The dude that drives one of the oversized ones where I live looks exactly like all the people who do selfies in their truck. Balding, those glasses and weraing a cap. His truck has the fucking punisher logo too. And to round it off it also had a sticker of an AI character company on it.

I had an 06 Ford Ranger (actually a Mazda). RWD with a 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. No frills at all. That was a phenomenal truck. You could put snow tires on it, throw some sand bags in the bed, and go just about anywhere.

Truck and sports car? That's some advanced compensation.

98 Ranger XLT extended cab. I've added trailer brake control for livestock hauling and a modern stereo with bluetooth, handsfree calling, and a sealed 10" sub cause I'm a metalhead.

It's got the pushrod V6 that will last forever, in 99 they switched over to those awful self-destructing cassette timed V6s.

It throws no codes. Redid intake manifold and valve gaskets about 18 months ago, but I've got increased Idle RPM and minor oil leak again. So, I have to redo it, looking for a more permanent fix.

My truck does 10x the work most of those oversized pavement princess trucks do. It's a little truck for our little play farm.

I race cars in actual scca and lemons races 15 times a year supported by my family and friends while enjoying a 15 year old Miata that's slower than my wifes Outback.

I am living my literal childhood dream. There are far better ways to try and flex than driving a 20 year old truck you bought for $2000 and driving around an NC Miata.

It's just so amazing how you (and most) make up these imaginary personalities and personas of people based off an article you've read 7 years ago linking to a private report that nobody has actually .

Like, conspiracy theory Joe Rogan levels of trusting that and then creating an imaginary person in your head. Bonkers!

And those people who do buy trucks would often be happy with a much smaller one. They don't exist. No, not even the Maverick. That's "well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it" for trucks.

2 things:

1. The new truck has 4 doors. That's a crew cab.
2. Part of the reason for today's massive trucks is a change in CAFE regs starting in 2012 that bases fuel economy standards on vehicle footprint. It's easier to make a larger footprint than a more efficient vehicle.

So, someone else needs to own and pay for such a vehicle just you can mooch off of them for free?

So where do you apartment dwellers store your trailer?

Nope. He's saying that the weight of the battery pack eats up 2000lbs of towing capacity. Plus the shit frames they are built on to cut weight to help due to the battery packs.

A perfect 5/7

Yeah absolutely. And I believe we have some really stupid laws that help that effect along. Consumers are also to blame as well, but they always are.

Why can't they make the Maverick a 2 door!

The Slate is the currently the only modern option for a mini-truck (if it releases).

I look forward to it. It's roughly the same price as my 95 Ranger, inflation adjusted.

Nice. Mine was Cayman Green, a couple of shades lighter than yours and a 4-banger, but similar otherwise.

I loved the Ford Mazda connection. I wish Ford hadn't sold off their stake in the company. My current car is a Mazda 3 and the (Mazda designed) 4-cylinder in it was also used in later model Rangers before they were discontinued.

It’s easier more profitable to make a larger footprint the consumer buy a larger vehicle than a more efficient vehicle.

Minor fixes, spot on otherwise.

There's 2 F series trucks for every square mile of this country. Do you think they are all out there hauling loads and trailers, off roading and actualling being used for truck stuff, or do you think that the vast majority of them are single occupant highway battering rams built to make small men feel big and important?

Remember, 2 per square mile, and that just one series of trucks, from 1 manufacturer, going back just 10 years.

In the absence of hard statistics, I think a gut check on the sheer scale of trucks being sold in the US will suffice.

Both can tow. The new Ranger can tow more because it's really a mini F-150. Buying a compact pickup to get back seats is dumb.

It doesn't bother me that larger trucks exist, but some of us want compact pickups.