Angry ute owners have hit back at an American podcaster who claimed 99 percent of pickup truck owners have no practical use for the "clown cars" making them look "f***ing ridiculous".
The comments were posted to Twitter on Tuesday by the owner of the Oregon-based anonymous account Post-Culture Review.
The Review claimed pickup trucks, largely identical to what Kiwis call 'utes', are "ridiculous clown cars and 99 percent of the people who buy them will never have a practical need to own one".
"First off, pick-ups have for years consistently been among the most popular, best-selling vehicles in America. But we know from consumer surveys that almost no one who buys one uses them for anything more than daily commuting," they said.
"The vast majority of people who buy them don't use them for their primary design function. Which shouldn't be surprising as the most popular models don't really have a useful design function that can't be fulfilled by other, smaller, cheaper vehicles."
The Review noted utes are commonly associated with carrying large items, including timber. But to do that, they need a longer bed and "trucks with full 8ft beds are actually remarkably unpopular".
"What that means though is your average Ram 2500 Megacab is no better for hauling plywood than a base-model Toyota Sienna minivan with the seats folded down.
"People don't want to admit that they're driving a four-tonne family sedan though."
But ute owners disagreed, saying it was possible to carry long planks of wood on most utes.
"A 6' bed does a fine job at handling 8-12' flats (drywall or plywood for example) with the tailgate down," one commenter said.
The review also claimed utes are also thought to be used by labourers and farmers except utes are "basically useless" because they are "too tall, too heavy".
But farmers called the claim "bullsh*t".
"I live in farmland. Many of my friends are multi-generational farmers. About half of the directly adjoining land to my house is farm. EVERY SINGLE ONE of them drives a pickup," one person wrote.
"Have to call BS here. My father in law is a farmer. My grandfather was as well. Both have well used trucks. In the community my FIL lives, everyone has trucks on the farm," another said.
The review said other negative aspects include that large utes increase pedestrian fatalities and are "ridiculously expensive vehicles".
"Now you can think up a myriad of examples of how you, personally, need a pick-up or the one time that it was useful to have one or whatever. But your experience is stacked against the literal millions of pick-up owners who bought them as engorged status symbols.
"The fact is most practical uses of a pick up can be handled just as well in a smaller vehicle... Owning a truck the size of a WWII Sherman tank serves no practical purpose and makes you look f***ing ridiculous."
The comments have been widely shared on social media as ute owners hit back, claiming they have been "shamed for owning a pick-up".
"This is America, I don't need any other reason than 'I want one'. You can apply your same logic to hamburgers and health. No one needs a hamburger," one person wrote.
"You've obviously spent a great deal of time on this. I have two questions: Why, in the ever-loving hell, is any of this your business? If a person wants a truck, they buy a truck. They're not you. Why do you think you should have a say in *their* decision?" another said.
Other commenters shared pictures of their own utes and defended their reasons for owning them.
"I tow a 23-foot trailer about six times per year, I use the bed of the pick up 1 to 2 times per month. I'm happy with my choice," one ute owner said.
