• RanchOnPancakes@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My previous car is a Yaris.

    When I got the Yaris I heard people make snide comments like “Anyone see that big guy get out of that tiny car?” then gas prices went up and they became “Hey, what kind of MPG does that thing get?”

    I like hatchbacks. Bigger is fine but nothing huge.

    • OldFartPhil@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      My current car is an '07 Yaris. It’s totally bare bones, but everyone who has been in it comments on how spacious the interior is.

      I’ve always driven small cars, because they’re economical and I’ve never needed anything larger. I hate that small hatchbacks are so scarce in the US and that our roads are overrun with ludicrously huge pickups and SUVs. We transitioned from land yachts to small cars in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, we could do it again with the right incentives.

      • mufasio@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        My current car is an ‘07 Yaris too. It’s also totally bare bones including manual windows and locks and no cruise control (the only feature I sometimes wish it had). It’s economical and much funner to try drive than most bigger cars, trucks, and SUVs. And on multiple occasions I have been able to parallel park it in tight spots that cars in front of me had to pass on.

      • athlon@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I drive an Auris station wagon Hybrid (aka, the US Corolla iM with bigger boot). I had a chance to drive multiple Yaris generations and honestly I am always surprised by how roomy it is inside. They made a perfect use of space - way better than VW did with Polo (smaller Golf), that’s for sure…

      • RanchOnPancakes@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I can’t even remember what year mine was. It was the first year it was in the US. Was a decent car. Good milage. But it chewed through water pumps so bad. It was either loud squealing belt or too tight causing it to killed the pump. Never could get it “just right”

        • OldFartPhil@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          That’s too bad. I have 189,000 miles on mine (304,000 km) and it’s never let me down. I haven’t had to do anything but regular maintenance on it. I wanted to replace it with something a bit newer and nicer, but had to replace the car my wife and daughter share, instead. Fortuately, I don’t drive very much so it will probably hold out for a few more years.

          • RanchOnPancakes@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Thats the way to be. I ignore the urge and ride whats paid off until it just doesn’t make sense any more. The “newer spiffy” car models will still be around when its time.

    • Something Burger 🍔@jlai.lu
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      1 year ago

      I have a Yaris and think it’s too big. It’s 20cm longer than my previous car (2005 Clio) but somehow has less interior space, it feels cramped.

    • Dmian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I have a 2017 Hybrid Yaris in blue like this one:

      That I affectionately call “Blue thunder” 🤣

      • Sinnz@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Got the same model in red but with the 1.5L engine from 2019. Love it. Already got 75k km and it’s still running like a charm.

        • Dmian@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Mine has half that 37k. It had 31k when I bought it in 2020, and I don’t use it often. I hoper it lasts a few more years.

      • Dmian@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The actual model is beautiful, and it has Apple Car/Android auto and also a HUD.

      • jscummy@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        The ease of driving and parking in a car that small is insane. I thought my little Outlander Sport was a big difference from my last car, then I saw my buddy’s Yaris easily make a U turn on a narrow 2 lane road.

    • KptnAutismus@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My Yaris is actually older than me. so old in fact, that it was called “vitz” and/or “echo” in some countries. i am the 4th owner. had to replace the starter, all the fluids and the clutch (cuz old people). best car ever. it has around 100.000 km on it and runs like it rolled out of the factory just yesterday. considering we euros pay up to 7€ per gallon it’s good i still get around 40mpg out of it. love that thing.

    • dragoness@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      I love that this has become the hatchback and Yaris love thread. As a GTI owner it makes me happy. I do not want nor need to go any bigger. It’s almost the perfect car.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      As a taller woman my wife was against us getting a subcompact until I took her to test drive it thinking I wouldn’t fit. Between seeing how comfortable and efficient it was she was entirely on board

  • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    Americans need to embrace public transit. We need trains that don’t completely suck in both speed and schedule reliability.

    We’re never going to convince a lot of folks to leave their lifted F-150 or massive Suburban behind for a small car. But quality, affordable public transit that is not only efficient but saves money over owning a car would actually make a difference. We’re more likely to be able to get people to just leave the F-150 in the driveway and eventually move away from it.

    Much better for the environment, too, and reduces traffic / congestion, etc. I agree smaller cars would be good, but the goalpost should be getting away from the automobile.

      • dubba@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I mean, I think this is what they’re saying, but yeah.

        • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          Yeah. I probably should have been more detailed in my comment, but I did not mean embrace it as it is. I mean investing in it and making it competitive. I don’t think it’s embraceable in its current form.

      • grue@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        we need to push representatives into office that are far more left-leaning and not fucking autocrats who will MANDATE massive increases in taxes on billionaires and legislate much more significant subsidization of public transit

        You’re framing it wrong. We don’t need to elect scary commies to massively increase taxes in order to subsidize icky collective things; we simply need to elect Fiscal Conservatives™ who will cease massively subsidizing car dependency. In particular, it’s time to repeal Big Government® intrusive regulations that try to tell Red Blooded Americans© they can’t build a multifamily building on their own damn property or that dictate minimum parking requirements.

        This is America, damn it! It’s high time we put the invisible hand of the Free Market back in control!

        [insert screaming eagle noises]

      • I_hate_you_welcome@feddit.nl
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        1 year ago

        Countries like Japan, Europe and Nordic countries… My man, Nordic countries are Europe and Europe isn’t a country.

      • JeffCraig@citizensgaming.com
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        1 year ago

        It’s more complex than that.

        The way the US is spread out makes public transit prohibitively expensive and difficult to achieve proper coverage. To make it effective, you would have to shift the entire way we live. Our entire society is built off the concept that everyone has a car.

        Add to the fact that building transit is extra expensive in the US and you arrive at the reality that we will NEVER have a working transit system. That’s why the shift to small cars is needed. We don’t have any more room for roads, so we need more cars to fit in the roads we have

          • mwguy@infosec.pub
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            1 year ago

            We just lack the leadership needed to implement massive programs like high speed interstate rail.

            In fairness the Interstate system was more about air defense than transit.

              • mwguy@infosec.pub
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                1 year ago

                Politically you have to get several different groups of people to buy in to make it work. Unfortunately “what it’s about” is the deciding factor in accomplishment.

    • FoxBJK@midwest.social
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      1 year ago

      Americans have absolutely embraced public transit. It’s just that not a lot of cities have robust systems in place, but go somewhere like NYC or Chicago and you’ll see a transit system that millions rely on daily.

    • mwguy@infosec.pub
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      1 year ago

      Public transit needs to do what it says on the tin. People won’t choose public transit if it’s the choice between an hour commute each way and a 3 hour each way bus ride.

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      We embraced the shit out of them during the oil crisis in the '70’s. Then when gasoline got cheap again we snapped right back.

      “But my SUV makes me feel so ‘safe’ and gives me a commanding view of the road!!!”

      I am of the opinion that everyone ought to just get a motorcycle.

      • jscummy@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Have you ever seen Americans drive? Or the ones that ride motorcycles?

        Give everyone a motorcycle and half the country would be dead in a week

        • Ubermeisters@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          Honestly, fuck motorcycle drivers. I know there’s plenty of them out there who operate your machines properly, but there SO MANY absolute asshats on motorcycles, always making the highway way more dangerous for everyone around them.

          If I could remove one vehicle from the earth it would be motorcycles. Idgaf how fun they are for you, people can’t be trusted with them in general.

          • Fox@pawb.social
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            1 year ago

            Like most drivers you probably just don’t notice the ones that aren’t loud / ridden by asshats.

            Many bikes have basically the same performance as a civic, you are painting with far too broad a brush here.

            In a decade running a motorcycle as my only transport, I’ve never been remotely a threat to the 5,000 pound tanks I’m forced to share the road with, but almost been taken out by left turning stop sign and red light runners more times than is reasonable.

            • Ubermeisters@lemmy.zip
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              1 year ago

              Yep couple assholes ruin it for everyone, I recognized that already,but also, it’s a particular type of danger that isn’t posed by anything else, and I dont think your pleasure is worth my stress tbh.

              To be clear when I’m talking about danger I’m talking about the motorcyclist turning into an unrecognizable pink streak on the asphalt, not “hurting my car”…

              If you pull some stupid shit and die on the road next to me that affects me more than you, since youre fucking dead then, so therefore: I should get more say in it than you.

              Wrap it in whatever guise you want, you’ll never convince me that riding a motorcycle is anything other than selfish.

              • Fox@pawb.social
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                1 year ago

                I don’t use it for pleasure, I use it to get around. If car drivers are stressing about rider safety (I don’t get that impression) they can show it by putting their phones down and paying better attention to the world around them.

              • dragoness@lemmy.zip
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                1 year ago

                So wait. I am transporting one person, not taking up much space, obeying the rules of the road, don’t have loud pipes nor speed, and you’re telling me I’m selfish? When you literally just said you don’t care about our pleasure?

                I don’t think it’s us thats the selfish one here.

      • MrMcGasion@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I think there should be a separate license to drive SUVs and Trucks over a certain size. And that maintaining that license should be a bit of a hassle - like a required in-person written and practical test every 2 years. If people want that commanding view of the road and “safe” feeling that comes from endangering everyone else on the road, then they should have to put in some extra effort - not enough extra effort that it’s unattainable for those who actually have a need for a vehicle of that size, but enough effort that it would discourage the widespread use we have currently.

      • rockSlayer@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’d love to have a motorcycle that would replace my current vehicle, but it would need to be capable of keeping me warm while handling well in heavy snow. Afaik, there aren’t any enclosed bikes out there

      • Nougat@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I am of the opinion that everyone ought to just get a motorcycle.

        But only if it’s a dual sport, right? ;)

      • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        When you need a fucking step ladder to get into your jacked up pickup just so you can commute or get groceries you might have lost your mind.

        I am of the opinion that everyone ought to just get a motorcycle.

        I’d rather not die tyvm.

    • Lev_Astov@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The US EPA currently penalizes smaller cars thanks to a poorly thought out rule for fuel economy that scales by wheelbase size, making larger cars easier to meet requirements for. The EPA has made many embarrassingly backwards decisions, but this might be the worst.

      • NotSoCoolWhip@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I was taxed an extra $150 to register a 2002 Honda Insight last year. It was for a “Hybrid Tax” because hybrid owners buy less gas and therefore are paying less tax on gasoline. Like, that’s the whole point of driving a small car!

  • Obinice@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Normal sized cars* you mean.

    Normal cars aren’t small. They’re just small if you compare them to the giant ridiculous trucks they have over that.

  • Nisciunu@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Whenever I’m in the States I hate the fact that everything is a 20 minute car ride away. I understand why road rage can be a thing if you spend so much time in the car.

      • adrian783@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        USA didn’t start building bullshit suburbs until 1950s. before that it was dense cities.

      • scarabic@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If anything this means Europe’s cities just can’t accommodate cars, because they weren’t built for them. The weird thing is that American cities were built for cars and yet still can’t accommodate cars. Traffic, lack of parking, road rage… it’s a huge mess, and it seems like the more you commit to cars, the worse it all gets. That’s the trouble with cars. They just don’t work.

        I don’t really understand this comment though. It doesn’t take thousands of years to achieve urban density. And what does America’s sprawl have to do with loving large cars? You don’t need a huge car to drive medium distances.

        • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          You need density to support a train system. You need a large number of riders to make it economical and you need them living within a reasonable distance of the stations. The US is very spread out. You can blame cars for that but that is the world we live in. The US is also very big with large rural areas, the western US didn’t even really develop until trains came out in the 1869. Europe was built around compact cities based on horses and walking long before cars.

          I agree that we are too car focused and it has become a sort of arms race, build more roads, more cars, more roads, etc.

          • coffeebiscuit@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            The focus on cars is emotionally driven. The car symbolizes freedom and independence. Besides this it’s a huge status symbol. And the industry is working hard to keep it this way. The lack of decent public transportation is by design.

            • scarabic@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Adding to this, I think cars are also often a person’s only private space. Look at the YT videos that are people ranting from their car. It’s all they have. They’re very attached to it.

              Further, a lot of Americans are in terrible physical shape. Obese and weak, injured, etc or all of these. But behind the wheel of a beefy car they can feel the joy of movement and power. It’s literally an extension of their body.

              Freedom, independence, privacy, strength and power… yeah Americans have a lot invested in their cars. I was brought up into this culture and subscribed to it myself for a long time. Fortunately I just have other ways to feel good about myself now and caring about cars seems stupid and pathetic.

          • Deway@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Public transportationdoesn’t have to be economical, it’s a service.

          • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            the western US didn’t even really develop until trains came out in the 1869

            The western US didn’t really develop until the government started giving land that had already been ceded to indigenous peoples and couldn’t actually support dense settlement to white settlers, at the behest of railroad companies who needed an artificial reason to build railroads in the first place.

          • zephyreks@programming.dev
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            1 year ago

            Vancouver runs trains through SFH development. Montreal does too. Hell, so does London.

            You’re an untravelled idiot and it shows.

      • NuanceDemon@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Unfortunately it’s zoning that caused most of this issue. Not size. Dense residential was disallowed for not entirely un-racist reasons, so it spread out enormously instead. On top of car companies lobbying in various ways to make cars essential.

      • Nisciunu@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I totally get that fact. I also think that it would not be bad to copy some things from other countries to make the cities in the States more liveable without car dependency. There’s enough space to do that.

        • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world
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          At the very least we could link cities with rail systems. Don’t put a million stops on them either though. Try taking Amtrack from DC to Boston and you’ll see what I mean.

          • orrk@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            just have more than one set of tracks and you can have a regional and express service train!

          • Sax_Offender@lemmy.world
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            Passenger trains exist in the U.S. They used to be popular. Then planes and affordable automobiles put them out of business. If you don’t live in a dense urban area, you almost certainly have a car, meaning you aren’t beholden to train schedules and destinations. If you are in an area where you get by without a car, an Uber to the airport gets you to your destination much faster.

      • BilboBallbins@lemm.ee
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        I agree and disagree with this. I don’t think the US inherently must be car centric because it’s big. But I do agree that Europe has superior pedestrian infrastructure because it developed for most of its history without cars. Auto and oil industry lobbying has instigated the situation in the US, but their agenda was only achievable because the technology existed to make large scale changes to the terrain, mass produce vehicles, etc. It’s very likely that there were people throughout Europe’s history who tried to monopolize bridges or horse wagons or other forms of transport, but the technology wasn’t sufficient for it to materialize. Warsaw was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt, and it’s developed to be very car-centric compared to other cities in Poland and Europe.

  • expatriado@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    some reasons for the raise of vehicle size on the last decades are personal taste, but others are policy driven, we could look into that, as utility vehicles are treated differently in terms of emission requirements

    • aleph@lemm.ee
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      Yup - in the US, pick-ups and SUVs are categorized as “light trucks,” which have different fuel efficiency and emission standards and are therefore more profitable to produce.

      Add to that some clever marketing to the effect of “big car = more manly/safe” and boom, now you see these big, stupid, fuel-ineffecient, dangerous vehicles everywhere.

      Good job 👍

      • TrustedTyrant@lemmy.world
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        Not just that but the standards are also more lenient if the car is larger for its class which is part of why even small cars are bigger now.

    • electrogamerman@lemmy.world
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      I have heard also that a big car is better because a big car crashing with other bigger cars will increase the probability of surviving, but then it’s a war of having the biggest car. It’s basically the same as weapons.

    • grue@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Or walkable zoning, lack of which is the fundamental cause of the car dependency.

      • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The lack of continuous sidewalks drives me nuts. A developer might put in a sidewalk but the one next to them doesn’t. Sometimes you are walking alongside a ditch or have to cross a busy road to continue on.

        • grue@lemmy.ml
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          As much as I’m inclined to agree with @MaggiWuerze@feddit.de, the real reason is typically that all new developments are required to include sidewalks, but existing ones aren’t required to retrofit. So you get a patchwork of sidewalks installed over time as things get torn down and rebuilt.

          The “annoying and pedestrian hostile” part is municipalities’ unwillingness to infill sidewalks in front of old developments at taxpayer expense.

      • zephyreks@programming.dev
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        Bullshit. Adequate mass transportation is competitive with a car. You don’t even have to leave North America to see an “adequate” mass transportation system: just go to Montreal, Vancouver, or New York.

        Most US cities have mass transportation that’s designed to move around poor people so rich people in cars can’t see them.

      • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world
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        I never drove into Boston, I always took the train. I still needed a car though if I wanted to go anywhere away from the city. Boston also has an awful spoke and no rim train system. If you want to go from the end of one line to another you can’t go in a ring around the city, you’d have to go all the way in then all the way up the other spoke.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        Buses aren’t horrible.

        • they feel safer in terms of crime, which might not be an issue you deal with but for over half the population it matters
        • they can often go around problems. One bus on the same line up ahead has an issue that has no real impact on the bus you are on
        • lot easier for the disabled to go on and off compared to down into a subway
        • you have a small degree of privacy
        • Mechanical problems? Get off the bus. No biggy.

        I do understand, I was a subway guy for the longest time, my wife would take the bus every day and she converted me.

        • nexas_XIII@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I’m usually not a hatch fan but that little car looked awesome. I got my last new gas powered manual transmission car before EVs are the main thing. Since I work from home and don’t drive a bunch my plan is to keep it as long as I can and get an EV in 4-5 years when hopefully infrastructure catches up a bit and more manufacturers have an option and work out small kinks.

    • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Bro if you could get a used leaf gen one (they run around 4k), you could take that thing to a drag strip and absolutely turn some heads.

      I have a friend who wants to take my gen one leaf and do a conversion. He just went to an EV mechanics course on it.

    • Dmian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Lovely car! Btw: how do you put a picture in a comment? What sorcery is this?

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’m on desktop, so how I do it is right-click, copy image, then just paste into the post. Not sure how to do it on mobile.

    • Throwaway@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      You’d chop up a nash, and put an ev motor in it? I do not have kind words for you.

      • blivet@artemis.camp
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        1 year ago

        When I was in high school back in the late 70s you’d still see a few of those around. My friend had one, but not for long. Someone had put in a more powerful motor and if she wasn’t careful accelerating she would snap the drive shaft.

  • chakan2@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Give me a new El Camino EV with a 400 mile range and I’m in.

    All my road trips are around 150 miles and there may or may not be a charger at the destination.

    The article says range isn’t important…if you’ve ever looked at a map of the US, you’ll see why that’s a misguided statement.

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    1 year ago

    Forget small cars, we should be embracing non-motorized ways of transit. Make things human-sized again and allow us to walk and/or bike to destinations rather than having to have a motorized vehicle to get around.

    Public transit is obviously a good thing to have, but I think it’s also important to have alternate forms of transit as well.

    • jasondj@ttrpg.network
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      1 year ago

      I was just on Block Island, RI the other day. It’s a 10mi^2 island with ferry service and an airport square in the middle of it. Very seasonal economy and the residents are wealthy NIMBY-types.

      No trams or trolleys or any mass transit on the island itself. Lots of mopeds and bikes and a surprising amount of cars. We were on foot to a restaurant and approached a 4-way stop and both myself (pedestrian) and the bicyclist next to me were amazed at how hard it was to cross the street with all the taxis and rental cars around.

      What a shame. The island should be a model of an ideal “minimal car” community, and could easily become it.

    • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      So much this. It’s infuriating to have to get in a car every time you want to go outside your neighborhood.

        • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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          In the US, it’s really only NYC and Chicago that have functioning public transit. If you can’t go to one of those, you’re pretty much out of luck. It’s not like in Europe where every little small to mid-size town has light rail and train connections all over.

          • Bloops@lemmygrad.ml
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            1 year ago

            NYC (and presumably Chicago - I haven’t been) are the best, that’s true. I’ve also been to Philadelphia and Boston and both had good train systems. I currently live in a medium-sized city that is 90% bus transit, and that can suffice even though it’s not great. It’s an exaggeration to say NYC and Chicago are the only places you can go without a car.

            • zephyreks@programming.dev
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              1 year ago

              The question isn’t about managing, but about convenience. In some cities, public transportation is more convenient than going out and getting a car and dealing with parking and all that noise. That should be the goal, not “it’s manageable.”

    • chakan2@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That’s all fun and games until weather happens…and weather is going to happen a lot going forward.

      • LaLiLuLuCo@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        I moved to Europe, grew up in New York near the City and decided to get a moped here to commute. It’s roughly equivalent to an Ebike but was actually cheaper than one and has a 100km range. It’s not highway legal as it has a top speed of 45km/h but can go on bike paths as long as I watch the speed.

        After 3 months since I got the moped I am going to get a car because FUCK going to the office in the rain with that thing. The trains and/or busses go on strike about once a month, maybe a little less, and between delays and cancelations I can’t rely on them for my commute. I’ve literally been waiting for the bus and the driver just decides not to stop to pick me up too. Also packages don’t get reliably dropped off at my front door so I need to go into town or to the supermarket next to the highway to pick up my things which becomes untenable when they are bulky. Instead I’m taking taxis at a cost of €30 each way just to pick up shit that should be left at my door.

        The dissonance is strong, I still need a car, and I still need one big enough to move bulky crap at least once a month if not more.

        And before someone says rent a car, it’s €70+ a day to do so here and I have a preferred account through my employer. I need to book it in advance so it’s not a “same day” thing. Oh and the places they drop the packages off have weird fucking opening times and are often closed when they should be open so I’ve literally spent €60 on taxis to come home with nothing. That time the seller did me a solid and refunded me the €60 as an apology (it was a €350 item).

  • sndrtj@feddit.nl
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    1 year ago

    Cars have gotten bigger externally, but internally it seems storage space is actually going down. My 2014 Nissan Note has a 10% larger storage capacity than a 2023 Renault Espace, even tho the latter is 50cm larger in all three dimensions and is literally called ‘spatious’.

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    1 year ago

    I have a Volt, and I resent how few compact hybrid options there will be when I get a replacement. When I drive around, I literally struggle to see around the giant land boats cruising around. They hold up parking lots trying to stuff themselves into spaces, and if I get hit by one I’m much more likely to be injured. Average car size is kind of a tragedy of the commons. Everyone suffers when the cars get bigger, but the individuals with the dumb land boats suffer little of the cost.

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    1 year ago

    It’s time for Americans to stop spending so much time in their cars. Emissions from burning hydrocarbons are destroying the planet.