Maybe, but it's clearly worked it's way into fashions as well. The F-150 lightning doesn't have to worry about emissions categories, but it's just as elephantine as the rest, including a child-killing vision-obstructing front hood and grille whose only purpose is to enclose a frunk.

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dyauspitr 5 days ago | parent [-]

I like that’s the lightning is giant. I don’t particularly like small, low to the ground vehicles.

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arijun 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

Your comfort shouldn’t outweigh the safety of pedestrians. There is a reason those cars do not pass regulations in Europe.

	▲	dyauspitr 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I’ve driven plenty in Europe. Those small cramped roads can’t handle big vehicles and parking anywhere is non existent or highly inconvenient. I bet that’s the main reason European cars tend to skew smaller.

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benregenspan 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

But why is that? Is there any chance it's at least partly to protect yourself from everyone else in giant cars?

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renewiltord 5 days ago | parent [-]

I have a Subaru Forester. When I drive a sedan everyone shines their headlamps into my face. I parked my Forester behind a sedan and drove back and forth. My lights were not in their cabin.

So other people drive in a way that is not compatible with my driving because I don’t want headlamps in my cabin. Occasionally there’s a lifted truck behind me and it brightens my cabin.

In those moments I fantasize about placing retroreflectors all over my rear seat headrests but then I pull over and let them past and the moment passes.

Besides, a HN truism is “Yield to gross tonnage”. I liked that. It makes sense that HN users who believe that if you’re big others should get out of the way also get large cars.

“The cemeteries are full of people with right of way” so smaller vehicles should get out of the way of larger vehicles or risk death. It’s a good lesson. Can’t say it’s false.

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mitthrowaway2 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

I guess there should be rules about the height of headlights. It seems like exactly the sort of safety and compatibility problem that standards exist to solve.

	▲	renewiltord 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		US mainstream belief is that standards can be enforced at factory but no laws should be enforced on individuals. I act in that ecosystem. Not worsening it, but not sacrificing myself to it.

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MagnumOpus 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It is obviously true.

What is also obviously true is that road damage scales with the fourth power of vehicle mass, and that therefore vehicle taxation should increase at a similar power, so that the drivers of the 3-tonne trucknutted Canyoneros stop freeloading on the community.

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masklinn 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

… and that’s why I bought a Marauder MPV to go get groceries.

	▲	cosmic_cheese 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		Nothing less than a decommissioned Abrams tank will do for taking little Billy to school!