stux⚡️20 years of pickup truck design progress in one photo
Oh yeah…
Nafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦@stux Pickup trucks are great vehicles... for doing what they were actually designed to do (haul cargo, tools, etc for work, drive on rough terrain, etc).
Buying them as urban cruisers is beyond ridiculous. I mean, do these people hate having good visibility and love having difficulty parking?
Ton Chrysoprase@nafnlaus @stux Pickups weren't designed to do any of these things and they aren't good for any of them, except very narrow applications of hauling dirty bulk cargo on rough terrain for longer distances. A van is vastly superior for anything outside of farming use and a tractor beats a pickup truck for that, except for longer distances. They where a very niche vehicle before they became a way to avoid emissions standards.
@TonChryso @stux Um, yes, they were, and yes, they are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_truck#History
Vans do not typically have the suspension needed for work in the countryside or at construction sites, only quite large vans are long enough for lumber, and you can't haul oversized loads in one or vertically load them
Vans are designed for moving goods on roads to and from stores, factories, etc.
Trust me, I used to own a pickup truck, used for *actual* countryside work. They're needed, & vans do NOT substitute
@TonChryso @stux Try donig this with a van (this was my truck, when I was developing a research garden). Don't forget to include driving said van across undeveloped terrain to the destination.
@TonChryso @stux Try this with a van (was hauling parts for my water system for my house)
@TonChryso @stux Try driving over this in a van.
I'm not sure how many different ways I could possibly point out how absurd your notion of "vans substitute for pickups" is. It's practically endless.
They're *entirely* different roles.
bhtooefr@nafnlaus @TonChryso @stux there's a lot of overlap, though, where pickups are chosen in North America for cultural reasons instead of practical reasons
even a lot of construction sites don't look like *that*, and a European van with the optional AWD system is more than enough for a lot of construction sites, the long suspension travel and large tires of a modern American full-size pickup are unnecessary
also, while dirty and extremely tall loads are easier to handle in a pickup, basically every other kind of load works better in a van - full-size vans tend to have longer cargo areas than any American pickup, lower load floors, and significantly improved load security/weather protection. (yes, you can get a cap or tonneau cover for a truck, but those are still less secure than van cargo areas, and provide less space.)
...and then, there's always the dropside pickup beds available on European and Japanese van platforms, which have *more* load versatility than an American pickup, while using less road space and having significantly better outward visibility.
even a lot of construction sites don't look like *that*, and a European van with the optional AWD system is more than enough for a lot of construction sites, the long suspension travel and large tires of a modern American full-size pickup are unnecessary
also, while dirty and extremely tall loads are easier to handle in a pickup, basically every other kind of load works better in a van - full-size vans tend to have longer cargo areas than any American pickup, lower load floors, and significantly improved load security/weather protection. (yes, you can get a cap or tonneau cover for a truck, but those are still less secure than van cargo areas, and provide less space.)
...and then, there's always the dropside pickup beds available on European and Japanese van platforms, which have *more* load versatility than an American pickup, while using less road space and having significantly better outward visibility.