• Roopappy@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    I often see a car in a crowded parking lot that is too wide or too long to fit in a parking spot, and I have to wonder if the person driving that vehicle is a complete idiot or a complete asshole.

    How stupid are you that you chose a daily driver that doesn’t work? That you take up so much space that everyone else needs to actively avoid you and curse you because you are so bad at making choices?

    Do you regret your choice? Do you constantly think “Fuck everyone else around me, I do what I want.”, or do you legitimately not notice how everyone else hates you?

  • Emerald@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    Lol I don’t understand why people want wide cars. There are so many instances where having a narrow car saved me from some dinguses crossing the center line

  • MalReynolds@slrpnk.net
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    8 hours ago

    In all honesty, the wideness of modern cars may actually be their downfall. I live in a suburban area (Not US, but that doesn’t matter it’s become everyone’s problem.) and the roads were designed for cars to be parked on either side and two, narrow lanes in the middle where people could, slowly, get past each other, with a certain amount of tolerance (i.e. space).

    Then came an EPA ruling in the states (late 90’s I think) and trucks were immune to sensible laws and all the car companies made trucks that were immune to being too wide (among other things). They became objects of desire. Cars followed, because everyone wants a thick phallus I guess, or maybe needs to see the road when there’s a fat car next to them, or one with tinted windows, and I’m nowhere near to a legal solution in a global economy.

    Practical upshot, local roads are only one lane wide because of fat cars parked on either side with no regard to practicality, add endless renovation because property development is the one true way to richness /s, even though rich people already own the good land, and control their local environment.

    TLDR, fat cars break suburban roads.

  • JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Artist nailed it outlining people’s obsession with personal freedoms versus society’s rights as a whole.

  • GluWu@lemm.ee
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    13 hours ago

    I can tell this is a old meme because $119k is “a lot”. Lol

    • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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      12 hours ago

      Not a cheap vehicle, but that’s a medium truck with presumably a pretty incredible tow rating. Not really a passenger vehicle.

      • GluWu@lemm.ee
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        12 hours ago

        To be fair that is the largest consumer model and essentially the most expensive OEM package you can get. And it is very powerful and capable tow vehicle, but the majority of people just use them as passenger vehicles and maybe tow their rv a few times a year(which can be done with was less of a truck).

        If you know modded trucks, whether that’s purpose built towing or just mall crawler, there are way more trucks over $200k than you would realize. If you ever see a welding truck, big 4x4 lifted trucks with custom beds, those are an easy $250k. But they are being used. Those guys make a easy 6 figures while living in hotels with nothing else to spend it on.

        • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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          8 hours ago

          This comment has been made before, and the feedback from people who actually drive them is nobody is driving a dually for fun, the suspension just isn’t set up to be driven empty. Also, they’re massive vehicles even by US standards.

  • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
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    14 hours ago

    Pff, car users dont need society to get around, everyone knows road and bridge and fuel infrastructure are natural parts of the word that are just there on their own already! /s

    • Emerald@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I don’t think anyone doubts how much time, money, and effort are put into road infrastructure. In fact, I think about it a lot when driving.

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    13 hours ago

    American culture in general:

    “Remember: There is no society - only YOU and the freedom to do whatever you want!”

    … the chef’s kiss was in parking your monstrosity next to a Big Sad Box … a beautiful summary of the general North American society we’ve created. Millions of years of evolution to get to the point of selfish ignorantly following a life style to park next to a big sad box and buy an overpriced couch you can’t afford made by Vietnamese children.

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
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      11 hours ago

      And to boast that it’s the absolute Pinnacle of society. It’s the only version they’ve seen but they’re convinced there are zero improvements

  • Mothra
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    14 hours ago

    I hate this about newer car models. Many are unnecessarily wide. Lanes don’t get wider though.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      14 hours ago

      It is “necessary” for them to be that wide.

      CAFE standards are based on “footprint” which is basically the rectangle of the tire contact patches. If you’re a car manufacturer who can’t meet the NHTSA’s MPG requirements for the size of car you produce, you can increase the size of your cars, so they fit in a larger class that requires less of an MPG improvement.

      The most effective way to increase the footprint is to widen a narrow car, increasing its footprint toward square.

      • Mothra
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        10 hours ago

        Am I understanding you correctly? There is a standard somewhere that says you can’t have tires of a certain width on a car unless the car is also broad?

        Why is that even a requirement? I thought broad tires were safer, why would the width of the car have anything to do with it?

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          8 hours ago

          No, you’re not understanding me correctly. Mostly because I misspoke, so that’s on me, not you.

          The contact patches I was talking about are the corners of the rectangle. Everything between the wheels is the footprint.

          The area of the footprint basically determines the minimum MPG you can have. (The more complicated point is that it is related to all the vehicles you produce rather than a specific minimum, but that overcomplicates the issue. The point is that CAFE standards provide strong incentives for manufacturers to increase the “footprints” of their vehicles. The larger the footprint they can claim, the less MPG improvement they need to make. So, longer and wider wheelbases.

          • CommissarVulpin@lemmy.world
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            47 minutes ago

            And this is exactly why we don’t see small trucks like Rangers or Dakotas anymore. I don’t know if it’s because it’s impossible to make an engine that efficient or if manufacturers are just lazy, but the consequence is that they can avoid stricter efficiency requirements by simply making bigger (larger wheelbase) and heavier (body on frame vs. monocoque) vehicles.

          • Mothra
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            4 hours ago

            Thanks for the explanation. It’s just infuriating

        • Alex@lemmy.world
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          9 hours ago

          To be brief, some boneheads ages past decided to class vehicles based on footprint rather than simply weight.

          • Mothra
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            4 hours ago

            I get it now. Not a chance that’s changing anytime soon I suppose, I can see how it’s not convenient for manufacturers

  • SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works
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    14 hours ago

    It’s crazy to think that Humvees were designed with war in Europe in mind. They are pretty wide and may have been wider if they didn’t have to worry about train tunnels