I'm not convinced this is entirely true. The majority of people need a truck a few times a year at most. For them, rental is a practical option. The rest of the year, an ordinary sedan or hatchback will suit their needs just fine. If this were not so, people in other first-would countries would also buy trucks as their primary vehicles, and we know that's not the case. (It helps that fuel taxes elsewhere are more realistic -- i.e. higher -- in terms of being able to pay for the infrastructure and other externalities.)
The reason people buy trucks in the U.S. is largely (a) cultural and (b) because they can afford them, both in terms of payments and fuel taxes.
So I used to feel like you do until I moved to the Santa Cruz mountains. A half ton pickup is pretty much required. I have a chevy extended cab, 8 foot bed, gets used all the time for stuff that I couldn't do with a car.
In addition to that I have a chevy 3500 HD dually flatbed that gets used as well. It's an entirely different beast, I've hauled 10,080 pounds of base rock in that thing and I still had spring left.
The half ton is the blue truck and the 3500 is the white truck. This is set up as a quick attack wild land fire truck (there is a 425 gallon water thank, 9HP davey fire pump with 2 hose connections, 300 feet of 1.5" hose, bunch of nozzles, shovels, etc):
My trucks get used pretty much daily, living up here without them makes zero sense to me. They are just tools and very much needed in this environment. Sort of like guns, I lived in San Francisco and was very anti gun, moved up here and realized that guns are just tools and sometimes you need them.
That said, I'd love to replace the trucks with electric versions. I'm a huge fan for a lot of reasons. Tesla, if you are listening, please, please give us a family of pickups. If you do just one then a half ton is gonna be the highest volume but I'd love a beefy 1 ton.
Actually a more serious reply. I'm not special at all, anyone living in a rural area ends up with a pickup. I need to stock pile gas at my place for the chainsaws and the chipper and the log splitter, etc. I usually have 25 gallons when I'm "full". The gas cans leak a little, do you want that in your nice car? Nope, that's what a pickup is for.
In rural areas it's normal to get stuck. I pull people out of the ditch all the time, can your car do that?
I have to carry 4 trash cans a mile and a half up the road every week, that's where the trash gets picked up, can your car do that?
I have to haul concrete bags up here all the time, like a pallet at a time, can your car do that?
All of you folks who live on the coast and do tech work seem to have forgotten that there are a bunch of people who are farmers or whatever, who live in rural areas, their needs are different than yours. The idea that they could rent a pickup for the few times a year that they need it just shows that you have no clue what their daily life is like.
And that's why Trump got elected. Get a clue, figure out how the fly over people live and maybe have some compassion for their lot. Or not, enjoy Trump 1.0, you'll get Trump 2.0 until you figure it out.
> I'm not special at all, anyone living in a rural area ends up with a pickup
You are special (i.e. part of the minority). Somewhere between 60 and 80% of people live in cities/urban areas in the US. As you said yourself, a truck is a tool with uses where it is critical but there are many where it is unnecessary. The original post you replied to just said that trucks aren't needed by most people, not that they're never needed and nothing of what you've said has argued against this.
You and the person you're ranting against/accusing of lack of empathy are probably 100% in agreement.
> The majority of people need a truck a few times a year at most.
There's a big grey area around the word "need". The list of things that can be done with a truck, that can't be done with a strong-ish car/van and a trailer, plus elbow grease and planning, is almost certainly tiny. The availability of a truck, though, will change (and probably simplify) a LOT of that marginal problem-space, even if it isn't strictly needed.
While there’s definitely some truth to your point, I also know the vast majority of folks who own a truck that I know use it to pull a trailer regularly (as in multiple times a month). Renting would be an unrealistic hassle for them.
You can pull trailers with cars, provided they have enough torque. When I was a kid, my dad pulled our pop-up trailer with a 1974 Pontiac Ventura (GM 5.7L V8 engine). Just last month I regularly saw relatively large trailers being pulled by relatively small cars when I was in the UK.
I didn’t say that it wasn’t possible, for some trailers. Fifth wheels by the nature of their design will not be pulled with a car. Even something as “simple” as my dad’s ski boat wasn’t possible to be pulled behind anything but a decently beefy truck (dry weight was ~6k lbs).
Where and when I grew up, setups like this[0] were very commonly seen on the road all the time, so maybe my experience is a little different than some of you.
Agree, I used to own a ‘76 GMC car with the same motor. Thing was a tank, hit a 14pt buck doing 70mph dead on and was able to drive away from the accident with just a dented front end, but otherwise fine.
I'm a DIYer, perhaps my view is skewed. There's always something big and bulky in the truck bed weekly, it seems.
I'm not sure other first-world countries transportation infrastructure is designed to accommodate larger, bulkier trucks everywhere, as it is in the US.
The reason people buy trucks in the U.S. is largely (a) cultural and (b) because they can afford them, both in terms of payments and fuel taxes.