Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin also says he prefers a pickup truck as his daily driver…
Clearly, lots of people prefer pickups. I was on jury duty in the early 80s with a woman who preferred her pickup to her husband’s sedan. Back when pickups were not very car-like.
I never figured I’d like my SUV, but I needed a tow vehicle. I liked it so much, I leased 2 in a row and kept the 2nd one 19 years and counting. But I’ll drive my Mustang for most trips.
My wife likes to sit high, have sating for 8, and still have lots of cargo room. A van is just right for her, but not me. I like good handling and acceleration. A sports car would be perfect for me, but we need 4 seats in my car. I also like access to the back seat so a sedan is my preferred ride. I need the utility of a pickup so rarely that I can just rent one if I really need it.
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Hs Classmate is feeling defensive about his Ram 3500HD Cummins, it’s both his personal truck and the heavy hauler for his farm and Christmas Tree business this time of year. It’s completely stock and actually used for hauling and towing throughout the year. The pair of lit up Ford’s I saw at the mall tonight probably rarely if ever are loaded up. Had lights in the wheel 'wells and a strip on the front bumper.
Late model GMC 3500 is lifted so high the hood is right at or above the roofs of the small or midsize crossover’s parked next to it.
When the government fines the auto maker (CAFE) for making smaller vehicles, it’s not just a personal choice anymore! To escape CAFE fines, it has to have a longer wheel base, and that means it must be a little higher off the ground or it will bottom out going over things.
I fail to see the point here. Lots of 18 wheelers and box trucks are on the road.
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CAFE applies to both cars and trucks…but not equally… and it has since 1979.
Americans LIKE big cars. When those were no longer available because CAFE forced a reduction in size and power, people bought trucks, and Suburbans and Broncos and found they LIKED them, a LOT. So manufacturers decided to make them more luxurious and more car-like in ride and handling. And they liked them even MORE!
But some people liked the high seating position and the security of 4WD in poor weather but those full size trucks and SUVs were just too big so out came the S10 Blazer, and the Explorer and more. Then the drivers of little cars wanted that high seating position and AWD too and we got Rav 4s and CRVs and such.
Manufacturers played the CAFE tax game better than the government by classifying the PT Cruiser, the Pontiac Transport vans and others as TRUCKS rather than cars… because their higher MPGs allowed them to sell more trucks.
It was indeed a choice, however, because, so far, the government has not successfully forced people to buy those little high MPG cars, people chose trucks and SUVs overwhelmingly. Which is where we are today. This bedtime story of unintended consequences brought to you by Your EPA, misreading the consumer for over 50 years!
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As a follow on, when we bought our 2003 Olds Silhouette I mentioned getting it registered as a car. The salesman said we should register it as a truck and we did. That was to avoid the gas guzzler tax.
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Federally the Sihouette was a truck same as the Transport. I did not know some states gave you a choice!
Ohio registered my Avalanche truck as a car because of the 4 doors even though it has a 5.5 ft bed, Florida has it as a truck.
That’s what I’m saying! It was the government that forced bigger high horsepower cars out of the market by fining the auto makers for selling them. If someone wants high horsepower, they are pushed in buying a SUV that has a longer wheel base and is taller to be exempt from CAFE fines. A big car also gets worse fuel economy, so it has to be raised up and have the wheel base extended to become an SUV to escape CAFE fines.
Wheelbase and ride height are not what defines a truck to the feds.
Here’s a homework assignment for you…
What is the wheelbase of a high riding RAV 4 SUV compared to a much lower Audi A4?
What is the wheelbase of a Chevy Tahoe SUV compared to an Audi A8 sedan?
Then review that “longer wheelbase” claim.
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You’re right. I didn’t realize that there are different rules for SUVs and cars for CAFE rules. Yes the Audi A8 has a very long wheel base. I think it is known for scraping or bottoming out on driveways and speed bumps.
Here is the video that I was basing my opinion on. It explains that the footprint, that is the total square footage between the wheels affects CAFE compliance.
This video focuses on trucks. I’m still not sure what the rules are for cars. At 1m12s in to the video, the size comparison image of today’s huge trucks is stunning.
Doubtful and unproven. Based on my own experience driving lowered cars, this is incorrect.
For example, a 1966 Buick Electra 225 is 225 inches long with a 126 inch wheelbase compared to the Audi A8 which is 209.5 inches long with a 123 inch wheelbase.
Yep, I had a ‘72 Buick Electra 225, several full size Pontiacs, my mother had a ‘70 full size Chrysler, none scraped the pavement or bottomed out over railroad tracks.
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We’ve beaten the “small cheap trucks” argument to death here in the past. It isn’t the EPA killing them, it is customer demand and NHTSA.
First off, there are no customers for a short cab manual trans, crank window, bench seat, 4 cylinder mini-truck in the US. Everyone who says they’ll buy one ends up with an auto trans, power windows and locks, nice radio, carpet, bucket seats and extended cab when the contract gets signed.
Second, the cost of these trucks becomes so close to the full size trucks because the manufacturers need to add all the required safety gear of the big trucks to the small ones. Assembly cost is exactly the same, material cost is slightly lower. Base price for a Ford Ranger XL is $32,565 and an F150 XL base price is $33,835. $1270 cheaper for the Ranger. How many buyers will look at that and pick the F150? The sales numbers have the answer.
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I rarely see pickup trucks on the road in Euro-based movies. Are they actually an uncommon thing to see when driving in Europe? On the few occasions I’ve been there (Norway, France, Belgium) , I don’t recall seeing very many pickup trucks. I saw many commercial type trucks, but not pickups.
100% correct. I suspect that is why Ford stopped producing Rangers for a number of years. Now Ford (I think this applies to GM too) has chosen to only offer crew cabs, no standard or extended cabs. Had a 2001 Ranger extended cab, easy to park, could haul quite a bit. When replaced in 2013 had to get an F150.
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Likely how they tax vehicles, Europeans too drive more diesel cars.
At least as of 20 years ago in Europe, they were almost unheard of. Manual transmissions were as common as automatics in the US. A huge portion of the vehicles of all sizes were diesel. The scooters that people ride around on in the cities were frequently 2 stroke.
They drove vans. Kind of short and wide with double doors in the back for work. In place of pickup trucks, the few of such trucks have flat beds with no sides and the cargo must be tied down.
What about how that small example pickup truck from the video must get FIFTY MILES PER GALLON to not be fined by CAFE? Could that be a reason why the truck makers don’t want to sell them. They do get better gas mileage than the huge full size truck that is the alternative which has similar construction costs to the manufacturer.
So what about it? It doesn’t change what I already wrote.