this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2023
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Fuck Cars

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Honestly this is absurd. These death machines shouldn't be legal in europe. That thing doesn't even fit in the parking space, even though the parking lot has the biggest spaces in the whole city. The ~~Golf~~ Polo is so small in comparison, it could even hide in front of the engine hood of the truck.

EDIT: It's a Polo and not a Golf, I don't know my cars, sorry for that!

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[–] [email protected] 163 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Both of them are used to transport mostly a single person at a time. Even the small one is too big.

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[–] [email protected] 125 points 1 year ago (5 children)

But you forgot that the truck can be used to haul 4 pieces of lumber twice a year!

[–] [email protected] 74 points 1 year ago (2 children)

And only costs 1000x more than it would to rent a trailer for a day twice a year.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Or, carry the same 4 pieces of lumber all year long and cause me anxiety everytime I'm driving behind.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (57 children)

How do Europeans get stuff for their house around? Like do appliances just get delivered as part of buying them? Or are there other companies that specialize in that sort of thing? Genuinely curious.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (10 children)

This question baffles me because it seems like a total non-issue to me as a European. How do Americans get stuff for their house around? Do you not have delivery or truck/van/trailer rental services, and are all your appliances (and not just fridges/freezers which are apparently hilariously big in the US) so American-sized that you can't fit them in an average family hatchback/crossover/SUV? Or do you regularly move all of your stuff from one house to another?

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (10 children)

Dude, as an American I had all of my appliances delivered. The Home Depot guys showed up with a box truck. It’s free delivery too so why would you even need a truck…. In fact, you can get a lot of stuff delivered for free or very cheaply from Home Depot.

The truck in this picture is so shiny it’s clearly a vanity vehicle. I’m guessing it’s owned by a member of the US armed forces judging by the star on the side? American military personnel are known to bring their vehicles with them from the mainland, to Japan or Europe.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (5 children)

You rent a truck or pay for delivery just like 80% of North Americans do.

Also how often do you need to haul furniture, the rental cost will never come close to the price difference between a car and a truck.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I hate that you're being downvoted for asking a genuine question about cultural differences. Do better, Lemmy.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Yes companies deliver. This makes me wonder about something I've never thought of: do American shops not do this?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Aside from the free delivery of appliances others mentioned, I believe it is an EU law that a store that delivers whitegoods must also take the old one and properly dispose of it.

I ordered a new fridge lately. The delivery was free (I paid the extra €25 to have them install it and plug it in) and I had to clean the old fridge out before they arrived, but they took the old one down the same 3 flights of stairs they carried the new one up.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

UK here. Yes you order an appliance and it gets delivered, and in some cases installed, by the retailer. If you have a plumber or kitchen fitter maybe they will collect it for you in their van. I'm sure you could save a bit of money on shipping if you collected it yourself, but not many people have the means to do so. And this way, if it's damaged in transit, the retailer are liable.

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 1 year ago (8 children)

The golf will also get farther with the same amount of fuel. Way farther.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

That's a Polo, the Golf is a tad bigger

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (10 children)

I'd wager a sizeable number of half-ton pickup trucks are used solely as people movers, i.e. the bed and towing capabilities aren't utilized. In many countries, trade workers more than manage with light vehicles, like kei trucks in Japan, so I think they'd work for the average weekend warrior too.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (34 children)

What always gets me is how shitty pick-ups are at transporting things.

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 1 year ago (3 children)

headlights shouldn't be allowed that high on road vehicles, blinding menace on wheels.

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 year ago (15 children)

I also started to see more of these in urban areas of europe. Not a huge amount but still recognizable. I dont get why one would buy something like this. You wont even be able to find a proper parking spot for these.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (4 children)

100% they are buying these to "protest" the "green agenda" or some bullshit like that.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yes. Both cars fit the same amount of people but one driver is carrying a smaller package.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 year ago (8 children)

I think the most absurd is, that even former basic cars like the Polo get bigger and bigger. Modern Polos seem to take up more space than a gen. 1, 2, or even 3 Golf - but with barely more space inside.

Effects are, they take up more public space when curb parking, perversely hindering their brothers to get through. Some just barely fit single garages built in the 50ies, totally inconveniencing the driver trying to get out. One'd thing people buying these would see these self created problems, but apparently not.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Ok but a lot of that space is taken up by crumple zones and the like, things that make far fewer people die. Euro NCAP legislation drives a lot of the change you are seeing, and a lot of it for the better.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I'm seeing these in London now. Why are we importing the absolute worst of US transportation fucks ups?

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago

How else are you going to let people know you lost the genetic lottery?

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (12 children)

Can you store up to 10 corpses on that Polo?

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (9 children)

It seems like a lot of people here don't understand that circumstances might be different in different places. This post itself assumes the only reason is to transport people, but the truck can do more than that.

If I lived in a rural place and needed something that could tow, transport, and go over tougher terrain, I could see the usefulness of having a truck around. Not everything is in a comfy city where everything is within a couple miles.

Now where I currently live, I'd never dream of getting a truck like that. So much hassle and the roads are too small. But I could see it being useful for someone else.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The truck still doesn't need to be that big. Trucks have gotten absolutely massive with no appreciable difference in bed size. Yes yes, of course, bigger truck = more towing and load capacity, but honestly there's got to be a reasonable limit where something becomes a commercial vehicle, and the limit needs to be much lower than the current standard.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Get the Ordnungsamt involved, it's illegal to park like that. It's too heavy and big to try to park like a car.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

I see those pick-ups all the time and almost never are they properly parked. Just like in the picture lmao.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (11 children)

In most of the EU, you'll get a hefty fine for parking on the pavement. Take a picture wirh the license number and report anonymously.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

However, only a single car possesses the ability to signal your fellow drivers about the astonishingly delicate nature of your masculinity.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's about bumper height more than anything else

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What do you mean? They've specifically designed it so that when it ruptures all of your internal organs you don't have to suffer through living any longer

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (15 children)

Only one of them fits a man with a small dick

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Well, not the same amount of people. The truck can only carry the same number of people, but only guys with small dicks.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Polo but yeah. The size difference is crazy. Who actually needs such a vehicle?

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Depens if they are dead or alive. That truck could hold a lot or corpses.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

the red one can haul so much more corpse at the back though. yours can't.

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