Twin Cities

Have you ever quibbled with friends over the borders of Uptown? 

We're here to help you settle the debate! 

What's new: Our visual storytelling team came up with a game in which you can draw your boundaries for local neighborhoods and compare your answers to other Axios readers. 

How it works: Follow this link to the game on our website and select your city, then hit play! 

Of note: If you’re not familiar with a neighborhood, you can skip it, and we’ll choose a different one for you to draw.

Yes, and: You can download images of your results to share them with friends and on social media, letting people know where you think your neighborhoods are!

The bottom line: Think you know Minneapolis and St. Paul better than other Axios readers? Now you can prove it.

Test your Twin Cities neighborhood knowledge

If you’re not familiar with a neighborhood, you can skip it

Have you ever quibbled with friends over the borders of Uptown? <ul><li>We&#x27;re here to help you settle the debate! </li></ul>What&#x27;s new: Our visual storytelling team came up with a game in which you can draw your boundaries for local neighborhoods and compare your answers to other Axios readers.

News

Axios Twin Cities, anchored by Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Audrey Kennedy, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard

Axios Twin Cities

Richmond

Think you know where Shockoe Slip starts and ends? What about Church Hill or Scott’s Addition? If you think you know Richmond better than other Axios readers, now you can prove it.

The intrigue: The Axios visual storytelling team came up with a game in which you can draw what you think are the boundaries for your neighborhoods and compare your answers to those of other Axios readers. 

How it works: Follow this link to the game on our website and select your city. Then hit play! 

You’ll get some instructions and then play through, drawing five neighborhoods. 

If you’re not familiar with a neighborhood, you can skip it, and we’ll choose a different one for you to draw.

At the end you can compare your answers to the average of other Axios readers to see how similar or different your guesses were.

Don’t forget: You can download images of your results to share them with friends and on social media, letting people know where you think the neighborhoods are!

Draw Richmond's neighborhoods

If you think you know Richmond better than other Axios readers, now you can prove it.

Think you know where Shockoe Slip starts and ends? What about Church Hill or Scott’s Addition? If you think you know Richmond better than other Axios readers, now you can prove it.The intrigue: The Axios visual storytelling team came up with a game in which you can <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="draw what you think" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/game-do-you-know-your-neighborhood?city=richmond" data-vars-content-id="3b99f966-a250-4fbf-8f21-ed7e31f22d06" data-vars-headline="Draw Richmond&#x27;s neighborhoods" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/game-do-you-know-your-neighborhood?city=richmond" target="_self">draw what you think</a> are the boundaries for your neighborhoods and compare your answers to those of other Axios readers.

Things to Do

National

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

Sales of huge pickups are sustaining carmakers, bringing in record profits — yet pedestrian and road safety advocates say today's massive trucks are a hazard, given their size, weight, and driver blind spots.

In a new Axios Visuals special project, we looked back over the past 50 years to examine the societal and lifestyle changes behind pickups' ever-increasing size.

Driving the news: America has a unique love affair with pickup trucks — the Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for more than 40 years. But during that time, pickups have become bigger, bulkier, and more high-tech.

In the 1980s, about half of pickup trucks were categorized as small or midsize. But by the 2010s, small pickups had nearly vanished as Americans increasingly bought into the big truck lifestyle. 

As pickups transitioned from workhorses to lifestyle vehicles, their design shifted accordingly: Cabs expanded to accommodate more passengers, while beds shrank.

The first generation of F-150s was 36% cab and 64% bed by length. By 2021, the ratio flipped, with 63% cab and 37% bed.

Between the lines: Survey data from vehicle research firm Strategic Vision shows a third of today’s pickup owners rarely or never use their truck for hauling, while two-thirds rarely or never use it for towing. 

Instead, experts say, much of the big pickup mania is being driven by consumers' self-image.

"Today, personality and imagery are playing an even more important role in how consumers choose which truck is right for them," Strategic Vision researcher Alexander Edwards told Axios. 

The firm surveys owners each year about the character traits they associate with their vehicle. Two words set F-150 owners apart: “powerful” and “rugged.” 

         Data: Strategic Vision. Chart: Will Chase/Axios

Yes, but: One result of supersized trucks: greater risks to pedestrians and other drivers. 

Drivers of today’s trucks sit much higher, creating a blind spot where small children or wheelchair users are hidden from view.

         Graphic: Rahul Mukherjee/Axios

Moreover, pickups’ weight increased by 32% between 1990 and 2021, meaning they strike pedestrians with more force. 

Plus, the tall front of a truck strikes pedestrians in the torso or head — home to vital organs — whereas the lower hoods of cars typically strike pedestrians in the legs.

Pickups also tend to be more dangerous in collisions between differently sized vehicles — car drivers are 2.5 times more likely to die when colliding with a pickup as compared to another car, per a 2019 study.

The other side: Ford says "safety is a top priority," and points to safety-related technologies such as pedestrian detection sensors, automatic emergency braking, 360-degree cameras, and more, some of which now come standard.

Other pickup manufacturers have added similar features.

The 2022 F-150 earned a "top safety pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and earned "good" or "superior" ratings in various crash tests, including those with other vehicles, and with child and adult pedestrians.

What's next: While they’ve probably maxed out in terms of size, pickup trucks are still evolving to keep up with Americans’ changing lifestyles. 

And now that they're going electric, many offer capabilities and bonus features that aren’t available from gasoline or diesel trucks, like better torque and faster acceleration, and the ability to power a worksite, campsite, or tailgate party without burning gasoline.

Methodology: Data on U.S. truck sales comes from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. All survey data, including truck usage and imagery data, is from the Strategic Vision New Vehicle Experience Study. Data on collision death rates and curb weights are from Monfort and Nolan (2019). Trends in aggressivity and driver risk for cars, SUVs, and pickups: Vehicle incompatibility from 1989 to 2016. Traffic Injury Prevention. 3D models were licensed from Ford through TurboSquid.

How pickup trucks became so imposing

Small pickups have nearly vanished as Americans have bought into big truck lifestyle.

 A 1970s-era Ford F-150 as compared to a modern version.

A 1970s-era Ford F-150 compared to a modern version. Graphic: Will Chase/Axios

Automakers

Economy & Business

Tampa Bay

Data: S&P Global Mobility; Chart: Axios Visuals

Four of the 10 most-registered vehicles in Tampa Bay are pickup trucks — vehicles that have been supersized and redesigned for comfort in recent decades, a far cry from the utilitarian and economical machines of previous years.

Driving the news: In the 1980s, about half of pickup trucks were categorized as small or midsize. But by the 2010s, small pickups had nearly vanished.

In a new special project, Axios' Will Chase, Jared Whalen and Joann Muller examined the past 50 years of societal and lifestyle changes behind pickups' ever-increasing size.

Why it matters: As trucks transitioned from farm and ranch workhorses to lifestyle vehicles, their design shifted accordingly: Cabs expanded to accommodate more passengers, while beds shrank.

Yet, pedestrian and road safety advocates say today's massive trucks are a hazard, given their size, weight, and driver blind spots.

One result of supersized trucks: greater risks to pedestrians and other drivers. 

Drivers of today's trucks sit much higher, creating a blind spot where small children or wheelchair users are hidden from view.

Moreover, pickups' weight increased by 32% between 1990 and 2021, meaning they strike pedestrians with more force. 

Plus, the tall front of a truck strikes pedestrians in the torso or head — increasing risk of critical injuries  — whereas the lower hoods of cars typically strike pedestrians in the legs.

Zoom in: According to data from S&P Global Mobility, Tampa Bay's bestseller is Ford's F Series, a prime example of how trucks have grown.

The first F-150s were 36% cab and 64% bed by length.

By 2021, the ratio flipped, with 63% cab and 37% bed, as trucks were being used more for carrying people than lumber, rubble or bags of concrete.

Nearly half of Tampa Bay's most-registered vehicles are pickup trucks

Pedestrian and road safety advocates say today's massive trucks are a hazard, given their size, weight, and driver blind spots.

Transportation

Four of the 10 most-registered vehicles in Tampa Bay are pickup trucks — vehicles that have been supersized and redesigned for comfort in recent decades, a far cry from the utilitarian and economical machines of previous years.Driving the news: In the 1980s, about half of pickup trucks were categorized as small or midsize. But by the 2010s, small pickups had nearly vanished.

Axios Tampa Bay, anchored by Ben Montgomery and Selene San Felice, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.

Axios Tampa Bay

Philadelphia

Philly is known as a "city of neighborhoods" but where those boundaries begin and end is a matter of heated debate and pride. 

Think you know your city better than other Axios readers? Now you can prove it.

Our visual storytelling team came up with a game in which you can draw what you think are the boundaries for your local neighborhoods and compare your answers with other players'. 

How it works: Follow this link and hit play! 

If you're not familiar with a neighborhood, you can skip it, and we'll choose a different one for you to draw.

1 cool thing to go: You can download images of your results to share them with friends and on social media!

Think you know Philly? Draw your neighborhood and find out

Map the boundaries for Philly neighborhoods and compare your answers.

Philly is known as a &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="city of neighborhoods" data-vars-click-url="https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-the-city-of-neighborhoods/" data-vars-content-id="ec9f9361-5c34-4241-8794-c327f9f3f8f0" data-vars-headline="Think you know Philly? Draw your neighborhood and find out" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-the-city-of-neighborhoods/" target="_blank">city of neighborhoods</a>&quot; but where those boundaries begin and end is a matter of heated debate and pride. <ul><li>Think you know your city better than other Axios readers? Now you can prove it.</li></ul>

Jared Whalen

Stories

Nearly half of Tampa Bay's most-registered vehicles are pickup trucks

How pickup trucks became so imposing

Draw Richmond's neighborhoods

Think you know Philly? Draw your neighborhood and find out

Test your Twin Cities neighborhood knowledge