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Old 02-16-2016, 09:12 AM
 
278 posts, read 466,055 times
Reputation: 292

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandalorian View Post
With the current trends in trucks (crew cab, loaded, leather, etc) it isn't that people just love the TRUCKS, they love what the trucks offer. There is a certain segment of the population that will always buy trucks, but they're popular now with the mainstream because they offer a large, comfortable, smooth, spacious, powerful vehicle for not an insane amount of money. This used to be the domain of the full-size sedan, but thanks to the US Federal Government it is no longer the case.
The first case for trucks is that many people need work trucks. Everyone else is just getting what they want and not what they truly need. If you ever sit and watch people drive by, the majority of vehicles will have one person in them - the driver and zero passengers. I would say it is only around 10% of cars that have backseat passengers. Probably 1% have full adults in the back seat.

If you don't have kids, the back seat is only used once in a while. So, everything behind you might as well be a cargo bed or fold flat seats. Even that doesn't matter much. The majority of "cargo" is in the form of groceries or household goods and might equal 5 cubic feet.

I don't see more pickups than I used to, though. Ford Rangers and Chevy S10s were everywhere in the 90's, and now they don't really make small pickups like that.
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Old 02-16-2016, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Sylmar, a part of Los Angeles
8,259 posts, read 6,321,526 times
Reputation: 17287
I have small sports cars and scoff at big heavy vehicles and they scoff at my small cars.
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Old 02-16-2016, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Howaboutno?
181 posts, read 167,140 times
Reputation: 213
Quote:
Originally Posted by caverunner17 View Post
I don't understand the affinity of males in the US for pick up trucks. They are great if you live in rural areas, need to tow, or are in a construction type business, but it seems like a significant number of middle-class suburban American men have this dream of owning one, which I don't get. They're not all that fuel efficient, the ride isnt nearly as comfortable as a sedan or SUV, and they aren't fun to drive.

I've driven my father's F350 a few times which he uses to tow a 5th wheel travel trailer, and I just feel like I'm driving a boat. Feel totally disconnected from the road and have to be more careful maneuvering in parking lots.

My roommate is getting a 2017 Honda Ridgeline -- We live in the suburbs, he works 15 miles away, also in the suburbs, and the largest thing he's put in his CUV is his bike. I just totally don't get it.

Sports cars, I get. They're fast and fun to drive, even if not practical. But trucks? I can't see any advantage for a normal suburbanite to owning one outside of the random isolated time you need to pick up that oversized Ikea dresser or something.
I sort of get the reason some ppl do this. It's not just males. Look at the number of females in SUV's they don't need. There's a look down your nose at the next guy thing going on, to a degree. Problems is, if everyone is up high, no one gets to look down their nose.

Seriously though, I don't get it either. I have neighbors who are in their 60's & have these types of vehicles & never use them beyond what I use my Camry for. I've even remodeled a bathroom w/ this car carrying everything I need home from Lowes in it, in various trips & stages The store is close, so...

The vehicles ride rough, they consume more fuel, as you said. Other than the snobbery effect of looking down on ppl & maybe intimidating them w/ a huge truck, I don't see another reason they have them.
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Old 02-16-2016, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Huntsville
6,009 posts, read 6,606,108 times
Reputation: 7036
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben theredundat View Post
I sort of get the reason some ppl do this. It's not just males. Look at the number of females in SUV's they don't need. There's a look down your nose at the next guy thing going on, to a degree. Problems is, if everyone is up high, no one gets to look down their nose.

Seriously though, I don't get it either. I have neighbors who are in their 60's & have these types of vehicles & never use them beyond what I use my Camry for. I've even remodeled a bathroom w/ this car carrying everything I need home from Lowes in it, in various trips & stages The store is close, so...

The vehicles ride rough, they consume more fuel, as you said. Other than the snobbery effect of looking down on ppl & maybe intimidating them w/ a huge truck, I don't see another reason they have them.


I'll bite here.


I have a 2012 Ram 2500 crew cab with a Cummins diesel in it. I work a desk job and use it to commute to work. What you DON'T see... is that I have 2 kids and a wife, so we fill up the truck. You also DON'T see the gooseneck hitch in the bed that is used to pull a trailer on the weekends. Or the lumber that is in the truck bed because I have to fix things in the house.


My wife has a 2014 Ford Expedition EL. She commutes in this vehicle. Often times on the weekends we have additional kids with us, and often fill up the 8 seat capacity. We also use the large back area to haul our beach gear to the beach when we go on vacation, and luggage when we go out of town to visit family. It also makes hauling the weekly groceries home much easier as there is no bending over required or trying to strategically place all of the bags into the trunk without crushing the bread or the eggs.


Just because you don't SEE it being used, doesn't mean it isn't. And I can promise you that a Camry rides rougher than this Expedition. As for fuel consumption, the Expedition gets a little worse than the diesel, but the large trucks with diesel engines are far more fuel efficient than the gas engines. These Rams are known to get well over 22mpg when tuned properly. My last F250 averaged 19mpg in the city and 24 on the highway.




For elderly people, sitting up higher makes visibility better and makes getting in and out of the vehicle easier. It is difficult to stoop down or try to fall into the seat of a car lower to the ground. Being able to step into a vehicle instead of fall into one is much easier on the back.

Last edited by Nlambert; 02-16-2016 at 10:59 AM..
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Old 02-16-2016, 11:08 AM
 
9,868 posts, read 7,612,120 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nlambert View Post
I'll bite here.


I have a 2012 Ram 2500 crew cab with a Cummins diesel in it. I work a desk job and use it to commute to work. What you DON'T see... is that I have 2 kids and a wife, so we fill up the truck. You also DON'T see the gooseneck hitch in the bed that is used to pull a trailer on the weekends. Or the lumber that is in the truck bed because I have to fix things in the house.


My wife has a 2014 Ford Expedition EL. She commutes in this vehicle. Often times on the weekends we have additional kids with us, and often fill up the 8 seat capacity. We also use the large back area to haul our beach gear to the beach when we go on vacation, and luggage when we go out of town to visit family. It also makes hauling the weekly groceries home much easier as there is no bending over required or trying to strategically place all of the bags into the trunk without crushing the bread or the eggs.


Just because you don't SEE it being used, doesn't mean it isn't. And I can promise you that a Camry rides rougher than this Expedition. As for fuel consumption, the Expedition gets a little worse than the diesel, but the large trucks with diesel engines are far more fuel efficient than the gas engines. These Rams are known to get well over 22mpg when tuned properly. My last F250 averaged 19mpg in the city and 24 on the highway.




For elderly people, sitting up higher makes visibility better and makes getting in and out of the vehicle easier. It is difficult to stoop down or try to fall into the seat of a car lower to the ground. Being able to step into a vehicle instead of fall into one is much easier on the back.
Agree, people make assumptions based on partial views of someone's use of a vehicle. Another example is that of criticizing someone picking up groceries using an SUV or toppered truck a short distance from home and assuming the owner made the run just for that purpose. In actuality, the driver stopped on the way home from doing something else, and the criticizer does not see the object in the bed that is too big to fit in a car.

There is someone in town who used to complain in letters to the editor about this kind of grocery stop, not thinking that the driver had combined errands into one run just as everybody is encouraged to do. It allows the Prius (or whatever) drivers to boast greenness even as they jump into them for repeated, frequent, short trips that add up to MORE miles driven--and MORE fuel consumption--than a combined trip with a larger vehicle. But the former is a greenie badge and the bigger vehicle is not. Oh, WELL. Such is the nature of perceptions.
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Old 02-16-2016, 11:17 AM
 
Location: Howaboutno?
181 posts, read 167,140 times
Reputation: 213
I don't have partial views of the ppl I mentioned. They use them as I described. Also, if it's only occasional truck use, you can rent & save a lot of money.

I think I hit a nerve.

Another local guy has a hummer. What a waste. He used it one time to try to impress his GF & intimidate me in my Miata. Great investment there. Those commercials paid off?
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Old 02-16-2016, 11:25 AM
 
Location: Huntsville
6,009 posts, read 6,606,108 times
Reputation: 7036
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben theredundat View Post
I don't have partial views of the ppl I mentioned. They use them as I described. Also, if it's only occasional truck use, you can rent & save a lot of money.

I think I hit a nerve.


No... it's just ridiculous. I've already proven that renting an occasional truck will not save someone money if they need it more than 4-5 times per year. The math is in a few different threads, including this one.


You still only have a partial view. When the neighbors leave, where do they go? What do they do? Do you follow their every move? I can leave home empty and come home empty, but it does not mean the vehicle isn't used while I am out. I've had to help my dad move things since he is getting older and can't do it. I leave home empty, and come home empty.


Let's assume that they only do what you think you know they do. Do they have health issues? If you answer no, do you know for a fact? Many don't publicize them. Arthritis, back issues, bone cancer, and many other medical problems make using a small car painful at best.


Being able to step laterally into a vehicle instead of having to make vertical movements to get into one is much easier on a body. When large cars like the Chevy Caprice, Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis, etc... were in production a lot of elderly used those vehicles because they were comfortable and easy to maneuver in and out of. They're not that common anymore so the next logical step is an SUV.




Your opinion is that these vehicles are a waste. For YOUR use, they might be. My opinion of a Miata is that it is a waste. It has 2 seats, so my family of 4 won't fit in it. Has a trunk the size of a bread box that I can't fit anything in, and can't tow anything. Does that mean it isn't useful to someone? Absolutely not. But to make a wide assumption that it's useless in general is reaching.
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Old 02-16-2016, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Alaska
3,146 posts, read 4,063,872 times
Reputation: 5470
Quote:
Originally Posted by ged_782 View Post
A station wagon body variant of a sedan, is virtually non-existent on the market today. The VW Golf is one of the very few exceptions.

Minivans, car-based SUVs, and truck-based SUVs, pretty much fill the market segment that was previously served by the sedan-based wagons.
The VW Golf is more of a hatchback than a wagon.


The Subaru Outback and the VW Jetta Sportwagen or new/upcoming VW Golf Sportwagen, which is replacing the Jetta Sportwagen, are about the only true (non-luxury) wagons.


I agree with your second statement regarding minivans and SUVs.
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Old 02-16-2016, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Falls Church, Fairfax County
5,162 posts, read 4,460,208 times
Reputation: 6336
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben theredundat View Post
I don't have partial views of the ppl I mentioned. They use them as I described. Also, if it's only occasional truck use, you can rent & save a lot of money.
Also you CAN own. I am not sure of the point you think you have?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben theredundat View Post
I think I hit a nerve.
I think you are trying to hit a nerve i.e.; Troll but I do not think anyone cares what you think about what they should drive or how they should spend their money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben theredundat View Post
Another local guy has a hummer. What a waste. He used it one time to try to impress his GF & intimidate me in my Miata. Great investment there. Those commercials paid off?
So this is just about the time some guy scared you? Taking it to the Internet for a little revenge? Maybe you should stand up to this guy, not a bunch of anonymous strangers on the Internet.
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Old 02-16-2016, 11:45 AM
 
Location: Alaska
3,146 posts, read 4,063,872 times
Reputation: 5470
Quote:
Originally Posted by marlinfshr View Post
Not all of us would prefer station wagons. Personally, I never liked station wagons as I always liked the more truck like style, height and seating position of the SUV's. Believe it or not, SUV's had been around since the early days of station wagon's.
But they did not start becoming popular until the late 80s/early 90s.
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