Being set in my ways I will most likely keep a pickup handy for the foreseeable future. They are quite handy for me. I would hate to try to get by without one.
I donât blame you. If there werenât advantages, I wouldnât be considering a midsize pickup.
I Agee 100% RodâŠbut for me, only in the larger intermediate and full size. The only advantage my compact early Mazda and Toyota trucks in 4wd had over the intermediates of today, was off road. They were superb with their shorter wheel base and narrow tracks. But, they rode and handled like crap and felt like I should be wearing a helmet before I made a sudden lane change.
2wd city dwelling delivery use with occasional trips to the dump or 4wd baja runs, sure.
Actually, Iâve had a trailer for years and has served me well for hauling junk, gravel, you name it. Its at a better height for shoveling sand and loading lawn mowers etc. In the past a car could easily pull a 1 ton trailer. The problem now is that a lot of the cars do not allow any towing. My G6 will still handle 1500# but nothing for the Acura. So all I would be interested in is something smaller that can pull a trailer.
Almost had a solution.
@dagosa - Not impressed with the gas mileage. My S-15 with the 2.8l got better gas mileage. And the Nissan pathfinder selling Europe and South America with a 4-cylinder Diesel Turbo gets 30mpg.
Iâm amazed they canât do better then that.
âA minivan can do everything a compact truck can do and more.â
What you all are saying is all true, but an SUV with a trailer is not a minivan. My post was in response to Whiteyâs above statement. Minivans are great, but they canât compete with a compact pickupâŠor with an SUV with a trailer. A compact truck with a trailer adds even more flexability.
Getting back to the original question, I think the market pace has been a bigger factor in the demise of the conpact pickup than the government. While I personally perform a compact pickup, it seems like the moment Ford made their F150 gigantic, everybody bought one.
What you all are saying is all true, but an SUV with a trailer is not a minivan. My post was in response to Whitey's above statement. Minivans are great, but they can't compete with a compact pickup.....or with an SUV with a trailer. A compact truck with a trailer adds even more flexability.
Last pickup I owned was my 84 S-15. Next vehicle was a 1990 Pathfinder. And the first thing I bought after the Pathfinder was on a utility trailer. I still have that trailerâŠand use it all the time. It has advantages and disadvantages. I can trailer over 2 tonâŠThereâs no way you can put the bed of a small to mid-size pickup. But the pickup has a nice advantage of a maneuverability. Lot easier to backup a pickup into a tight space then a trailer.
I must be just getting older and crankier but CNNMoney had an article today on the top 10 American TRUCKS. The only one with an open bed was the Dodge. All the rest to me were SUVs or what I would call large station wagons. Whatâs wrong with these people?? Both CNN and the MFG must be going nutty if vehicles with an open bed are going to become rare. I just donât get it. I donât think its the gov at all. We get what we deserve, but whatâs wrong with these car execs in the first place?
Then another article on the disappointing Dodge Dart-big surprise. 4 cyl, straight stick, ugly two tone upholstery, and the rear end looks like a 15 year old design. Fiat and Chrysler in a design meeting-Fiat gets the front end and Chrysler gets to design the back end. âHey Harry, pull that design file from 1985 that we used before will ya? Itâll save a lot of work.â
Now whats so hard? My snappy G6 has a V6, good mileage, comfortable, good standard options, the seats in back fold down so I can haul 10â 2x4s or pipe, paddle shift automatic, and will pull a trailer. Oh thatâs right its a Pontiac and they donât make them anymore. Sheesh. Just what we need is a bunch of new SUVs that all look the same except the ugly Audi, at twice the cost of a G6, that they now classify at trucks instead of large station wagons? Nothing these things will do that a 1958 Chevy wagon wouldnât.
Every configuration has advantages and disadvantages. SUVs with trailers are the most versatile for most applications.
Mike, it seems the Mahindra pick up just couldnât meet the emission standards without lots of modification and loss of mileage. They didnât plan on just sticking a tractor motor into a small truck not being able to handle it. That is the biggest reason for all those unfulfilled dreams of small pick ups with diesels.