ATWM

Haha I knew it! American exceptionalism was inherited trait from the founding lot all along.

I was just an hour ago on my bike behind the Rivian R1s (we see a lot of them where I’m at). For US roads, it fits in the Goldilocks spectrum I would say. It might not on your roads. Honestly, I think the issue here really isn’t America’s cars but Britains ones, no? We’ve got our own problems, but can’t regulations address this at home? If cars are too big for the road that sounds like an issue for government. (Yes, I’m aware that’s not an inspiring response, but really, it feels like the right place no?) This is again overly cynical IMO. It depends on the car - some cars are pretty awful emitters and getting them off the road is better than keeping them on, and at some point the lower emissions from getting the exhaust off the road is significant. If the battery powered cars kicking the can down the road - what’s the solution? There is no perfect thing, it’s about what’s realistic and significant. I’m skeptical of this whole “push” to get everyone to drive EV’s. No one is stopping anyone from going to the dealer and buying up a ton of ICE vehicles right now. No one is telling anyone they can’t drive what they want to drive. Some govt incentives for objectively better environmental technology is only that, an incentive. It’s not a push. Yes, if you’re charging your EV with coal power you can do better, but that’s honestly fixable and it’s getting relatively easier all the time - whether if that’s by using more renewable energy from your utility (which many are working towards, if too slowly), or putting solar on your roof or whatever. It’s one step in a few that need to be addressed but we can’t wait for them all to happen at once. Basically - what’s the argument to not kick the can down the road, if that’s even possible?

Yea, I like small cars too. (Just to be clear, I like bicycles the most). Actually, our Volvo EV replaced our Honda Fit - which was great - but my wife did not feel comfortable with our kid in it and while I didn't mind as much, it clearly was not the best option, and it genuinely sucked whenever it snowed or there was an ice storm here, which happens often enough. It was too light. The time she got stuck on the way to an emergency was the last straw. It also struggled mightily to keep up on Appalachian highways or even couldn't traverse some roads in North Carolina where we used to live, (rutted out mtn roads and low clearance, especially in borderline freezing weather or even a lot of rain are a bad combo). The limitations were real. Other takes here I can understand but just can't get on board with. I'd happily get in a crash in a modern safer SUV that saved my hide than die in my cool old car. I think my toddler son would not really ever be able to understand that sort of attachment over life. I get (or hope?) the comment is partially in jest, but it's still a little intense for me to read. But yep, the biggest thing, as has been said is that you can't buy them. Where the blame lies is contestable. Crony capitalism is definitely a part of it, I think that take is spot on. I also think the caricature of dudes compensating really just points at a small niche in the overall issue. Those are the easy ones to spot, but not the majority. But @Double 0 Soul I'd invite you to the US here to try to talk to my wife, my mom, my mother in law, my step mother in law, or frankly most of my friends to tell them why they should put aside their valuation of safety (even if only perceived) and convenience 😃 In spirit, I'm with you - it feels a runaway problem, but like, we've got to pick our battles. The SUV we have now was actually the result of me persuading my partner to go down in size from what she wanted, which was a response in part to the driving of the Fit and feeling unsafe in the tin box in snowstorms on the highway etc. There are a lot of buyers decidedly not into cars that literally are just looking for safety and convenience and the industry has decided on pitching this for a long time now. The new Rivian concept R3 looks like to be a Golf style competitor, fwiw. I am not sure how it will do, but I like the looks of it. The only car I ever had that I really enjoyed was an old Saab 900 manual 2 door, but god that thing was always a thousand or two thousand dollars away from working properly. An EV version of that (or aforementioned Volvo Wagon), I'd be a happy camper. Last thought that I think backs up what @jkbrwn is saying - last year I worked with a bunch of international professionals, many of whom arrived to the university town set on not owning cars because they hadn't where they had lived before. By the end of the year, most of them did, and many of those were SUVs. Not because they wanted to, but because they realized they literally couldn't access a whole lot of what life is out here without it. It sucks, but while we advocate for better public transit and bike infrastructure, gotta have a way to get to work/life etc.

You’re missing the speed/distance part of the equation here. It’s not just road width in an urban space. It’s far flung bedroom communities being possible - and everything that entails on an infrastructure scale. I don’t think it’s an excuse, but it is a notable challenge that even the most well meaning city councils have to deal with. Add into this the fact that living somewhere bikeable in a mid sized town becomes a real issue of housing affordability. Most people who work in the city center can’t afford to live there, and live on the outskirts where there is quite possibly dirt roads for the last few miles of their drive. So they’ll buy for where they live and drive that beast into the city center. The best parts of the small city I live in, that I will never afford, where biking/walking is the most feasible for most people, houses are north of 1 million easy. That’s impossible for most. It’s essentially a luxury lifestyle perk unless you’re willing to add extra miles every day (I am, for now). At this point with the SUV thing this a sort is a chicken or egg question. It’s hard to change buying habits because the industry - including European manufacturers have quite forcefully fronted SUV’s here for a long time. I think this ship has sailed because very few want to go smaller (my car is a 2014 Mazda 3 hatch…I have no feelings towards it other than I appreciate it goes). When that thing dies I will try hard to find a comparably sized or smaller EV. It will be tough. When we were in Scotland last summer, I wanted to rent a car, but they gave me damn Santa Fe, which I agree was a bit of a squeeze!

Another data point - a 2025 Volvo XC40 is about 3900 lbs (depending on the trim level). The EX40 (same exact car, but electric) is about 4700 lbs, again, depending on trim level. I don’t think EV’s are a savior, and each person has different needs - and out in rural areas charging infrastructure is an issue etc, but there is a lot of bad info out there that dissuades people from looking into them. I am pretty convinced that if you live or work at a place where you can charge and you drive less than 150 miles a day round trip (conservatively), they’re quite likely to be well suited and make your life easier and save you money over the long term (maintenance is basically changing cabin filters and tires and…that’s it) at least when held to a comparable gas model.

No, they’re a little heavier but this is generally incorrect.

It may be rather obvious, but so much American development occurred after the invention of the automobile. So the scale of development became commensurate with that, and really rather hostile towards pedestrian/cyclists. So much of Europe was developed before the autos, so the roads are on a smaller scale and have been (often uncomfortably) retrofitted for autos - which also makes a lot of those places better for pedestrians and cyclists just because of density. This is a big simplification - we definitely need to do better here (one reason I like my town, they’re constantly working on bike accessibility and it’s made a huge difference). But if you live a highway commute away from work like so many, there’s just no practical other way.

@Double 0 Soul - we aren’t given many options for just cars here anymore, which is a real shame. A lot of people drive SUVs just so they feel safer/ don’t feel smaller on the road stuffed with them. Obviously some need the utility but in a town like where I’m at, it’s just not the norm. I’m mostly with you here - I am on my bike more than in a car, and I wish to go there were less of these on the road. @julian-wolf what i’d really love is an EV Volvo wagon. They have them in Europe I believe (I swear I saw one in Scotland this summer). But the polestar 2 is the closest thing to that for now in the US, since car makers again don’t give us as many “car” options, and the PHEV v70 they offer is crazy expensive.

@julian-wolfwe drive a 2023 c40 and would totally vouch for it. I’d get it again 10 times out of 10. Xc40 too, but we got a deal on the c and the shape didn’t matter much for us, no practical difference.

Pardon the double post but this is indeed a combination of Nice Things and WAYWT. FW '22 jacket, Jackman, Ooe 01's, Quoddy. (and a Wilde Supertramp)

^ Hell yea. We've got an EV too - though my wife mainly drives it. Once our other car bites the dust, which is probably a good ways off, I'm never putting money in an ICE vehicle again, not that I enjoy driving all that much anyways but it's just better in every way - and ours is one that has comparatively crappy range (210 miles). For most lifestyles if you've got a home, it's a convenience not an inconvenience. When we do take longer trips, none of the charging FUD has come to pass (for us). As for me, well, I've been riding the same aluminum fixie/single speed for almost 20 years. Just got back from picking up my first new bike since college. Pretty excited for this one. It's a Wilde Supertramp stock build for those who are into bikes.

That looks amazing. But crucially missing the sleeve combs (or lack thereof) in the picture! I have way too many jackets to get here anytime soon but I’ll keep trying. I’ve been thinking about a sell off to limit my options and this one would stay for sure. But I’m not sure I can do it.

I know with the trademark it’s not the same, but copyright on IP lasts 70 years in the US. With good reason. No one at Levi’s now has any personal claim to the arcs (those folks are all long dead) any more than does anyone at any other brand. Pre 1950 arcs should be in the public domain.

@beautiful_FrEaKmostly shelved til next summer I’d imagine. I’m sure they’ll come along slowly, they’re a bit of a novelty. But I quite like them!

This suit specifically mentions their 30th anniversary edition so maybe they brought them back for it? Which would be…surprising.

Inis Meain/Kapital/Ooe Yofukuten/Freewheelers (51), Quoddy. Duke bag on the picnic table.

Can’t speak for chore but I have their type 2 in a 40. It fits me like a mister freedom ranch jacket or sugar cane type 2 in 38. I also have a Freewheelers type 2 in a 38 and the Ooe is similar to that, except it has more room where it counts (in the chest/shoulders). Compared to a diff FW type 2 jacket I have in 40, the Ooe is shorter all around and slightly narrower feeling in the chest and shoulders. If I bought an Ooe chore, going off my type 2 sizing, I would either get a 40 for a more tailored fit or maybe even a 42 for something more practical. But I’d look at the measurements first.

Interesting article - thanks for sharing! I do quite often call pizza "pie" but it feels like slang to me. In no way have I ever believed it to be an actual sort of pie, which it seems a few people did! What do we do here in America if not make new terms that are nonsensical! Although I've got to say the Kiwis and Aussies do a bang up job of that too.

I fully embrace a good amount of weird stuff. But I'm with you on the buffalo chicken. Whatever that flavor is, it's never worked for me in any context actually. I love a good roasted brussel sprout pie. Or meyer lemon. A local joint has a one with with green olives, roasted yellow tomatoes, goat cheese + zaatar that is a go to for me. Rarely with the sausage or pepperoni, though I enjoy it. The one thing I'm not so into is mushrooms, (my wife swears she can bring me around through exposure therapy...she's moved the needle about 15%). With the shrooms, I'll at least take one for the team if the team prefers it.

I'm a 40 for the jackets. And it's been quite tough to see these things go by =( But I'm at a one in/one out stage these days and am quite content with what I've got. Still, I might buckle on something eventually. Just have to figure out what it would replace first...

^ That's a hell of a collection. Are you keeping much of anything?

They’re the balloon trousers, yes - but a brown corduroy with patch pockets from a few seasons back.

I might see if I can find them at my local tj maxx or Burlington coat factory in a few months.

@Broark where are you getting your hems done? I’m still debating on whether it’s worth shipping out a few pairs…

https://tcbjeans.myshopify.com/collections/jeans/products/copy-of-pre-order-20s-jacket - this, strangely, is actually a link to TCB 30s jeans. I’m not sure what constitutes the earth to you, but my Word of Mouth jeans on order for the contest are this, and he does made to order. It’s pricier but another option. not sure you could find Freewheelers 37s but they do different year models, so at some point they may do that again too. If you’re just looking for roomier jeans and don’t need 30s details then I would consider Tender and then also fullcount 0105 models.