Report Warns Trucks Are Getting Bigger, Becoming Dangerous

Sulu

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Today’s full-size pickup trucks are larger and heavier than ever, towering over the other vehicles on the road. The big brutes may draw in customers looking for safety and utility, but the expansive sheet metal, tall hoods and ride heights, and scale-crushing curb weights pose a danger to others, according to a new Consumer Reports story.

The styling of the new Tundra, if the speculative renderings are correct, certainly matches the current styling trend of super-high hood lines.

There are a number of new (light-duty) pickup trucks in my neighbourhood. They are huge and definitely larger than older models. Sitting in front of some of the smaller houses, they almost seem to be larger than those houses.

Consumer Reports also discovered that several pickups fail to offer technology like automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection as standard equipment, which has been shown to help prevent frontover collisions and reduce injuries. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon don’t offer such technology, while Ford makes AEB with pedestrian detection as standard equipment across the F-150’s lineup. Only Ford, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota offer the tech as standard. General Motors and Stellantis told the publication that their trucks would have at least automatic emergency braking by 2022.

One thing not mentioned is that the larger and boxier styling has a negative effect on fuel economy. Any improvement in fuel economy from the latest ICE technology is going to be negated by the larger size and greater weight.
 
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mmcartalk

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I found it funny Ford says the Maverick is a small truck and it’s 200 inches long the size of a LX lol

The truth is that it is not a truck at all...at least in any conventional sense. Like the Hyundai Santa Cruz and former Subaru Baja, it is a unibody crossover with small bed.
 

mmcartalk

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You forgot the Honda Ridgeline. Was that an act of omission or commission?

No, I didn't forget the Ridgeline. Unlike what a lot of people think, the Ridgeline is not a true unibody/crossover, so I did not include it with the Maverick and Santa Cruz. The Ridgeline's basic structure is unique in the truck world.....no other vehicle has it. It combines a unibody/monocoque design on top of a partial frame-rail underpinning, giving you, to some extent, the best of both types.
 

mmcartalk

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But that's what all rednecks want, because bIgGeR iS bEtTeR.

I'm not sure I follow you....is that supposed to be a stereotype? Are people dumb for liking bigger trucks? And the U.S. is not surrounded by oceans....the physically vast country of Canada lies to the north, and the physically smaller but much more populated country of Mexico to the south.
 
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Sulu

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I'm not sure I follow you....is that supposed to be a stereotype? Are people dumb for liking bigger trucks? And the U.S. is not surrounded by oceans....the physically vast country of Canada lies to the north, and the physically smaller but much more populated country of Mexico to the south.
I think he meant "surrounded by an ocean of dumb...".
 
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But that's what all rednecks want, because bIgGeR iS bEtTeR.
Not everyone that wants a truck is a redneck, and you run the risk of shaming people that actually use trucks for their intended purpose. To me, trucks are a cultural institution for many Americans. It would involve going into a civil war lol rather than just who's truck is better. Its no better than to Tesla cultists shaming other EV owners.
 
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Levi

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No, I didn't forget the Ridgeline. Unlike what a lot of people think, the Ridgeline is not a true unibody/crossover, so I did not include it with the Maverick and Santa Cruz. The Ridgeline's basic structure is unique in the truck world.....no other vehicle has it. It combines a unibody/monocoque design on top of a partial frame-rail underpinning, giving you, to some extent, the best of both types.
It is not unique. The 3rd gen Suzuki Vitara, 3rd and 4th gen Mitsubishi Pajero and 2nd gen Land Rover Discovery ( some generation of Range Rover and Ranger Rover Sport too) have a similar construction
 

ssun30

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Semi-BOF construction is not a new technique, Pajero V73/77 used it and was one of the most capable offroad SUV till this day.