Explain why white collar people buy pickups

[Jersey Boss]

Interestingly, GM just announced plans to completely phase out gas and diesel engines by 2,035.

That's only 14 years away.

Yet in tonight's news...
GM unveils Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing performance sedans
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/gm-u...ce-sedans.html

[catch22]

I would argue that it is better to set a goal and miss, than never set a goal at all. The company I work for, United, set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. Probably won't happen, but it's better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. Besides, companies putting these goals out there continually are shifting the conversation from "it can't be done" to "that's just very ambitious". The latter allows the mindset to become that it can be done.

[Roger S]

Not to get sidetracked, but I've been going through a major purge and am trying very hard to move more towards minimalism.

Started doing this myself after my first divorce.... I've found the less I have the happier I am.

I've never been happier at any time in my life since the first day I've been able to maintain 6-12 months of living expenses in a savings account instead of paying interest to credit card companies for a bunch of crap I didn't need.

I'm moving to the farm some time this year and my final goal is to make that place self sufficient enough that I rarely even have to go to a grocery store.

[Dob Hooligan]

How is this happening? Most new cars/trucks have sonar don't they? Both my car and my wife's SUV do.

I believe that story is a classic “hit piece”. Author clearly states that he drove the Escalade for one day only, and he was looking for a different story angle than the two other co-workers had written about Escalade in the past few months.

Complaining about a “13 kindergartners deep” front blind spot means nothing, except good fear mongering. Anyone driving at speed over 5mph isn’t going to notice any difference in front height, and anyone driving slow enough to notice is going to be alerted by parking sensors and surround view enough that hitting anything in front of them is pure, drunken dumbassery.

People have complained about big vehicles as long as there have been vehicles. Big has always been equated with wealth. When I was younger it was 1959 Cadillacs and Oldsmobile 98s. Today is is F-150 and F-250 pick ups.

[Pete]

Started doing this myself after my first divorce.... I've found the less I have the happier I am.

Our culture has become so mired in excess that there is now a big swing back the other way, particularly by younger people.

A recent study showed that people today have 3x as much living space per person as they did in the '60s. And I guarantee you that number in Oklahoma is more like 5x. Families are way smaller and homes are way bigger.

At some point, that trend can't continue and I think we've reached it. So many people with 5,000 square foot homes for 2-4 people, filled to the brim with all kinds of things they don't need (no space or closet can go unstuffed) and more vehicles than drivers.

The new thing is having experiences instead of a bunch of possessions that do nothing but weigh you down. I think that will hold for big trucks and SUV's down the road.

I still have way more than I need, but am working on it. There are some things I really value, and I have tried to organize them in a way that I will frequently see and use them. Everything else is being sold or donated. In fact, I am looking forward to the Covid situation improving because there are loads of things I want to get rid of on Craigslist but don't want to deal with people coming to my house.

I have closets and cabinets that are completely empty. It's a great feeling for lots of reasons but keeping piles of crap is a really lousy thing to do to your loved ones because when something happens to you, a massive, horrible burden is left behind.

[Roger S]

The new thing is having experiences instead of a bunch of possessions that do nothing but weigh you down.

Bingo!!! ..... I've always said my home is just a place where I keep my stuff and sleep.

Something else I've never understood is people that take a vacation and you ask them what they did and the answer is "Oh I just sat around the house and slept." ...... That's not a vacation that's more like death.

[aDark]

I doubt many people know this; I sure didn't.

But it would also apply to a huge SUV, not just trucks.

Pete, Midtowner is correct. Many of the lawyers and doctors I know drive large trucks specifically for the tax rebate. In many circles this is known as the "Hummer Deduction" and it's very much part of the equation. Every solo lawyer I know is cashing in on this deduction with a large truck or a very large SUV.

[Dob Hooligan]

Our culture has become so mired in excess that there is now a big swing back the other way, particularly by younger people.

A recent study showed that people today have 3x as much living space per person as they did in the '60s. And I guarantee you that number in Oklahoma is more like 5x. Families are way smaller and homes are way bigger.

At some point, that trend can't continue and I think we've reached it. So many people with 5,000 square foot homes for 2-4 people, filled to the brim with all kinds of things they don't need (no space or closet can go unstuffed) and more vehicles than drivers.

The new thing is having experiences instead of a bunch of possessions that do nothing but weigh you down. I think that will hold for big trucks and SUV's down the road.

I still have way more than I need, but am working on it. There are some things I really value, and I have tried to organize them in a way that I will frequently see and use them. Everything else is being sold or donated. In fact, I am looking forward to the Covid situation improving because there are loads of things I want to get rid of on Craigslist but don't want to deal with people coming to my house.

I have closets and cabinets that are completely empty. It's a great feeling for lots of reasons but keeping piles of crap is a really lousy thing to do to your loved ones because when something happens to you, a massive, horrible burden is left behind.

Let me get all deep and sociologicalizationized and suggest that "we" are primarily the children of people who lived through the Depression and WWII. We have been raised on the belief that accumulation of material goods is protection from losing "everything".

I have cubic crap. I own over 60 cars, many of which run! I am the world's worst. I turned 60 a couple years ago and decided that I needed to clear up my stuff by age 70, so my wife won't be burdened with getting rid of it after I die.

[PaddyShack]

Pete, Midtowner is correct. Many of the lawyers and doctors I know drive large trucks specifically for the tax rebate. In many circles this is known as the "Hummer Deduction" and it's very much part of the equation. Every solo lawyer I know is cashing in on this deduction with a large truck or a very large SUV.

But it's not like this is a net gain in cash, the choice to do this is still an image thing. "I got to have the big vehicle with the biggest bling, even though my bottom line would be better served if I bought the modest sedan that fits my means..."

[jccouger]

Small male genitalia

[Pete]

But it's not like this is a net gain in cash, the choice to do this is still an image thing. "I got to have the big vehicle with the biggest bling, even though my bottom line would be better served if I bought the modest sedan that fits my means..."

And, you could still buy an SUV rather than a pickup.

[jerrywall]

Let me get all deep and sociologicalizationized and suggest that "we" are primarily the children of people who lived through the Depression and WWII. We have been raised on the belief that accumulation of material goods is protection from losing "everything".

I have cubic crap. I own over 60 cars, many of which run! I am the world's worst. I turned 60 a couple years ago and decided that I needed to clear up my stuff by age 70, so my wife won't be burdened with getting rid of it after I die.

I know a few years back I went through a pretty significant health scare (the type where the consensus was I wasn't going to be around in 90 days). One of the biggest panics I had during all of this is what my family would have to go through with all the stuff I've acquired over the years. IT guys are the worst about hording because you always think you might be able to use that cable or piece of equipment again at some point (and I often do!). One of the silver linings of the past year is I've been able to make a sizable dent on clearing out a lot of the clutter. But yeah, I really understand the concern about leaving this stuff for your wife to deal with. I still don't have the garage cleared, so hopefully that will be completed this summer.

[jedicurt]

IT guys are the worst about hording because you always think you might be able to use that cable or piece of equipment again at some point (and I often do!).

i was cleaning my garage the other day and came across my ammo box full of nothing but standard computer power cables. lol. like 15 of them in there. but hey, i actually had been needing one, so i took out three and replaced some that were starting to bend and crack

[C_M_25]

You guys are funny. Why do you all care what people drive?

I own a ram 1500, and I have driven a truck for most of my life (I had a mazda 3 for a while that was a fun little car to drive). They are, imo, the most versatile vehicle you can own. That old chevy shortwide i used to drive as a teen rode rough, but it was easy to work on. You had that nice bench seat in the middle which allowed for a little extra closeness with the girlfriend. The trucks today are NOTHING like that old truck. My ram rides smoother than any car I have been in. I mean it too. You have to be careful because it's easy to go a little to fast down those old dirt roads cause you don't feel every bump.

The reasons I love owning a truck:
1. Great for Road Trips = The cab is very roomy and I have a cover on the bed which gives me all the room I need hauling luggage/whatever we need for the trip
2. I haul a kayak in the back
3. Nice setup for hauling fishing gear when I'm heading to the lake
4. I can tow our pontoon boat - don't much these days though
5. I can throw just about anything I need in the back from appliances to furniture to hardware for home improvement projects
6. High clearance for those offroad areas
7. 4 wheel drive which helps with the above and inclement weather
8. Good visibility/high stature in traffic
9. Can easily haul all of our camping gear - with kids this is really important not to forget anything lol
10. Tailgate dinners at the lake are really nice especially during the pandemic
11. Fun to drive

I can go on, but I'll leave it there. I still don't understand why people worry so much about this stuff. So what if people park their cars in their driveways. Isn't that the point of a driveway? Who cares that some dude spent 60% of his gross income on an overpriced truck. Does that make the dude happy? Probably so. Why bother yourself with it?

[OkiePoke]

Fat people fit in a truck better than a small car.

[Bill Robertson]

You guys are funny. Why do you all care what people drive?

I own a ram 1500, and I have driven a truck for most of my life (I had a mazda 3 for a while that was a fun little car to drive). They are, imo, the most versatile vehicle you can own. That old chevy shortwide i used to drive as a teen rode rough, but it was easy to work on. You had that nice bench seat in the middle which allowed for a little extra closeness with the girlfriend. The trucks today are NOTHING like that old truck. My ram rides smoother than any car I have been in. I mean it too. You have to be careful because it's easy to go a little to fast down those old dirt roads cause you don't feel every bump.

The reasons I love owning a truck:
1. Great for Road Trips = The cab is very roomy and I have a cover on the bed which gives me all the room I need hauling luggage/whatever we need for the trip
2. I haul a kayak in the back
3. Nice setup for hauling fishing gear when I'm heading to the lake
4. I can tow our pontoon boat - don't much these days though
5. I can throw just about anything I need in the back from appliances to furniture to hardware for home improvement projects
6. High clearance for those offroad areas
7. 4 wheel drive which helps with the above and inclement weather
8. Good visibility/high stature in traffic
9. Can easily haul all of our camping gear - with kids this is really important not to forget anything lol
10. Tailgate dinners at the lake are really nice especially during the pandemic
11. Fun to drive

I can go on, but I'll leave it there. I still don't understand why people worry so much about this stuff. So what if people park their cars in their driveways. Isn't that the point of a driveway? Who cares that some dude spent 60% of his gross income on an overpriced truck. Does that make the dude happy? Probably so. Why bother yourself with it?

We have to have something other than COVID to talk about!

[C_M_25]

We have to have something other than COVID to talk about!

Ha! I feel like I'm going to have to relearn what else I'm interested in on this board when covid starts to diminish (hopefully!)!

[Roger S]

IT guys are the worst about hording because you always think you might be able to use that cable or piece of equipment again at some point (and I often do!).

HAHA.... Yep! I have about a 1 ton box of old VGA cables I've hoarded over the years... I do still use a few of them around the office.... I have finally been able convince myself I can safely throw away all of my RJ11 cords at this point.

[oklip955]

I love pickups. As I said I only owned a car for a month, totally wrong vehicle for me and I hated it. Never again. My only real complaint about the new ones is not being able to get a stick shift in the new ones. That is one reason I bought my Tacoma 4 cy manual, SR5. I keep looking at the full size but no stick shifts. Humm not an automatic trans driver.

[MikeLucky]

So, I got laid off in October of last year. Plus our last of 3 kids went to college last year as well. So, we just did a downsize by selling our 3,400 square foot house and moving into an 1,800 square foot house, without a garage. We also sold our garage baby convertible since we live with on-street parking now. So, going through that experience I can attest to the stress reduction the downsize has created. Our problem is my folks have a 4,200 square foot house that they only use about 1,200 square feet of so we ended up using their place as "storage" so we didn't exactly purge as much as we had hoped. My wife has a rather large collection of year round holiday decorations including almost exclusively handmade nutcrackers, smokers, and other decorations all purchased in Europe while she lived there. None of that is going away so I didn't even try to push it. She also developed an obsession with Polish Pottery while there and she has holiday pottery and dishes for just about every season and holiday. We have A LOT of stuff. lol

But, having done the downsizing for our day-to-day living has most definitely been a good experience. In the new house I have a room that I call the study that I get to use for all my stuff and my office. It's a 10x12 bedroom with a decent closet. So, it's actually been fun finding ways to multipurpose things and organize things to have what I need and still make the space available as useful as possible.

We also have scaled back our spending/budgeting to match our lower income with me still not working and having paid off a bunch of debt and bills has been very liberating. We're now living on only my wife's salary which puts us in a position that once I'm working again we are in a much better position to live life debt free and build our wealth rather than running so close to net zero. We always saw the value in making memories with the kids and enjoying life through those experiences, but it was definitely a bit of a tail chase at times financially to make it happen. Now, we can get ahead of it better with our leaner habits and it is not a bad feeling at all. And, after 2020 we definitely see the value in being able to drop back to a minimal level of living when necessary.

So, to bring it back to topic... Unfortunately I don't see myself buying any large trucks or even one of those awesome caddy sedans anytime soon. lol Although we ARE going to get a new camper as our last teardrop camper opened our eyes to the RV travel world and how great it can be. We sold the teardrop right at the beginning of the pandemic so we could upgrade to one with a bathroom and that was more conducive to travelling with dogs. Plus with the possibility we could both be teleworking soon, it would mean we could long-term travel. Another result we came up with because of the pandemic.

[jedicurt]

HAHA.... Yep! I have about a 1 ton box of old VGA cables I've hoarded over the years... I do still use a few of them around the office.... I have finally been able convince myself I can safely throw away all of my RJ11 cords at this point.

hahahaha. i actually needed an RJ11 just the other day, well my parents did, and luckily i still had one. now i don't have any. guess it means i can finally get rid of the RJ11 crimper, and just keep the RJ45.

[jerrywall]

hahahaha. i actually needed an RJ11 just the other day, well my parents did, and luckily i still had one. now i don't have any. guess it means i can finally get rid of the RJ11 crimper, and just keep the RJ45.

I was going through my tool bag this weekend and came across my nice punch down tool which I'm still carrying around for some reason even though I haven't had a need for it for 20 years or so.... and I still didn't throw it out.

[TheTravellers]

Moving 9 times in the past 25 years helps cull things, I've found, although I still have about 40-50 small moving boxes of books, CDs, LPs, and DVDs to go through and divide between "sell" and "keep", but after that I'll be pretty much done, and everything will fit nicely into our house with not a lot of empty space left (we have a 1 1/2 car garage, no shed/attic/basement, so the 1/2 garage is where our lawnmower/etc. is kept, along with all those boxes stacked up against one wall).

[FighttheGoodFight]

Does this item spark joy?

[HangryHippo]

Does this item spark joy?

lol, thanks Marie!