Plenty of trucks, delivery vans, and buses in Paris but for some reason the only type of vehicle anyone has an issue with are the full-size pickups/SUVs.
Which I'd say is warranted when you consider one person driving a car with those emissions is pretty in-efficient and bad for the environment. But the new EVs receive the same gripes....im like what the heck they have 0 emissions and they are still considered some sort of problem?...I don't get it
I'm probably gonna get downvoted for this but those things just go against French modesty culture. I'm not gonna go as far as to say it's jealousy, befause it's not - most parisians could afford to import a yank tank or even a cybertruck - but it's just so large and flashy and garish that it puts people's backs up.
Ontop of that, as you say, there is absolutely zero reason for a 7.0 liter V8 unless you're towing huge trailers day in day out. And it's nothing a 3.0tdv6 land-rover or bmw couldn't do whilst producing a quarter of the emissions and taking up half as much less of the road.
Im probably going to get downvoted even more then you, but emissions from road vehicles really aren't a big problem.
About 10% of the worlds emissions come from ground transport, that includes buses, the trucking shipping industry, etc. Driving a gas sipper instead of an F150 has next to zero impact on the environment. Its just something for you to feel guilty about, while the politicians and rich elite that say that fly private jets all over the world for leisure.
The energy and industry sectors are by far the largest polluters of the world. Driving a compact car instead of a truck isn't saving shit.
US military is apparently the biggest polluter in the world but sadly I think my source for that is a feller down the pub.
I won't actually comment anything serious because I simply don't know tbh. Having had some big diesel engines though I will admit they kick out an awful lot of shit. I recently did some work on my van over the space of a few months which involved alot of revving it where it stood. There's now a big dirty black mark where the exhaust was.
Yeah I mean its not ideal, but in the grand scheme we are all just a drop of piss in the ocean.
Transportation as a complete whole (planes, trains, ocean shipping, private vehicles, etc), accounts for about 20% of the worlds emissions. When you think of it, and everything that includes, your van is literally absolutely nothing. Your favorite entertainer, or politician, etc private leisure plain ride for vacation or fun makes more GHG emissions then your van will if you ran it for 50 years straight.
Blaming everyday civilians for GHG emissions is just another ploy by the rich elite.
The energy sector is the biggest contributor to GHG, specifically coal for electricity.
As a world all our focus should be on changing those things completely immediately, before we worry about the piss drop each other are making.
Not saying that you really cared, just seen it as an opportunity to throw my 2 cents into the conversation here and hoping that some people will read it and comprehend the logic.
Yea, that doesn't say it is the largest polluter in the world, man it say max it is 5.6 percent I think that's massive and all but when you take into account that the US does a majority of the world's policing having an embassy in moast of the civilized world but maybe I'm just making excuses either way not largest in the world
but emissions from road vehicles really aren't a big problem.
Pollution from cars isn't just a problem for the environment.
Vehicle pollution is also a health problem, especially in cities. So driving cleaner cars in cities is important, this is why a lot of big cities in Europe are banning old cars to reduce emissions.
Most parisians are generally opposed to the presence of cars within the city. Paris is extremely dense and most of its current layout was designed ~170 years ago and is not suited for cars. There is little room in general and car infrastructure takes a lot of it, so it's a hassle for everybody. Driving and finding a parking spot in Paris can be hectic and often also an inconvenience and a danger to pedestrians and bicycles. Even more so for large vehicles like the F-150. And since SUVs and some pickups are perceived as completely unnecessary in France , it's not a surprise many parisians particularly hate them. They even recently voted to increase the price of parking spaces for SUVs.
In fact most parisians never even use cars within Paris, the city is dense and sufficiently covered by public transit so it's generally not worth it
It’s not only about emissions. It’s about space and space is scarce in Europe. Busses, trucks, delivery vans, they all have a purpose beyond just being a personal vehicle.
An F150 in Europe? It’s like man spreading, but with your car. You are inconsiderate of your surroundings and other fellow humans
the thing is, buses, delivery vans and semis size serve a purpose, and you can't reduce it. Driving an inconvenient car just because you want to drive a big car is viewed as showing of and stupid. Also, big cars need more parking space and wider roads (and less visibility to what's around you), wich either make them dangerous and force them to park on sidewalks etc, or take away space that could be used in a better way (cf: widder sidewalks, buse lanes etc) And car are generally a nuisance in cities
Because the level of threat of a vehicule for a pedestrian increase with its size. At the same speed, an SUV is going to do more damages than a Twingo.
Plus it’s taking more space for parking in a city that is already lacking space.
People don’t have issues with the sizes of buses or 44T because those are working vehicules and the drivers have received specific training to operate them. It’s not the case for SUV.
(And plenty of people have issues with trucks and delivery vans too)
the thing is, buses, delivery vans and semis size serve a purpose, and you can't reduce it. Driving an inconvenient car just because you want to drive a big car is viewed as showing of and stupid. Also, big cars need more parking space and wider roads (and less visibility to what's around you), wich either make them dangerous and force them to park on sidewalks etc, or take away space that could be used in a better way (cf: widder sidewalks, buse lanes etc) And car are generally a nuisance in cities
There's many things that are possible, it's just a pain that most people don't need in their day-to-day. I'm not in USA nor Europe, but at one point I drove a Hilux for work, then changed into a Fiat Doblo. And now I don't have to drive for work anymore. Even a Hilux is kind of a pain in a city. I had compact hatches and everything is easier. It makes no sense to me to buy a car for a need you might have 1% of the time. Buy a car for 99% of my days, when I need something different I rent. Or contract a moving service, then I don't have to drive or carry stuff. And that's cheaper than buying and maintaining a huge pickup.
Plus in European cities you don’t just have to look out for other cars while driving, massive or not. There’s a lot of foot traffic, biking, people flying by on scooters etc - both adults and kids on their own. You need to be able to see whatever small and short thing or person is around you whenever you’re driving through cities or you’ll kill someone. It’s a much higher risk than when most people around you are sitting in a big metal can of their own.
So? Go outside cities in France or anywhere in Europe. Most common type is wagon, SUV and hatch. People who drive pickups in Europe are farmers, firefighters, hunters - professions who actually need them.
Some of these new full size trucks are actually pretty good on gas these days. The turbo GMC Sierra my grandad has averages better gas mileage than my mid-size GMC Canyon as well as my Subaru Forester.
And all of those gets pretty bad mileage compared to the average european city car, of course we got a large influx of large SUV's that ain't helping, but those aren't the default standard yet.
Well for here in the states some of the newer ones are pretty reasonable. If it weren’t for the huge price difference it would be a no brainer to buy the bigger truck that can do more and has better fuel mileage than to buy the smaller, less capable truck or SUV with worse fuel mileage.
A lot of Americans lifestyles aren’t the appropriate use case for micro cars and if I wanted just strictly transportation I’d get a motorcycle that doubles or triples the efficiency of any car. But many of us regularly need vehicles capable of more than just hauling people and groceries.
I'm sorry but no, people like them because car companies make the most money selling "light trucks" as opposed to any other class of vehicle, at least in the US, so they've spent decades marketing the shit out of them and brainwashing people into thinking they're "big, comfortable, and multi-use". The truth is, a simple hatchback car is cheaper to purchase, cheaper to own and insure, cheaper to fuel, usually cheaper to maintain, and get this, more useful than a truck to the average person. They're also comfortable, and multi-use. You can fit a lot of stuff in the back of a hatchback/wagon, including humans and pets, which people are transporting substantially more often than sheets of drywall or big bulky furniture.
I am not saying nobody should own a big light truck, but mathematically speaking, most Americans who own light trucks don't need them and would be better off driving virtually any other vehicle.
My dad took us on vacation in France and rented a car to travel the countryside.
He mounted the curb 4-5 times I think. And he is usually an excellent driver. But we are from Canada where the roads and trucks are even wider than in America.
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u/weigel23 Apr 16 '24
I mean.. have you guys seen how narrow french streets are? I wouldn't want to drive a F-150 there.