‘Something needs to be done about this’: Fury as $200k US ute hits Aussie roads

An image of a car worth more than $200k teetering over a solid white line on a busy Melbourne road has some Aussies demanding action.

An extraordinary photo of a monster ute teetering over solid white lines along a busy Melbourne road has sparked furious backlash.

The oversized GMC Sierra Denalis, which is imported to Australia from the US and costs upwards of $200,000 for the latest model, was spotted in Clayton last week.

“Something needs to be done about this,” the disgruntled driver captioned the photos of the black ute.

“Dude can’t even stay within one lane and blows soot into any car behind him when taking off at the lights,” they added.

“Didn’t realise it was so easy to get a national heavy license plate either.”

The rant sparked fury online, with other Aussie motorists blowing up about the influx of monster trucks taking up space on the roads and in parking spots.

Nicholas Watson, the CEO and President of American Motors - which imports the luxury vehicles to Australia - hit back at the criticism.

“They really are purpose driven … (Having American trucks in the Aussie market) is a good thing because it gives Australians options. On the whole, people don’t buy American trucks without some need for it,” he told news.com.au.

The GMC Sierra Denalis can cost upwards of $200k. Picture: Reddit

He said the American-made trucks were typically used by Aussies for towing trailers, long-distance driving, hauling construction materials and even pulling horse floats.

Mr Watson said because of their price-stamp, American trucks are typically purchased by “Grey Nomads,” “business owner sort of guys” and “guys that are hauling toys around”.

He said the price tag was warranted because “when you’ve got a family, you want them to be comfortable”.

Mr Watson said his dealership sold around 200 American trucks annually.

However, not everyone is convinced — with safety being a major concern for sceptics of these monstrous vehicles.

None of the most common American-made pick-ups brands like GMC, RAM or Chevrolet are tested by ANCAP, Australia’s independent vehicle safety assessment body.

Former Victorian Greens MP and Federal Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam believes that “truckzillas” need to be more effectively regulated.

These trucks can have blind spots of up to four metres in front. Picture: Twitter/X (amy_jelacic)

“The community is worried about the impacts of these massive US-style vehicles,” she said.

“They present a safety concern, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers in smaller cars. They can have blind spots of up to four meters in front of them and a child is eight times more likely to die if hit by a larger utility vehicle as opposed to a lighter car.”

The size of American trucks driving on Aussie roads is also a point of issue.

Toyota Hiluxes are one of the most popular utility vehicles sold in Australia, and their dimensions are typically around 1.8 metres in width and 5.3 metres in length.

Comparatively, the Denali has a standard width of 2.1 metres and length of 5.9 metres.

The standard dimensions of an Australian car parking spot are 2.4 metres in width and 5.4 metres in length, meaning most American-made trucks like the Denali can’t even physically fit within them.

An American-style pick-up truck barely squeezes itself into an Australian car park. Picture: Twitter/X (amy_jelacic)

The giant cars are causing a stir on social media.

The driver who snapped the latest pic of the GMC Denalis along with a rant about the vehicle triggered a frenzy on social media.

The post was upvoted over 17,000 times on the r/Australia Reddit thread, and many of the 3,000 comments expressed similar sentiment towards the monstrous 2.6 tonne vehicles.

“Canadian here. They can’t even park these f***ing bro-dozers here,” said one user.

“I really hate it when we do yank things,” said another.

Aussies are teeing off about the cars on social media. Picture: Reddit

A Federal Government spokesman said the appropriate legislation was in place to ensure “larger American-made vehicles are safe for local driving conditions”.

“These larger vehicles are not exempt from any applicable road vehicle standards, which include dimensional requirements, mirrors, advanced braking systems, emission limits and more” the spokesman said.

Light rigid driver’s licenses are required to operate most American-made trucks in Australia, and are only awarded after an eyesight test, a knowledge test and a heavy vehicle driving exam.

Originally published as ‘Something needs to be done about this’: Fury as $200k US ute hits Aussie roads