what happened to pickup trucks?

[ApatheticNoMore]

Actually I don't think there are very many bumper stickers around anymore at all. Here and there sure, but not many. People too obsessed with the resale value of their car (though how big an issue is glue on a bumper anyway) or I don't know.

[Tradd]

Prius are mostly too nice a car to cover in bumper stickers. I don't think I'd associate them with a ton of bumper stickers.

I’ve seen quite a few covered in bumper stickers for lib causes.

[dado potato]

I have read that drivers can be unable to see small pedestrians and people in wheelchairs a short distance in front of the big pickups.

[bae]

I have read that drivers can be unable to see small pedestrians and people in wheelchairs a short distance in front of the big pickups.

It is an educational exercise to have people of various sizes on foot and on bicycle stand around your daily vehicle while you look at what you can really see in your mirrors and out the windows. So many deathly blind spots.

[Rogar]

I've seen a few articles about pedestrians, cyclists and their increased involvement in traffic fatalities from big trucks. I'd maintain that cell phone use is more hazardous, but that's opinion and neither is good. This isn't a small man, but a four year old in front of a lifted F-250. I assume it's undoctored. It's from a Bloomberg article.
big trucks.jpg

[catherine]

I’ve seen quite a few covered in bumper stickers for lib causes.

I have a Prius with only one bumper sticker on it:

We-Love-Dogmt.jpg

[LDAHL]

It seems to convey the need to belong somewhere, some group or tribe. In a way, it is amusing to me - the strong need for individualism and individual freedom vs with the cultural need to belong to a group or tribe. It is seen world wide but is demonstrated in different manner in different countries, age groups, etc.
In Canada and US today, it is the pickups sitting in driveways in urban settings. Earlier it was more the SUV in the same driveways.
This seems to be changing in the choices made by different generations.

I can remember some years ago when SUV shaming was in vogue on these forums. A lot of people also seemed to have a problem with minivans. I think one’s choice of which vehicles to disapprove of can also be a sort of tribal marker. Like a MAGA hat or a “In this house we believe” sign.

[Rogar]

Not to say they aren't a problem, but in the big scheme of things singling out large trucks does seem a little myopic if not tribal.

[catherine]

I can remember some years ago when SUV shaming was in vogue on these forums. A lot of people also seemed to have a problem with minivans. I think one’s choice of which vehicles to disapprove of can also be a sort of tribal marker. Like a MAGA hat or a “In this house we believe” sign.

Absolutely, cars are our most expensive accessory. They do "brand" us, whether we like that or not. I remember my rural Vermont neighbors freaking out when I drove to our house for the first time in my Prius with NJ plates--they made instant assumptions about me based on my car. Of course, they got over the fact that I drive a Prius and now they joke around telling me, "I HUNT Priuses!" They, of course, all have SUVs and pick-up trucks, and they like them fast and big.

DH got rid of his "sissy car" (what our neighbors called his Honda Fit) and purchased a $4000 Chevy Avalanche, and he is in love with this rusty, beat-up pick-up truck.

[bae]

Hmmm.

I have an electric one-wheel skateboard. A whole bunch of bicycles. A teeny Fiat 500 electric clown car. A Mini Cooper. Several other fun sports cars as well. A Toyota Tacoma 4WD pickup truck. A Hummer H1 wagon. A folding kayak. A tugboat, a Boston Whaler, a Swampscott dory, a gaff-rigged 16' sailboat with cabin, a couple of non-folding kayaks, and a small assortment of inflateable boats.

Gotta work on my branding. Or get some airplanes.