I guess that could work out ok, as long as it would fit a 4x8 plywood panel. Maybe the problem w/pickup trucks being unpopular is their low mpg. Gasoline seems much more expensive in Europe than the USA .
I don’t know about Europe anymore but at on3 time you paid about half the value on a new car for tax. They are the last ones we want to emulate. Been at war with each other for centuries.
I don’t like the big trucks either and think they ought to just stick the cafe standards and get the feds out of the car business. That said, if you don’t want to get hit by one, stay out of the way. Pretty simple really. When the feds get involved its always game playing and unintended consequences.
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About 3 to 4 times what we pay. The largest part is taxes.
It has been a while since I was in Europe but I did see pickups… military imports driven by servicemen! European car and truck makers don’t really do pickups like we do in the US. The Swedes, however, do seem to like them. I saw a few there in Swedish hands. Not sure how they got there.
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Nope! Their lumber is metric!
The $55 fine per 1MPG under the target actually isn’t all that bad. A 30 MPG pickup truck that doesn’t meet the 45 MPG requirement only has to bump the price up by $775.
Given the fact that the vast majority of pickup drivers never use the truck bed, the all the arguments about the utility of a small pickup is pointless. It’s a status symbol, and bigger is better. Selling large SUVs helps offset the CAFE fines for small cars too, so they really push buyers in to the biggest SUVs.
There were some American Mexicans here doing work on rental properties. They would always borrow the land lord’s 4 cylinder Ford Ranger to transport things. They had their own trucks, but they couldn’t risk messing the bed up! The did spill white paint all down the back corner and the brake light on the Ranger.
I’m guessing a sheet of plywood in Europe would measure 2.4 m x 1.2 m (7.9 feet x 3.95 feet). A little smaller than the USA, so a sheet might fit in a van.
In the UK and Ireland 10yrs ago I saw mostly van’s or van cab/chassis with a long flat bed, the Ford Ranger and similar size trucks were as big of a truck as you’d see even in the rural areas. A Transit cab/chassis with a 8ft flatbed was the closest to a full size truck i saw there. Uk drivers are taxed on the emissions and fuel economy of their vehicles. Certain engines such as Diesel’s were cheaper to run than a larger gas engine.
They need to be. Mall crawling pickups don’t. I am not saying that if you need a pickup for hauling or towing you should have a second veichle for just driving and I am not saying anyone should be prevented from buying a truck. I am just saying that they are a stupid thing to buy if you don’t offroad, tow, haul or plow.
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Agree 100%. but each their own. When I owned a pickup - I used it. Later I bought SUV’s. No longer hauling stuff…but needed the truck for camping trips and hauling 2 adults and 3 kids and STUFF around.
I saw a truck a few years ago, 4wd, full size. Lifted so high that the drive shafts were at a 45 degree angle. It required a ladder to get into.
Wheels and tires, 26" wheels with 30 series tires.
Where were the bumpers? If they were at OE height, then the truck could be a severe hazard in an accident if a car goes under the truck and the truck body impacts the car’s cabin. In some states there are laws for bumper height off the pavement.
Y’all never watched Motor Trends Texas Metal??? lol
The shop is Ekstensive Metal Works in Houston Tx, a very high end custom fab shop…
This is a shorter height wise version of what they do, have to go to about the 38 minute mark to see the truck in action… They also slam them to the ground… They build what ever custom you want…
Seen the show. Texas doesn’t have bumper height laws but other states do. Maryland bumper height is 20” for Class A passenger vehicles and 28” for Class M special purpose vehicles. That is the distance from the ground to the bottom of the bumper.
Four wheel drive vehicles in Tennessee are required to have bumpers that are no lower than 14 inches above the roadway and no higher than 31 inches. Passenger vehicle bumpers must be 22 inches or lower. Bumpers must be at least 4.5 inches tall.
Here’s a list of states and their lift laws. It’s an expensive mistake if you violate the laws. Due to an agreement in the MD legislature to not institute annual safety inspections, the state police are vigilant in laws related to roadway safety. Got a burned out tail light? Busted!
On the front and rear of the truck. In a front end crash, they would probably clear your windshield. Lift laws are not enforced in Tennessee. The truck in the video on @davesmopar’s post is not as high. I also saw another truck, Chevy Blazer that was jacked so high that he was eye level with the 18 wheeler driver next to him at the stop light.
I don’t remember the company name, but one of the popular super high lift kits is manufactured in that town.
That is sooo true… Here is TN’s vehicle laws, most are NOT enforced…
I can not copy and paste any of the wording, so I will just list the ones not enforced in middle TN…
Tires: See cords and impact bulges all the time…
Brakes: See calipers locked up and the rotor disc has broken away from the rotor hat so the wheel spins freely… Seen a lot of e-brakes that don’t work…
ONLY commercial vehicles are ever checked by the state troopers, but other than that NOTHING is ever checked by law enforcement… Trust me, HAD to release many unsafe vehicles back to customers to be driven on public road, the only legal thing we could do would be to pay to have the customers vehicle towed to there house and then just hand the keys over…
Steering: Lifted vehicles also have modified steering systems-well duhhh…
My sons steering wheel is only 10" diameter and no air bag, he has been pulled over and nothing was ever said about it…
Suspension: Some of the lifted front strut trucks have leveling blocks between the strut tower and the strut mount…
Exhaust: I know of a lot of vehicles with no mufflers or cats, straight pipe(s)… My son had a few neighbors complain on him, the cops showed up to his door and said they didn’t care about it but try to run in a higher gear/lower rpm so the noise will be less…
The ONLY time I ever had anything said about the load exhaust on any of my cars was when I out ran an undercover cop before he gave me the blue light special… the other cops laughed and said he was just mad I beat him… (long story behind that one lol), yes lots of back up marked cars showed up… that was around 1988… Never had anything said since, and my car would set off car alarms while I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I was picky…
Fenders: This one I find funny, I did not know that we are not required to have fenders on our vehicles…
Emissions: This one is not correct, those county’s started have emissions/Marta in the mid 90’s,not in 2005, I am thinking 1995, cause I met my wife in 1996 and I could not drive either hot rod due to the new Marta law when we met…
Not familiar with Marta. But Congressman Steve Cohen, the ultra liberal from Memphis, had an old unmaintained Crown Vic that didn’t pass the emissions part of the safety check in Tennessee, he had them all shut down, safety and emissions, because the poor people in his district could not afford to fix their vehicles, (or get insurance) especially after they invested $3k+ into those 30" tire and wheel packages. Gotta have priorities, right?
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Eventually it would reach a point where a car could just drive right under the truck, wouldn’t it? Might help with parking too.
It is rare for a car today to have a bumper that is more than 4 inches. Many of the metal collision strips or bumper reinforcement strips are closer to 3 inches. Are they talking about the flimsy plastic bumper cover?
So in the US there is a gas guzzler tax which only applies to cars, and not vans or SUVs or trucks. So there is no wonder why people have chosen to buy big trucks, minivans, and SUVs over the last 3 decades! To sell a large car with a V8 engine that can pull a big trailer, several thousand dollars of taxes would be owed!
If you’re shopping for a vehicle that can pull a trailer you might look in to cars. The small ones are hybrids or have small engines and light brakes and weak transmissions to get 30+ MPG to meet CAFE requirements. So they can’t pull a trailer. Most regular cars are limited to 1000 to 2000 pounds towing capacity. If you buy a muscle car, they’re light weight and made for racing. Not meant for a heavy trailer even though the engine power is there. Making it heavier would bring in CAFE fines and possibly classify it is a gas guzzler. Extending wheel base to avoid CAFE fines dosn’t work well on a car since it will bottom out more easily. You could import a car like a Volvo, but that is expensive, it only tows up to 3300 pounds, and European auto makers do have to pay CAFE fines, which is partially why it’s more expensive. So the next choice for someone wanting to pull a heavy trailer is a truck or SUV. They are gas guzzler exempt, and the wide track width and long wheel base allows them to avoid CAFE fines.
From 2005 to 2008 the Ford Taurus went from 2000 to 1000 pounds rated towing capacity!
A Mercury Grand Marquis used to be able to tow 5000 pounds until the late 90s! Mercury Grand Marquis Towing Capacity by Year
They days of the heavy rear wheel drive American car that can pull a big trailer are over!
If you want to tow a 4000 pound trailer, you’re basically stuck with a truck or SUV. Going over 2000 pounds makes your options quite limited in modern the car world.
Ummmm NO!!! People are buying $80,000+ SUVs and trucks cause they like/want them, not because they need them…
I think Mustangman said it best in your other rant about this SAME subject…
Trucks and SUVs generally have better frames and brakes and suspensions for towing…
My beloved Mopar’s for the most part stopped using full frames for cars back in the 60’s… Had NOTHING to do with any kind of gas guzzler tax as they still had big blocks in cars up until the late 70’s…
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As a follow on, we had three minivans. The first two were because we needed them for our family of 5. The last one was because Mrs JT likes them for their versatility. We also use the large cargo bay occasionally.
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