Those silly, gigantic urban trucks are the modern equivalent of high heels in Renaissance Europe. High heels were a practical invention that let horseback riders maintain a firm foothold on the stirrups, but they eventually became the status symbols of aristocrats. French men in tights wore heels in the 17th century because they were impractical. They couldn’t walk on muddy or cobblestoned streets or for long distances with them on, but that was the point. They wanted to show that they didn’t have to walk like a commoner; society had to accommodate them.

(Women started wearing heels in the 18th century, and men lost interest soon afterward, because…obvious reasons).

I think men driving alone in sparkling clean F-250s, and having trouble fitting into parking spots, even in huge suburban malls, are exhibiting similar behavior: the truck is primarily a flex. The cumbersomeness and socially-maladapted inconvenience of the truck is the point. Society simply has to accommodate them.

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