To make things even more fun, they are playing the same game even with the hybrid vehicles. Many of those are also getting huge (the Prius models just seem to keep inflating in size), but then they cheap out on the electric motors so that there is no towing capacity. Zero. You usually void your warranty if they find out you've been towing, and how could they not when you've added a tow bar? So now you have to buy a much larger vehicle just to cover the few times when you need the capacity, because you can't tow a single pound behind you, not even in a micro trailer.
Apparently a few vehicles are now being made with modest towing capacity, but they're all hybrid SUVs as far as I'm aware. Most of the car or wagon type hybrids (e.g. Prius, C-Max) still forbid towing. And I've noticed that they have also cheaped out on tow capacity even for the new hybrid pickups that the industry is so excited about. You have to buy an expensive battery upgrade for the Ford Lightning, for example.
By the way, those parody car names (Nissan Dreadnought, etc.) are right on the nose. Nissan makes an utterly immense SUV called the Armada. Gigantic V8 engine, body-on-frame construction, the works. I remember a TV ad that featured an ominous, booming voice: "you need a refuge from the urban jungle!".
Fucking Hummer EV that weighs 9 tonnes, has the potential energy of a small nuke, and can do 0 to 90 in less than the response time of the human nervous system.
Confession: 17-year-old me wanted a bright crimson red Armada because one of my favorite bands at the time was The Crimson Armada. I was very clever, believe me.
To make things even more fun, they are playing the same game even with the hybrid vehicles. Many of those are also getting huge (the Prius models just seem to keep inflating in size), but then they cheap out on the electric motors so that there is no towing capacity. Zero. You usually void your warranty if they find out you've been towing, and how could they not when you've added a tow bar? So now you have to buy a much larger vehicle just to cover the few times when you need the capacity, because you can't tow a single pound behind you, not even in a micro trailer.
Apparently a few vehicles are now being made with modest towing capacity, but they're all hybrid SUVs as far as I'm aware. Most of the car or wagon type hybrids (e.g. Prius, C-Max) still forbid towing. And I've noticed that they have also cheaped out on tow capacity even for the new hybrid pickups that the industry is so excited about. You have to buy an expensive battery upgrade for the Ford Lightning, for example.
By the way, those parody car names (Nissan Dreadnought, etc.) are right on the nose. Nissan makes an utterly immense SUV called the Armada. Gigantic V8 engine, body-on-frame construction, the works. I remember a TV ad that featured an ominous, booming voice: "you need a refuge from the urban jungle!".
Fucking Hummer EV that weighs 9 tonnes, has the potential energy of a small nuke, and can do 0 to 90 in less than the response time of the human nervous system.
Confession: 17-year-old me wanted a bright crimson red Armada because one of my favorite bands at the time was The Crimson Armada. I was very clever, believe me.