The engines rev, the guitars thrum and a gruff narrator lays out why the vehicle occupying the driveway is more than just a machine. “A truck is a tool,” he says, “but a Ram – a Ram is life.”
So begins an advert for the Ram 1500, a pickup truck slightly bigger than the Panzer I tanks of Nazi Germany and almost as heavy. It is growing in popularity in Europe, with the number of Rams arriving on the continent up 20% in 2023 from the year before, according to registration data from the European Environment Agency. Road safety and environmental campaigners in the UK and Europe are aghast as the latest, most extreme cases of North American car bloat – giant pickup trucks – are increasingly crossing the Atlantic.
“Europe should ban the Ram,” said Dudley Curtis from the European Transport Safety Council. “This type of vehicle is excessively heavy, tall and powerful, making it lethal in collisions with normal-sized vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.”
I think the demand here isn’t driven by soccer mums picking up their 1 grocery from sainsbury’s. I think it’s driven by people who can’t afford a house, and can’t afford rent and will settle at least for a portable tank that they have space to sleep in.
Homeless people aren’t buying new trucks.
Let’s just say the definition of “homeless” people has expanded quite a bit in the last decade. Plenty of homeless people work 9-5 jobs.
But are they buying expensive trucks? Still doubtful.
I don’t know about the UK; but over here it’s MUCH easier to get a car loan than a mortgage or rental lease