Comment on The average car purchased in 2023 emits higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) than its 2013 equivalent. This is due to the large proportion of SUVs in the mix, which tend to be bigger and heavier.

• Nfamwap@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Sometimes it’s down to more than what the vehicle can carry, but what the vehicle can tow. A pickup with a 3.5 tonne towing capacity might be a far more useful vehicle than a van that can only pull 1 tonne for example.

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  • wmassingham@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Maybe, but the same “work pickups” you see everywhere also aren’t towing anything.

    But the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van has a towing capacity of 5000-7500 pounds, or 2.5-3.75 tons, depending on configuration. That’s the same range as most medium pickups.

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    • Nfamwap@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      I’m not decrying the abilities of a big van, I drive a 3.5 tonne Transit for work and love it. But we are comparing apples with oranges. I have a friend who owns a Nissan Navara. During the week it is onsite, dragging machinery around building sites. At the weekend it is a family car, taking the kids out etc.

      I do admit though, not all pickups are used in this way and my mate is probably in the minority where he has a genuine need for a vehicle that can handle the extremes of work life and home life.

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      • wmassingham@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        Yeah, and if you’re going to use one vehicle for both, that makes sense. Personally I wouldn’t use my personal vehicle for work like that, because if it gets wrecked somehow, my insurance won’t cover it, and I’d be out of a car until I fight the company’s insurance enough to get something out of them. But that might be a US thing.

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    • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Large vans are often made on the same chassis as trucks, so they have the same transmission and maybe a slightly reduced towing capacity

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