.
  In sum, big truck (generally) unnecessary.
They don't even have my 2003 wrx to compare against. But it's not much bigger. The WRX has gotten huge along with most of Subarus over the same time period since the Miata came out.
My Toyota is damn near identical though.https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/mazda-mx-5-1989-roadster-vs-toyota-mr2-1999-roadster/
- I had a buddy who had a gen 1 or 2 MR2 (been so long), and that car was a lot of fun, but holy snap oversteer, very unforgiving. But hey that made it more fun, right? I preferred the predictable oversteer of my nismo 350z. I miss that car. But neither the MR2 nor the 350 are great when I have two little people to put in the back, and all of their stuff.
  I had a 2013 WRX after the Nismo, and it was definitely smaller than the 2024, but my 2024 WRX is smaller than my 2018 Legacy was, that was a boat.
  And I had a '99 Legacy before, and that car was fantastic. It had ground clearance, I took it offroad to places it absolutely didnt belong. Lots of fun. And very well equipped for it's time. RIP.
Completely agree with this. It would be interesting (and more valuable) to see the difference between mean or average car size over the years. Especially since (in Europe at least), there has been a rapid increase in SUVs, and, I am guessing, a decline in compact cars.
I thought my Veloster was pretty small... but it looks fat next to the Miata

now a chart of how many kids each of these has killed in an accident

"It's the only thing that makes me feel significant in a society that I struggle to understand" - Large truck owners (if they were literate)

I've tried to get in a Miata once. Had to put the top down and my eye level was over the windshield.

“Everyone needs to drive a vehicle, even the very tall.”
I'm 6'4" and fit in my 19 just fine, I have MAYBE an inch of head room left with the top up. Now the solstice I tried to get on? No fucking way. Was it an NA?
Edit: sweet reference on the handle.
- I'm 6', but I have a comparatively long torso, so I generally have the seat set as low as possible in a sedan to be at a comfortable height, and even then, my head nearly touches the ceiling. Life before height-adjustable seats was interesting.
- Are we still doing phrasing?
6'2 and owned a smart for years.
- 6'2 and I lay down and sleep in my smart during my lunch break.
My problem is usually width. Most vehicles aren't built for anyone physically wider than average (while yes, i am also overweight, id still have this problem no matter what). Some office chairs give me hip pain, and most armrests can't be adjusted out far enough to not be digging into my ribs.
There's also just nowhere for my left leg to comfortably go in an automatic, at least with a manual i had the clutch to keep that leg moving.
I'm 6'4" and have driven tons of cars and owned a few. Stepping into a proper pickup was the first time I thought "oh, a vehicle designed for me." I'm also a carpenter, so it is essential to my work. Memes like this are low hanging fruit.
Yes, we do have a size problem in the USA. Is everyone that drives one of these trucks a selfish, tiny-dicked, backwards-thinking asshole? No, and honestly, the majority of the people that I know are like me and need a work vehicle like this. More than half of them are in a union. We can point out the absurdity of the size wars when it comes to American vehicle design, but stop picking on pickup trucks.
- I'm 6'4" as well and I fit in just about everything that's not clearly a compact car. I fit fairly well in Honda and Toyota sedans, and drove a Civic until 2018, when I bought a Tesla Model 3. That was okay, I fit but it's low, too low for my tall legs really getting in and out Traded that in recently and got a Polestar 3, which is a larger SUV.
  Big work vehicles aren't the issue, as long as they're used for that purpose, it's the pavement princesses that are the problem. The ones that rarely or possibly even have never seen a day or work. They're all over the place.
  There are a lot of owners of these pickups that use them as their primary vehicle and grocery getter. Then they try to justify needing the truck because of the two days a year they actually use the bed to bring something back from Home Depot or towing a trailer. Both of which have daily alternatives available either through a rental company or from the store itself.
- I'm 6'4 and easily fit in my mx-5. And you know for a fact at least 90% of those trucks are grocery getters "because I like to drive up high, it makes me feel safer, and more of a shitbag"
- Plenty of tall people drive small cars. Can't you just use a smaller truck?
- Amen.

I live this image on the daily, in a Midwestern hell full of giant trucks. Probably 5% of those people also have lift kits, and far too many people have modified them to roll coal.

Back when I had my WRX, I had my infant son in the car. I get on the on ramp and enter the highway. Some asshole in the next lane decides to fuck with the little Subaru and blast thick black smoke all over the highway, so I gun it to get through and past and he does as well. I see the passenger sticking his dumb cunt fucking face out of the window and snickering and I just reacted and as I was flying past I whip and empty frappucino bottle at him, dude caught it with his forehead and I was gone.

I later regretted not just taking the license plate and just calling the cops but then... Hopefully that started a fight between the two.

Hopefully you don't do this with your kids in the car anymore.
- Not like that, no.
  Edit: but I haven't encountered a situation that blatantly thoughtless and cuntish since then, either.

Checkmate

I have a '73 Porsche 914 I restored. Same size as a Miata. Better mileage, too. I've owned one new car in my life. I'll never buy another.

the "i don't need a big car, my dick is big enough" bumper sticker needs to make a comeback.

Because body shaming is the best retort we have?
- Yeah fuck 'em. The venn diagram between those drivers and MAGA snowflakes is almost a circle. Shaming the one thing they hold dear to their mental stability is the least I can do to fascists.

Thought I had stumbled into a vore / feeder comm for a moment.

Geez, how much compensating do they need?!? Is it that bad? Like, button-mushroom size?

Can you put a Beetle or Smart onto the back of the cancer?

Up to this day they correct their street name to be Little Richard.

I'm pretty sure the scales are different. Look at the door handles: regardless of the size of the vehicle, anything that interact with human beings should be roughly the same scale and the door handles just aren't.

Not to say that American trucks aren't ridiculously oversized of course, but that photo looks doctored to me.

Miata door handles are built for a finger or fingers and not a whole hand. The scale is correct.
- Well, I'm an avid cyclist and left the US 25 years ago, and if that's really the kind of behemoth that roams the streets in the US today, I'm glad I did.
Based on measuring the images, they seem about right. The F-250 is the full width of the image (1,002 px). The MX-5 is 605 px, so just over 60% of the length of the F-250. If we do the same maths with the lengths provided in the image (6.35 m and 3.95 m) we get 62%. If the scale is wrong it's by a pretty negligible amount
Regarding the door handles, the MX-5's door handles aren't made for hands. Their hinge is parallel to the actual door hinge and they're made to be used with one finger instead of a whole hand, so while you were right to notice the difference it's actually because the MX-5's door handles really are very unusually small
You can check it yourself here
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/mazda-mx-5-1989-roadster-vs-ford-f-250-2023-4-door-pickup-crew-cab/
And compared to my current car
Size seems accurate.
Nope, most of these trucks hoods are taller than my Velosters roof. Driving is fkn scarry these days.
The whole point of that site is to compare sizes of cars. Plug in whatever you want to compare: https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/mazda-mx-5-1989-roadster-vs-ford-f-250-2023-4-door-pickup-crew-cab/
- Can't believe I had to scroll to the bottom to find a link, and it's not even a top level comment...
  Thank you for this. Gonna compare my 350Z Roadster to a NA Miata. (edit: Never mind lol, it's not even on the website. They have the 370Z, though...)

Fuck you, Ford!!

The Miata sold well because it was cheaper than an Alpha Romero. Unfortunately, everyone came to realize it would be in the shop exactly as often, practically negating any benefit.

Funny that, with the exception of the first two model year Miatas needing an updated crank pulley, when you drive it like a normal person, they're one of the most reliable cars out there, with the fewest problems.
Now Alfa Romeo, they're great cars to drive, but... well, you're not truly an auto enthusiat until you've daily'ed an Alfa and suffered through all the problems and failures, to have that brief moment of perfection when driving.
In what world? The Miata is ridiculously reliable until you start ignorantly modifying it.
- Well, I live on earth. I can’t speak to whatever planet you’re from.