That joke is useful when a buddy or family member buys a new truck of a different brand than yours. Ask him: Did you get the heated tailgate? Then tell him why.
OT Why we don’t have small trucks anymore
- Thread starter vacock
- Start date
In 1989 I bought a brand new Nissan 4 cyl "Hardbody" pickup for $7900 after rebates. It was the stripped model. Manual 5 speed, no radio, no AC, no power anything, no tach, not even a rear bumper. There were Grommets filling all kinds of things on the dash that were factory-deleted. I put a radio in it and just drove. I got 200K mostly trouble free miles out of it. I replaced a water pump and fuel pump. It was still running great, but I wrecked it. The guy who towed it bought it for $1200 and fixed it. I saw his son driving around in it. I still see some of those and the Toyota HiLux trucks on the road.
I'm driving a 2008 Silverado 4WD now that i bought new and it's probably the most trouble free vehicle I've owned, considering it's 16 years old.
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I have had three pickup trucks in my adult lifetime and bought each one new off the showroom floor. First, Chevy S10- drove it 15 years. Then, Chevy C10- drove it 15 years. And the one I have now... Dodge Dakota- 18 years and counting. That's 48 years of construction right there. The Dodge is a beast for it's size and remains fun to drive to this day... although I dont do what I used to do in it but that's on me moreso than the truck. lol. Funny thing is the bed itself is actually larger than my old full size Chevy bed was... 6 inches larger. Probably the hardest working part of the Dodge has been the factory bed liner. I have never seen my bed without it and probably never will. Blows the mind how good the liner looks knowing all it's done tho. I dont know what kind of plastic it is but it's been near invincible is all I can say.
At the height of the Great Recession most makes were offering steep incentives and I was in the market. Toyota was still charging sticker price. I got a new Silverado much cheaper.
I could not care less about what someone else drives - use a truck for its purpose or not, not my problem. I had one and found myself rarely using it for its intended purposes and got a ton of $$$ by selling it.
But what continues to amaze me is the damn COST of them these days. It isn't just American-made trucks, of course - but it provides a good example.
If you DO want a truck to use for hauling stuff, etc. on a regular basis, and don't care about screens, heated seats, or whatever else, but you DO want maybe like a decent stereo or 4x4 - you're out of luck, unless you want to spend 75k at minimum and get all the bells and whistles you didn't want in the first place.
Aemrican trucks/SUVS, in particular, aren't built all that well either, and they feel cheap as sh&t on the inside. My sister bought one of those giant jellybeans, aka grand wagoneer, and it feels cheap as anything on the inside, and it was over 100k. It is fully insane.
But what continues to amaze me is the damn COST of them these days. It isn't just American-made trucks, of course - but it provides a good example.
If you DO want a truck to use for hauling stuff, etc. on a regular basis, and don't care about screens, heated seats, or whatever else, but you DO want maybe like a decent stereo or 4x4 - you're out of luck, unless you want to spend 75k at minimum and get all the bells and whistles you didn't want in the first place.
Aemrican trucks/SUVS, in particular, aren't built all that well either, and they feel cheap as sh&t on the inside. My sister bought one of those giant jellybeans, aka grand wagoneer, and it feels cheap as anything on the inside, and it was over 100k. It is fully insane.
C'mon, a 'Dually' owner has to be the laughing stock at short tracks, tractor pulls and gas pumps.
I bought a new Sienna XSE last year. I've driven it all over the East Coast over the past 14 months, having paid more than sticker price, and without a shred of regret. It should be pointed out that I drove the vehicle it replaced, a Honda Odyssey, for 17 years, so I discounted the latest vehicle by the cost of another vehicle I would have ordinarily purchased during those 17 years, but did not. The Sienna self-contained hybrid is getting 35.1 mpg.
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My son is driving a Camry every day that has more than 400,000 miles on it to a job 35 miles away. Nothing beyond regular maintenance.
I have a 1983 Datsun king cab I think they called it. Really just 2 little side fold down seats for grocery bags. Columbia SC all it’s life an pretty much rust free. Great for a Home Depot run or to the dump. And super easy to work on, only 90k miles on it, my father bought it as his retirement gift to himself. I’ll keep it to the grave, probably out last me lol!
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