Comparison left vs right for a craftsman who doesnt know which one he should buy:
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l/r same bed size
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r lower bed for way easier loading/unloading
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r less likely to crash
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r less fuel consumption and costs
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r less expensive to repair
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r easy to park
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r easy to get around in narrow places like crowded construction sites or towns
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r not participating in road arms race
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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.
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I agree with the sentiment of this post, but to be fair, you can also carry 3 or 4 passengers in the left vehicle, as opposed to only one in the right.
The main problem is the US fuel economy regulations actually encourage manufacturers to build bigger trucks and SUVs so they get classified into a category that has looser fuel economy requirements.
The extended cab version of the right truck would still tick all the boxes.
Off-road and towing capacity are probably the main feature you give up with that sort of design. Whether or not most people need that is a separate story.
They make kei trucks in 4x4, but you do lose ground clearance.
That being said, what kind of “off road” conditions are any of the trucks really contending with?
Whats best is the kei 4x4 is probably significantly better in most off road situations due to its lighter weight and shorter wheel base. You can drive/manuever around things easier and when you are on mud or sand, the lighter weight prevents sinking.
You are right. Still the american truck is hugely oversized, even for 5 persons and cargo. But, for the sake of the argument, imagine standing on the highway. Have a gander at the cars around you. How many people per car do you see? Exactly, 90% of the time there is exactly one person in a car. What makes the american truck an extreme waste of space an ressources, beside being a health hazard to everyone outside of the car.
Cars should get smaller, not bigger.
Just gonna keep on posting this
This is why Pedestrian crash avoidance mitigation (PCAM) needs to be standard required by law, and will be on Californian shortly, and with California goes the world.
This pic is fantastic but I wish there were more examples from actual alternatives to what people claim they need the pickups for e.g. vans like Trafics, Kangoos/Berlingos, Mercedes Sprinter/Vito etc etc. There is at least a sprinter there in version pickup, which has a very good result as I’m sure the other ones would as well, because these things tend to have the windshield all the way at the front of the vehicle so you have great visibility for the front 180°, the back 180° depends on the configuration you have which range from completely closed/opaque cargo space to fully furnished 5/7 seaters with windows.
To anyone claiming that the bigger one is the safer one …
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.
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.
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.
95% of the craftsmen I know have panel vans. Easier to both organize and secure tools and materials, more overall room.
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.
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.
Yep. I’m an American tradesman and the trucks that the guys drive are way too beefy for what they actually do.
I’ve gotten by with small Toyota trucks, and rav 4s…much to the chagrin of the good old boys. Should have seen their face when I rolled up in a prius…till I tell em I get 50 mpg easy.
I would love a small little truck like this one in the photo.
I get the point your trying to prove but i don’t think it’s fair to compare these 2 as they are meant for different things and also brings in the assumption that all American craftsman vehicles are 2500HD’s, which is not true.
Now I agree, people using the one on the left specifically as a daily driver is actually overkill and are not using it for what it’s supposed to be used for. The one on the left is a 2500HD. They are SUPPOSED to be used for hauling and carrying equipment. The crew cab is meant to also transport the crew that is for said equipment.
The one the right is specifically meant what appears to be lighter duty use and hauling. I agree that people should use the right tool for the job. I find the one on the right to be very practical. But for the sake of this post as a means to compare Japanese craftsman vehicles to American.
You should actually show something actually comparable. Like a ford ranger with a standard cab. Which might be about the same size and power. Maybe even the same bed size. Not something that has HD (Heavy duty) in its name.
Really wish I could get my hands on one of these. The import process is so complicated it makes it barely cheaper than a domestic used truck.
It’s probably model dependent, but the one I drove around for my job in Japan had zero leg room. My knees were resting on the dash as the passenger with the seat all the way back.
Is this because it’s made to fit the average Japanese adult or is it just that small
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!
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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.
R can’t tow for shit.
R has a 2,200 lb carrying capacity. It can haul or tow almost anything a regular person needs to 99% of the time.
These little trucks also build and supply massive countries across the world. It’s preposterous to think you need 4,000lbs of carrying capacity day in and day out. You absolutely do not.
Great, but carry capacity and towing capacity aren’t the same thing. And it doesn’t matter if I don’t need to tow something everyday, even if I need to tow something monthly or even yearly the one on the right just can’t do it. Also from my very brief searching it seems like a KEI truck absolutely does not have a capacity of 2200lbs, more like 800-1500lbs. I will agree though, if you just need a work vehicle and a truck bed then the KEI truck is probably fine. If you need to tow, it absolutely is not.
If you need to tow something that heavy once a year, you are not buying a car for that.
I mean, I wouldn’t but that thing still has to get moved somehow. That truck still has to be available somehow.
Yes, you can always rent one when you need it.
I don’t think the big family that is going on their once or maybe twice a year camping trip with their large trailer is going to rent a truck for their vacation. But, yes that’s a possibility.
I mean if our culture wasn’t so car centric and centered around instant gratification that wouldn’t be an issue, it’s not too hard to rent a car at all, especially if you’ve been planning a year long trip. Not trying to soapbox here, though, I’m very reliant on my car too and see doing all that as an inconvenience, but I realize how absurd it is to feel that way.
This is why I loved my Nissan d21 when I had it
This is a simillar truck compared to what I had
Why isn’t that an option anymore‽ I’d absolutely love my 94 Ford ranger again, and I’m totes jelly of the old school Tacoma owners.
Yeah everyone I know would love a nice small ranger or Tacoma but everything is giant now
I like those old school trucks. Perfect size. No over the top gaudy BS. Just simple and utilitarian.
Since Americans are obese, it makes sense that their cars are too.
I was looking for the “America bad” comment, was not disappointed. At least that carried over from reddit.
They are absolutely the driver in this market, like it or not.
Since it’s become legal to import these Kei trucks and vans, I’ve been loving the pictures of them all over the place. I have no need to haul cargo around, but I’d definitely love one of these things if I did in the future. I just don’t like that you’re only allowed to buy 20-year-old vehicles like this due to import laws.
I miss mini-trucks badly and wish there was an American market for them.
Or even what used to be regular size would be fine. My work just got a behemoth and it’s technically a “small”. I have to literally climb in by jumping to catch the roof (no handle on the basic model) and doing part of a pull-up. I’m short but not a little person.
Probably one of the reasons SUVs are so popular, fold back seats down and tons of unobstructed space.
It’s not about consumer markets really. The CAFE emissions regulations essentially allow vehicles with larger dimensions to get lower mileage. So instead of the regulations ostensibly intended to lower emissions forcing better mileage, manufacturers just make bigger cars with the same or worse mileage than before. I used to have an S10 that got almost 20mpg, could park anywhere, could haul full sheets of plywood, and was surprisingly capable of road (came with the ZR2 package).
People still want this, they just aren’t built because of asinine laws that get created through massive amounts of lobbying.
Neat!
