Small trucks are the staple in most countries. I’ve encountered them everywhere on all continents. Thailand is the world’s second largest manufacturer of pickup trucks, nearly all of them small.
On a recent 3 week vacation in Britain, we saw only one US sized pickup truck, and it belonged to a company.
The standard oil company vehicle overseas is an extended cab compact diesel pickup truck in most countries. Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota (HiLux) are the most popular.
The US and Canada are unique by having so many large pickup trucks for personal use.
If buying a new car required 20% down and pay it off in 2 years, the numbers would drop like a rock, at least in the near term
The majority of buyers would have to rethink their whole financial situation. It would mean hanging on to your present car longer, saving much more for the next new car, etc.
There are lots of people out there who aren’t disciplined enough to save 20% downpayment for a new car
I think the financial repercussions would affect millions of americans who have absolutely nothing to do with the auto industry
@markm “
Small trucks thirty years ago sold to people who would have otherwise bought a small car, not someone who might buy a full-size pickup”
Not True, I have no use for a small car. I traded in my f150 for a toyota pickup, 89 or 90, precursor to the tacoma, then in 03 for a ranger. In 03 Toyota Tundra full size was the only option, and was not interested. A boat died in 08 so upgraded to a trailblazer to drag the boat between the cabins and home, (500 miles), Not enough use anymore as daughter is in college, so the boat stays at the lake. also my bud who used to yank the boat had health issues, as to get out of this launch with 2wd is impossible. at least a 3’ drop form the paved road to the dirt road. Would go to a mid or small size 4wd pickup for my next vehicle.
The little truck worked for hauling a lot of odd stuff, and Trailblazer is good for couches even, though I borrow a friends trailer for bigg stuff.
@VDCdriver "Did you mean the NJ Turnpike ?"
Yes of course. It was many years ago I fought semis on the turn pike passing through New Jersey in a two stroke SAAB. I then used the Garden State to avoid them in the way back. Forgive the mistake please. ;-(
well, sorry to change the subject, but my elementary school periodic table said aluminium. I didn t even know there was another way to spell it until my spell check said I was spelling it wrong. stupid computers…
@wesw In most countries the word is aluminium. The very first aluminum produced was in France from an ore found near Baux in the South of France, hence the word Bauxite for the ore. Before the French revolution, the king had table ware made form aluminum, the miracle metal at that time.
The USA perfected the production with the Hall process, electrolyzing alumina, the intermediate product, and getting liquid aluminum out of it. Vast quantities of electricity were needed, so countries like Canada with cheap hydro power became major producers.
I don’t think we can get an accurate count of the popularity of small to midsize trucks from this group from those who say " I would buy one." You get an accurate count by actually tallying the number of those who have them now.
Plenty of stuff in the USA is sold by metric units. Soda 2L, whiskey “fifths” are really 750ml, vehicle displacement usually given in Liters. Nuts and bolts, etc, are metric for cars, bicycles, SOME motorcycles, and SOME aircraft. (Home-based hardware remains based off the inch.)
Meanwhile, the UK still uses miles for distance, and stones (!?) for weight (only for living things, I think…never heard a car referred to as “237 stone” before!)
So, I question the cutoff used to determine who “is metric” and who “isn’t.”
That’s right…The only problem with that is, you don’t want to be taking a math test every time you work on a car when you only go half way. The only thing that will force we as a group to go metric is to wake up one morning and find all the road signs changed. This crappolla of changing slowly hasn’t worked for the gazillion plus years we have been debating the change. Putting both km and mph on your speedo or on road signs allows you to cross the border into Canada and avoid speed violations but it’s first class enabling.
Building mechanical components with fasteners with two sets of measuring standards is and always was equally frustrating for everyone; though many won’t admitt it. They are just used to rounding off nuts with the wrong box wrench.
People teaching foriegn languages have used emmersion techniques successfully for years. but we are a society of co dependence and making little Johnny learn something new is not in our DNA. In reality, kids would be fine tomorrow. We adults as a group. just don’t want to change. We waste half of our productive lives thinking about things like recipes in cups and ml. Though we pride ourselves as the “get er done” society, we are far from it. There are people out there that are still afraid of metrics as much as the boggyman. So yes, “any idiot can use metric”. But a class of bigger idiots is still holding on to the notion that the world revolves around “them”.
Besides, going from pounds to kilograms is a great way of fooling yourself into thinking you have lost weight. It’s worth it.
well as a former fabricator and QC of a steel shop, who has no problem with metric measurement, some things are just easier with standard measurements.
I wonder if with the dip in the price per barrel of crude oil and the resulting drop in gasoline prices if we will see a drop in the price of motor oil. In my area of east central Indiana, gas is now under $2 a gallon, but diesel fuel prices haven’t dropped.
1m-66cm- 5mm is 1.665 m or 166.5 cm or 1665 mm Try to express 5’ 4 1/4" that easily and quickly to a single unit measure in all feet or all inches ! In metrics, you need only move a point, while in feet and inches, you need to compute. So, it’s still easier with metrics to further compute and problem solve.
The problem is miss reading and actually trying to do a conversion and working with a problem all the way through not using metrics. The answer is sometimes to go to decimal feet…like 4. 75 feet for example. Then, converting back becomes a real pain.
In math class when there was a problem not using metrics, it was common for me to require they convert to metrics, work the problem through then give the answer in both units…The kids very quickly "learned " to love metrics. They “hated” problems in other measures. Too many extra steps, too many chances for mistakes. At one time (and may still), the non use of metrics contributed significantly to our trade deficit .
Britain seems to be an anomaly! They officially are metric, but the distances are still in miles. When you ask someone’s weight you often get the answer in “stones”!
Canada is officially metric but with newborn babies, although weighed in kilograms., the mother gets the weight in pounds.
Carpet is sold by the square yard or meter and real estate brokers give you the size of a house in both square meters and square feet.
People seem to hate change. I understand that prison inmates fear being released where they must readjust to dealing with all the problems on the outside as opposed to remaining comfortable in their adjustment to incarceration. Years ago several mechanics swore they would never work on any “Commie cars” that used metric tools. And the creaping of metric sizes into domestic automobiles was and still is a real pain. The intermingling of mm and fractional sizes results in a lot of aggravation. Trial and error with 10mm/3/8" is a pain.
@wesw
Structual shapes ? My good friend, I will argue metrics is a necessity in this day and age. In three dimensional shapes with volume, the metric relation ship between linear length and volume is much more consistent being a factor of ten. For example, one liter in volume is 1000 .cc or cubic centimeters, again, a factor of ten. While, for example a cubic foot is 12 times 12 times 12 or 1728 cubic inches. Again, another definite advantage. This is why the automotive industry , to be more cositant with the rest of the advanced automotive world has gone metric. It is no coincidence that modern technology and metric measure go hand in hand. You will seldom see modern engines referred to in cubic inches for their displacement. The American auto industry has made metrics common place.
Other conversions too are much more simple.
What I agree with you is, if you are more comfortable over time with a particular approach and use it more often, you will find it easier to continue that way. You will argue in favor of using it. But, that’s like taking the long route to grandmather’s house because you are familiar with the route when there is a short more efficient way of going…you might not normally go. Not using metrics in this day and age as the primary measuring system would be a more then neglectful. It would be contradictory. The base 10 number system which we do use goes hand in hand with metrics as measure.
@Docnick: Pretty much just what I was saying…only nobody “disagrees” with you. Same message, different messenger?
I think it might have been P.J. O’Rourke who said, “Drugs may be bad, but they did what the US government could not: teach a generation of Americans the metric system!”
