Big trucks vs Small cars.

[MadMan118]

I have always felt much more comfortable in a truck and the bigger the better. I like being able to see what is going ahead of me and that when i merge lanes people aren't going to second guess me. I feel more aware of where the vehicle is going and how fast. Every time I get into a car I feel a total lack of control, I even have a harder time parking and maneuvering smaller cars. Where I can 3 point turn a 4 tonne truck it takes me several turns in a small car. I'm pretty sure I have some mild mental retardation or brain damage but how do you people drive those little cars?

[Phalex]

I'm a big guy, long in the torso. I gotta have the head room afforded by a truck. I drove a Toyota for years with the top of my head pressed firmly against the roof. Potholes really suck when your head is pressed firmly against the roof.

[tplyons]

Where I can appreciate a large truck, I prefer smaller vehicles.

Granted, the turning radius on some does suck, and the visibility is much less, especially around larger trucks, however, I find the large trucks to be the source of my visibility issues, not my smaller vehicle.

[hartke20g]

i know what you mean, MadMan. while i don't restrict myself to only large trucks, i absolutely cannot stand your typical commuter car. while length really isn't an issue for me, height definitely is. my Jeep's got a pretty short wheelbase, as far as trucks/SUVs go, but it sits higher than most cars on the road now, so i can see what's ahead of me even with traffic in front of me.
i hate riding in my friends' cars. apart from the fact that they can't drive, i feel like even a Ford Exploder could take us out. i also hate that other drivers can see what i'm doing in the car.
most of my friends also drive 'chick cars' that are quite literally falling apart. you know there's a problem when you're bottoming out after you hit a small bump in the road.

[smeet]

I've always liked the handling of small cars, and the visibility was always fine. In recent years however, everybody else has escalated the height wars and they now blot out the sun with their skyscrapers on wheels. It has made driving much less fun and much less safe.

[Mike N]

I go from a Blazer with 44's in the summer to a 94 Plymouth colt in the winter. Two totally different ends of the spectrum.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by smeet

I've always liked the handling of small cars, and the visibility was always fine. In recent years however, everybody else has escalated the height wars and they now blot out the sun with their skyscrapers on wheels. It has made driving much less fun and much less safe.

This. And finding my car in a parking lot?

Fahgettaboudit

[ubado]

I've got a Ford F-350 supercab, 6.5' bed, 7.3l diesel, 4x4 ... while my wife has a Focus ZX3 (soon to get another small car, Audi A3).

I'd much prefer to blow diesel out my exhaust than to drive my wife's ZX3. My 350 is just so much more comfortable, especially for long trips. Great vantage point. Easy to find in a parking lot, especially with trailer lights on top. Plus, folks seem to let you pass quite quickly when they've got a big grill barreling down at them.

Every once in a while I get pressured into driving the ZX3 ... it feels strange to me, every time I get behind the wheel. However I gotta say ... the ZX3 is a fun little car. After some tweeks here and there ... it's a back-road monster ... That's fun in the turns. However it's no fun for long-ish trips ... after a couple of hours ... I'm done. I do look forward to doing some "testing" in the A3 (eventhough it's not a quattro).

[GregC]

Originally Posted by smeet

I've always liked the handling of small cars, and the visibility was always fine. In recent years however, everybody else has escalated the height wars and they now blot out the sun with their skyscrapers on wheels. It has made driving much less fun and much less safe.

Yeah, the arms race gotten out of hand. Luckily for me, I don't have to put up with them too much--I live in a big city where the view-blocking behemoths have a tougher time, what with narrower lanes and parallel parking.

Originally Posted by MadMan118

that when i merge lanes people aren't going to second guess me.

Originally Posted by ubado

Plus, folks seem to let you pass quite quickly when they've got a big grill barreling down at them.

From the other side of the coin, it seems like the big trucks are more willing to cut me off.



I'm 6'5", so I could use the space afforded by a big vehicle. But I'm not that comfortable driving them, and never wanted to spend all that extra coin on the vehicle and the additional gas.

[ubado]

Originally Posted by GregC

From the other side of the coin, it seems like the big trucks are more willing to cut me off.

Yup ... us larger truck drivers have a tendency to throw our weight around when needed. Athough, I'm not a "cut off" type of guy ... I do use the added gurth and weight to help expedite a merge, when a passenger car is not wanting to let you in. I'd imagine it's due to, the damage we may get is nothing compared to the other guy. (this past May in Orlando Fl, ... I saw a regular sedan rear-end a F-250 4x4 with a slight lift. The car had several thousands in damage; smashed in grill, creased hood, cracked bumber, broken lights ... while the F-250 only had a bend trailer hitch )

As far as cutting someone off ... the strangest thing I've noticed is ... nobody likes to be passed in a Focus ZX3. I've been on the recieving end of some serious road rage by just doing that on a highway. My wife too. It's just strange. Folks around here seem to take it personally when a Green Ford Focus ZX3 passes them in the left hand lane.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by ubado

As far as cutting someone off ... the strangest thing I've noticed is ... nobody likes to be passed in a Focus ZX3. I've been on the recieving end of some serious road rage by just doing that on a highway. My wife too. It's just strange. Folks around here seem to take it personally when a Green Ford Focus ZX3 passes them in the left hand lane.

Absolutely... but the Focus doesn't bother me... but I can't fathom being passed by a Prius...

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by MadMan118

... how do you people drive those little cars?

Easy. My job pays me 50 cents per mile plus a day rate. My 2006 Corolla has 120K miles. Assuming an average price of $3.00 per gallon and an average mileage of about 37 mpg, I've spent $9730 on gas in the last 4 years. Oil changes (say, 24 of them at $35) add up to about $840. 2 sets of tires, probably $600. The car cost me $17000.

So, my total investment in my commuter car over 4 years has been about $28,170. I was reimbursed (50 cents per mile) $60,000 over the same time period, for a total gain of $31,830, or about $8000 per year. How do I do it? Without thinking twice.

Mike

[DRafalske]

Gotta be a big truck for me too. I drive a 2001 Dodge 2500, ext. cab, long bed, 4x4, Cummins Diesel, 6-speed manual. Yes, I have a large camper I pull with it; no thrillbilly here. I'm a bigger dude (length and width ha!) so trucks are most comfortable for me. After driving one for a while, when I get in a car I feel much less safe. Which is sort of funny because when I'm not driving the truck I'm riding a motorcycle.

[Nappa]

Never driven a truck.

[PSPookie]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Where I can appreciate a large truck, I prefer smaller vehicles.

Granted, the turning radius on some does suck, and the visibility is much less, especially around larger trucks, however, I find the large trucks to be the source of my visibility issues, not my smaller vehicle.

+1 I like the way my car handles (Mazda 3). I actually feel safer in it than in our F-150 work trucks. While I would likely fare better in the truck if I were to get into an accident I feel like I am much more able to avoid an accident in the first place in my Mazda.

I'm no stranger to large vehicles. I learned to drive in an '84 Sedan DeVille and my first car was an '87 Suburban. I have simply come to prefer the handling characteristics of smaller cars.

Originally Posted by smeet

I've always liked the handling of small cars, and the visibility was always fine. In recent years however, everybody else has escalated the height wars and they now blot out the sun with their skyscrapers on wheels. It has made driving much less fun and much less safe.

Yeah, the only visibility problems I have are caused by the ubiquitous pickups and SUVs. And as far as the OPs contention that merging is easier in a large vehicle: that simply isn't the case around here. Nobody gets any respect, regardless of the size of their vehicle.

[MJ5150]

No cars for me. SUV's and full size trucks only please.

-Mike

[jwbassman]

I've gone from both extremes. I can see having a large truck if you need it for business. I used to work for my brother in law doing construction and I had a Dodge Ram 2500 HD. That was in the late 90's and Early 2000's before the gas started to sky rocket.

Then I had a Toyota 4 Runner and I loved that, but I moved further from work. So I started driving my wife's Toyota Corolla and She took the 4Runner, unless I needed it for gigs. But she hated the 4Runner and we traded that for a Camry Hybrid, which she loves.

I just traded the old Corolla for a new 2010 Corolla Sport on Saturday. I've been digging the smaller car. Saves me a ton on gas. I commute +350 plus miles a week. 70 miles back and forth to work a day.

Surprisingly you can fit a bunch of stuff in the Corolla. I had a gig yesterday and I fit a full size Kay Upright and my Sadowksy in the cabin and in the trunk my 2x10 cab, Eden WT800, Cord/utility bag and stands for both basses. I probably could have fit even more.

[sarcastro83]

My next vehicle will be a smaller SUV, like a Ford Escape, or something along those lines. Not only will it give me more height than I've got right now, but it's hard to cram a lot of gear and 4 guys into the back of a Toyota Matrix, for as much as I love that car.

[Mark Latimour]

I like to laugh at people trying to drive "big trucks" around London.

[MJ5150]

Do people in London put lifts on them and big tires? Is there a lot of that over there? What do most guys drive as for full size trucks?

-Mike