• MudMan@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    It’s not holier than thou, I literally have never seen a pickup truck in my life outside of the times I’ve been in North America for work. I’m just trying to explain why.

    But then I just read the words “A v8 van”, so I don’t think that I’m gonna bridge this particular cultural divide here.

    • slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Well, then you probably are just unaware that small pickups used to be incredibly common, and a lot of people still have them, which is why your arguments sound pedantic.

      Similarly, there are both large and small vans. So, it does sound pretentious to act like a covered bed is so superior to an open bed. It’s just preference at that point.

      • MudMan@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I mean, I responded to somebody being annoyed by only having pickup options for farm work. I merely proposed the alternative.

        But it’s more than just preference, considering the OP was concerned about the lack of alternatives and I have never seen a person living in a rural area who owns a US-style pickup. There’s clearly a regional divide here, and from what I’m hearing from both sides none of us seem to be particularly aware of why. Beyond “American like big truck” or whatever.

        • slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          We are talking about open beds and why they are useful. The size of trucks in the modern market is a separate issue. I agree there.

          • MudMan@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Are we talking about that? Because what seems to happen up there is that the OP said they “want to purchase a ToddlerKiller4000. Short of inventing a time machine and traveling back to an era of car-sized rather than tank-sized pickups, my options are pretty slim”

            And I suggested a van instead and apparently hit the secret trap card of culture clash for today, which I wasn’t expecting at all. I thought we’d just joke around about how Americans like their work vehicles to look huge and rugged and maybe feel all superior for a bit about sensible white vans. I didn’t think that the concept of a truck bed having a roof would be the great Atlantic rift.

            • slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              In this particular thread, yes, people just explained that they didn’t want manure and compressed gas cylinders in their van or whatever. I didn’t think Europeans were actually going to feel all superior. But here we are.

              • MudMan@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                Oh, man, it’s an endless loop.

                Again, you can absolutely carry those things in a van, but if you don’t want to do that you can just hitch a bed to something else. There are billions of people in territories where pickup trucks are not commonplace, I promise you we move those things around just fine.

                It’s not even a superiority thing, the presumably American OP said he didn’t want a pickup but thought he didn’t have alternatives, I mentioned vans.

                It’s not like anybody outside the… pickupsphere? ever felt superior about driving around in a van. I promise you there isn’t a bunch of people buying Kangoos and Ford Transits as a status symbol.

                I sometimes don’t know how to not appear to be feeling superior when talking to Americans. If driving around on a rickety cheap van with holes on the floor now counts as a show of arrogance against people driving cars that need ladders to climb inside I don’t know what level of humility is adequate here. Should I just praise baseball or something? Embrace pounds and ounces? I have a measuring tape that lists inches, if that helps.

                  • MudMan@kbin.social
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                    1 year ago

                    So you… agree with me? I’m extra confused now, but hey, suit yourself. Congratulations on your sensible vehicle choice, I guess.