51–60 of 143 posts
I would absolutely love a pickup truck that I can use in SF. All the modern ones are absolutely humongous. I had a Titan and that thing was enormous . Cost me absolute bags of money to offset the carbon. Ultimately, I just want something with a bed that I can strap my bike down and take somewhere to ride. You can't really do that with the Forester I have now.
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> There's a subset of contexts where they make sense although I think for _most_ people they're infrequent enough that it's way more sensible to use a cargo van or a sedan and then just rent a truck during the minority of times when you actually need one. Even a minivan can tow a small trailer for occasional lumber store runs or towing a jet ski or two. Or just use the roof rack and some tie-downs. Or take the seats…
If you need a truck even 5% of the time it is overall cheapest to just own a truck. Insurance, car payments, and other fixed costs are too high to make a second car worth it, and renting a car is not cheap, not to mention rental rules often mean you can't use the truck as a truck. (I've been looking for a place to rent a truck so I can replace mine, a couple times a year I do something that no rental truck will let m…
I hope this ends up being smaller than the F150. I get the popularity of that form factor, but I simply don't believe that many people are hauling yards of soil or towing boats. 2 Seats + 6 Foot bed seems like a winning combination in practicality, but is quite rare in the US.
> hauling yards of soil or towing boats I'm not defending the number of pickups on the road in America but this is an out of touch comment. Some common uses of pickup beds include: * Hauling motorcycles and ATVs including snowmobiles. * Carrying campers. * Carrying home improvement projects such as bags of soil, plants, and raw material such as 8'x2"x4" lumber or 4'x8' plywood. At least in the 2000s a 4x8 sheet of pl…
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> And a full 35 percent of truck owners use their truck for hauling—putting something in the bed, its ostensible raison d’être—once a year or less. Reads to me like 2/3 of truck owners use their bed at least twice a year. From the same paragraph: > 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never). Over 25% of trucks are used for towing. > Nearly 70 percent of truck owners…
> 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never). Even once is not never, because nothing else will do that job. Note too that there people who use their bed but never tow, the fact that a truck could serve either purpose but for some only does one doesn't mean that those people don't use a truck.
What is conspicuously absent from these numbers is a response to the question "do you never use the bed or go offroad or tow with your truck". Which is the case that the article seems to be trying to make but can't.
I hope this ends up being smaller than the F150. I get the popularity of that form factor, but I simply don't believe that many people are hauling yards of soil or towing boats. 2 Seats + 6 Foot bed seems like a winning combination in practicality, but is quite rare in the US.
I get the sense that the pickup truck market in the U.S. particularly in suburbs is driven by brand marketing rather than consumer needs. People are paying a premium, in the cost of purchasing as well as in the cost of insuring, maintaining, and fueling, for the image of the rugged individualistic American ready for any terrain, weather, or load that needs hauling, and maximally armored to "win" should they ever hit…
I live in the NYC area, and I see many specialized "lifestyle" vehicles such as offroaders like Jeep Wrangler Rubicons or sports cars like Porsches.
I would bet the majority of Rubicons I see rarely see terrain tougher than an unpaved driveway. The majority of Porsches I see will rarely experience a more thrilling drive than the owner flooring it from a stoplight.
Rather, it's to convey status or a lifestyle image.
While we're on the subject of pickup trucks - the Cybertruck. I have many friends who would never have thought of owning a truck before placing preorders for Cybertrucks. They are all white collar office workers, I've never seen them do any kind of hauling of cargo or offroading or other "rugged" or "adventurous" activities. But they are madly in love with the Cybertruck. It's purely a "look at me" lifestyle thing. Trucks like the F-150 (including the Lightning EV), Silverado, Tacoma, etc. don't even enter their radar.
Meanwhile I do have a handful of friends that work the trades, work in construction, etc. These guys all dismiss the Cybertruck as a toy and are interested in the F-150 Lightning, etc.
Because I had a TDI that I had to give up, and I won't get into it, but I was ripped off.
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I would wager it is only the retail market where the non-crew-cab is nearly extinct. A two seat pickup is a niche vehicle, about as useful for carrying a family around as a two seat sports car.
Pickup trucks aren't for carrying a family around. The whole point is to have a large open cargo space for building materials, equipment, etc... If you want to haul a family use a sedan or minivan. Those back seats in crew cabs are always cramped and uncomfortable anyway. They are a terrible tradeoff, and yet the entire automotive industry has gone all in on them.
Huh? Show me a single sedan with the rear seat legroom of an F150? Heck, how many come within six inches of having that kind of legroom?
No wonder you think pickups aren't for carrying a family around.
This is actually a pretty interesting story, from a career perspective: The CEO of VW North America is on vacation with his family, sees a restored classic Scout, and falls in love with it. He finds out that coincidentally VW now owns the rights to the Scout brand, so he steps down from his post to start a new Scout subsidiary.
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See http://www.google.com * "Jeep Ending Wrangler Two-Door Sales In Key Market" [1] * "Stellantis to Kill the Two-Door Jeep Wrangler in Europe" [2] * https://www.jeep.com/ Note total absence of 2 door models in pictures. * Electric available only in 4-door.[3] [1] https://carbuzz.com/news/jeep-ending-wrangler-two-door-sales... [2] https://www.autoevolution.com/news/stellantis-to-kill-the-tw... [3] https://www.jeep.co…
Ah, yes, I tend to forget there’s a world outside the U.S. I think the electric Wrangler will arrive in time to save the 2-door in the U.S.
Jeep had a huge hit with the mommymobile version of the Wrangler. Before the 4-door, the Jeep Wrangler was mostly a basic vehicle. Now they come with rear seat entertainment systems, far higher prices, and huge markups.
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> hauling yards of soil or towing boats I'm not defending the number of pickups on the road in America but this is an out of touch comment. Some common uses of pickup beds include: * Hauling motorcycles and ATVs including snowmobiles. * Carrying campers. * Carrying home improvement projects such as bags of soil, plants, and raw material such as 8'x2"x4" lumber or 4'x8' plywood. At least in the 2000s a 4x8 sheet of pl…
Pfft. Not sure where you live but I usually you see pickups doing none of the above, with one person in the cab.