Tesla

[Lordosis]

Agree, but for any same price range it really doesnt matter. We dont know what people spent or if they would get x vs y type vehicle. No one needs anything other than a very basic euro style commuter vehicle that is probably very cheap, but most have so much more. I just dont get the directed complaints against the one type of more over the other. Just like how here you get such disdain for lexus, bmw, etc...as signaling poor financial skills and a type of person, yet the drooling and reinforcement of teslas, that used to only have options that were 2x most of those that were scorned. Nothing makes sense.

Most of the benefits of a luxury car are just social standing. I am sure there are actual tangible benefits as well but they are not worth the differential. So if someone wants luxury for the sake of just having the luxury then that is their choice. I just do not like the justification people use to "need" such things. These same people are not to shy to complain about how much everything costs and how little money they have.

i bought both my cars new. I could have saved 10-20k if I bought used instead but it is a luxury that I find I value spending my money on.

[Zaphod]

I've personally never understood the attraction of having a truck. They are big, bulky, hard to maneuver, gas-guzzling, and slow.

While the Cybertruck fixes the last two points, I find it hard to believe that the type of people who normally buy big beefy trucks would be interested in something so strange-looking and ambiguously-masculine.

They arent any worse than SUVs/mpg wise and theyre actually pretty fast now a days. Remember, not only that they dont have to be fast, neither does any car, not a prerequisite of driving, just something we enjoy about them. Acceleration in an everyday or work truck makes no sense, not a useful feature for loads, etc...But still, you can get a stock f150 3.5L and simply tune it and it will go 0-60 in 4.3s which is ridiculous for a truck and unnecessary.

People worry about speed and acceleration too much, its not something you should mess with outside of the track and just invites dumb behavior most people dont know how to handle anyway.

[Zaphod]

It doesn't have to be pickups. SUVs are the same. How many people do you know who use a 5-7 passenger SUV to commute to work? I am not talking about the people who drop 2-5 kids off at daycare on the way. I am talking about the people who like to be "high up" so they feel safe driving. That in my opinion is the dumbest justification to by a 40k vehicle when a 25k car would do fine.

Agree, but for any same price range it really doesnt matter. We dont know what people spent or if they would get x vs y type vehicle. No one needs anything other than a very basic euro style commuter vehicle that is probably very cheap, but most have so much more. I just dont get the directed complaints against the one type of more over the other. Just like how here you get such disdain for lexus, bmw, etc...as signaling poor financial skills and a type of person, yet the drooling and reinforcement of teslas, that used to only have options that were 2x most of those that were scorned. Nothing makes sense.

[G]

Fun turn of the Tesla thread. Aside from the deja vu (now known to be childhood pinewood derby memories), I was also wondering if the thing could be street legal.

In terms of people buying it? Maybe. My wager is that Tesla in middle America will be a more difficult sell than an aluminum F-150.

[xraygoggles]

I've personally never understood the attraction of having a truck. They are big, bulky, hard to maneuver, gas-guzzling, and slow.

While the Cybertruck fixes the last two points, I find it hard to believe that the type of people who normally buy big beefy trucks would be interested in something so strange-looking and ambiguously-masculine.

[Lordosis]

I think you missed my point. All vehicles are this to some degree, in different ways, either capacity, speed, handling, etc....its just picking on trucks because I guess they are only allowed to be used for work, etc...Whats the difference with the Dr in the flashy tesla just because it signals wealth/green and is super fast? I mean no one in their right mind is utilizing their commuter vehicle to its potential either, anyone who has taken a performance driving class will tell you a civic is capable of some serious driving. Why are we singling out trucks for specialized disdain?

I'd argue that cars are best seen from their most marginal use. A truck is just a car with option to throw/fit something in back without breaking it, etc...It gets from a to b with that option when/if needed. I know I go to the home store and have use for a truck a lot more than once a year and would find it extremely convenient in many many other aspects.

There seems to be a bit of projection and/or jealousy involved in this viewpoint.

It doesn't have to be pickups. SUVs are the same. How many people do you know who use a 5-7 passenger SUV to commute to work? I am not talking about the people who drop 2-5 kids off at daycare on the way. I am talking about the people who like to be "high up" so they feel safe driving. That in my opinion is the dumbest justification to by a 40k vehicle when a 25k car would do fine.

[Zaphod]

I think you missed my point. All vehicles are this to some degree, in different ways, either capacity, speed, handling, etc....its just picking on trucks because I guess they are only allowed to be used for work, etc...Whats the difference with the Dr in the flashy tesla just because it signals wealth/green and is super fast? I mean no one in their right mind is utilizing their commuter vehicle to its potential either, anyone who has taken a performance driving class will tell you a civic is capable of some serious driving. Why are we singling out trucks for specialized disdain?

I'd argue that cars are best seen from their most marginal use. A truck is just a car with option to throw/fit something in back without breaking it, etc...It gets from a to b with that option when/if needed. I know I go to the home store and have use for a truck a lot more than once a year and would find it extremely convenient in many many other aspects.

There seems to be a bit of projection and/or jealousy involved in this viewpoint.

Some people enjoy their vehicle because its frugal and cheap, some for the room for family trips, some for safety, some because its sexy and fast, some for what others will think, in the end...who cares, let them enjoy it for whatever reason they do. We all do similarly dumb things in other peoples minds.

[Zaphod]

this truck was not made for people who think about crumple.

yes anyone commenting on internet is almost by definition Coaster. Elon is Coaster. I am Coaster. I just grew up in different milieu and am familiar with attitude of farmers.

If a product is functional, it is universal. Cowboys have iPhones, lots of iPhones.

Again I must not have been clear, the people that worry about crumple are US govt agencies, its literally illegal to have a vehicle that does not deform upon impact due to how deadly it is to whatever is struck and the occupants of the vehicle.

The cybertruck is very illegal in its advertised conformation, in many regards not just crumple. Odd that they took reservation money on a non producible representation really.

[CordMcNally]

I've never been on a farm where there was not a new truck bought in the last 2-3 years and I"m not even from a particularly prosperous part of the country. The economics of rural America over the last 30 years are such that farms have had to consolidate and scale to stay in business. For 10,000+ acre operations with requirements of buildings, employees, heavy machinery, etc., $70K pickups are common. If you told these guys a truck is available with minimal maintenance, low fuel cost, fast acceleration, can pull trailers, and plug your branding iron, they will buy it.

You're right, there are loads of $70k trucks on farms all over the country...but those aren't the ones going out to feed cattle and haul hay. Zaphod nailed it. You're proving the point without really realizing it. The Cybertruck, as it stands, is a 'truck' for an urban cowboy. You won't see these on a farm or ranch anytime soon. You're more likely to see this thing out front of a Broadway show rather than in South Dakota.

[Zaphod]

I don't agree with a lot of MMM opinions but I have many friends and family members who have a brand new macho truck for commuting to office jobs. Most do not own anything to tow. Most hire out all their home maintenance. It is ridiculous to own a truck for that once a year you need to bring mulch home from Lowe's.

I live in a development on a dead-end street with 10 homes. Five of them have pickup truck sitting in the driveway. One home has two of them that are driven by teenagers. Brand new of course.
To be fair one of my neighbors does have a boat and trailers it frequently in the summer.

it is only money. If Americans want to buy more car than they need so they do not need to be inconvenienced that 1% of the time that is fine by me.

I think you missed my point. All vehicles are this to some degree, in different ways, either capacity, speed, handling, etc....its just picking on trucks because I guess they are only allowed to be used for work, etc...Whats the difference with the Dr in the flashy tesla just because it signals wealth/green and is super fast? I mean no one in their right mind is utilizing their commuter vehicle to its potential either, anyone who has taken a performance driving class will tell you a civic is capable of some serious driving. Why are we singling out trucks for specialized disdain?

I'd argue that cars are best seen from their most marginal use. A truck is just a car with option to throw/fit something in back without breaking it, etc...It gets from a to b with that option when/if needed. I know I go to the home store and have use for a truck a lot more than once a year and would find it extremely convenient in many many other aspects.

There seems to be a bit of projection and/or jealousy involved in this viewpoint.

[Zaphod]

I've never been on a farm where there was not a new truck bought in the last 2-3 years and I"m not even from a particularly prosperous part of the country. The economics of rural America over the last 30 years are such that farms have had to consolidate and scale to stay in business. For 10,000+ acre operations with requirements of buildings, employees, heavy machinery, etc., $70K pickups are common. If you told these guys a truck is available with minimal maintenance, low fuel cost, fast acceleration, can pull trailers, and plug your branding iron, they will buy it.

I feel like you're proving the point without knowing it. This will not be picked up by these farms, minimal maintenance is not true so far, nor is quick work available, etc...Also, the reason you see such cars at these places is theyre written off and dont cause the business that much in costs, as they are written off, etc...This was the big miss. I live in a rural area with loads of farms and regular folk, I'll pay attention to their impressions of the vehicle, I know what I'd bet today.

[BCBiker]

You really lost me here. Where are they supposed to install a haybale stinger? You can't put it where it typically goes because that's where the underbed storage compartment is. A majority of true ranching trucks are beaters. They aren't going to be Tesla Cybertrucks.

I've never been on a farm where there was not a new truck bought in the last 2-3 years and I"m not even from a particularly prosperous part of the country. The economics of rural America over the last 30 years are such that farms have had to consolidate and scale to stay in business. For 10,000+ acre operations with requirements of buildings, employees, heavy machinery, etc., $70K pickups are common. If you told these guys a truck is available with minimal maintenance, low fuel cost, fast acceleration, can pull trailers, and plug your branding iron, they will buy it.

[CordMcNally]

Cybertruck is such a good ranching vehicle.

You really lost me here. Where are they supposed to install a haybale stinger? You can't put it where it typically goes because that's where the underbed storage compartment is. A majority of true ranching trucks are beaters. They aren't going to be Tesla Cybertrucks.

[Lordosis]

I don't agree with a lot of MMM opinions but I have many friends and family members who have a brand new macho truck for commuting to office jobs. Most do not own anything to tow. Most hire out all their home maintenance. It is ridiculous to own a truck for that once a year you need to bring mulch home from Lowe's.

I live in a development on a dead-end street with 10 homes. Five of them have pickup truck sitting in the driveway. One home has two of them that are driven by teenagers. Brand new of course.
To be fair one of my neighbors does have a boat and trailers it frequently in the summer.

it is only money. If Americans want to buy more car than they need so they do not need to be inconvenienced that 1% of the time that is fine by me.

[BCBiker]

You do know why cars dent/crumple dont you? Its a safety feature of the panels and required, so you know it doesnt automatically kill anything it hits and protects the passengers as well. Elon is most definitely a coaster. Judging anything from the extremely online crowd is bad research. Its a nonrepresentative subset.

this truck was not made for people who think about crumple.

yes anyone commenting on internet is almost by definition Coaster. Elon is Coaster. I am Coaster. I just grew up in different milieu and am familiar with attitude of farmers.

If a product is functional, it is universal. Cowboys have iPhones, lots of iPhones.