Compare american vs japanese craftsmen-cars

Comparison left vs right for a craftsman who doesnt know which one he should buy:

  • l/r same bed size
  • r lower bed for way easier loading/unloading
  • r less likely to crash
  • r less fuel consumption and costs
  • r less expensive to repair
  • r easy to park
  • r easy to get around in narrow places like crowded construction sites or towns
  • r not participating in road arms race
  • l You get taken serious by your fellow carbrained americans because ““trucks”” are normalized and small handy cars are ridiculed.

So unless you are a fragile piece of human, choose the right one.

mochi,

The Japanese one would be fun for use in New York City. LOL. Easy parking, easy to navigate double-parked clowns. It just needs a bed cover to lock down anything purchased.

chocoladisco,

I don’t understand pick up trucks, unless you do landscaping or farming. In a van your shit won’t get stolen as easily.

Underwaterbob,

Hey! I live in Korea. These things are ubiquitous. They are colloquially called “Bongos” as that was the name of an older, popular model. There are more and more electric ones on the road these days, too.

Unfortunately, you can find a few of the monstrosities on the left here these days, too, but at least very few. They’ve got nowhere to park them here. Haha!

Nemo,

95% of the craftsmen I know have panel vans. Easier to both organize and secure tools and materials, more overall room.

SwingingTheLamp,

I lived in (and now commute through) a neighborhood of older houses, and higher incomes, so I see a lot of contractor vehicles. It seems like it breaks down as landscapers and lawn services use the pickup trucks; trades companies (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, carpenters, painters, etc.) use vans or box trucks; and the independent guys tend to use Dodge Caravans. Nearby, the university uses fleets of kei trucks (the low-speed versions because “freedom”), Ford Model E vans, and Caravans. I think the landscaping crew has pickups.

There are an increasing number of company pickup trucks, but most of them appear to be pavement princesses, used only for their usual function: transporting egos, not equipment.

ZombiFrancis,

I was the only guy at the marina showing up in a compact Nissan. Got a lot of shit for it from the raised up pickups.

Yet I always had that extra $20 for beers.

It’s a mystery.

mrbubblesort,
@mrbubblesort@kbin.social avatar

To anyone claiming that the bigger one is the safer one ...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-06/what-drove-japan-s-remarkable-traffic-safety-turnaround

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24499113/

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-the-most-car-accidents

From the Bloomberg & NLM articles

From a safety perspective, kei cars have a lot going for them when compared with American-style SUVs and trucks. Their light weight generates less force in a collision, and their stubby front ends reduce driver blind spots. Research suggests that their occupants are equally safe as those inside full-sized vehicles.

TraceLines,
@TraceLines@kbin.social avatar

At first, I was going to criticize the collision speed of the example study, but found ( ok, I say found, I mean I googled for 15 seconds ) that the average American collision is occurring at less than 40mph, so good to go there.

Second, I was going to comment on the relative safety of being in the Kei truck and being struck by the 2500HD... but that just goes back to the 'participating in the arms race', so feels... stupid.

So, overall: Thanks for providing this. It directly answers the primary concern of 'what if I hit something tho'. There are some other angles I could nitpick on maybe, but they all feel like a kind of 'consolation prize' to the argument.

Hyperreality,

One thing you also need to remember, is that the smaller car has a far smaller braking distance and is more maneuverable, so is less likely to get in a crash. The lower centre of gravity also decreases the likelihood of a roll-over.

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