Just can't get a good basic truck, like the old days!

[tacticalturnip]

It's not a truck, but I have a 2014 CTS-V coupe that has been amazing. I've replaced the tires twice,the key fob batteries three times, done a wheel alignment and nothing else other than fluids. I'm even using the original battery.

I lusted over your car, and of course the rare wagon. The wagon may have been the previous generation.

Still, excellent taste.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I own 2 pickups… a Ford and a Chevrolet…

Both give good service.

The 91 Chevrolet has the high output 350 and set up to tow my trailers… with A/C, auto and pwr brakes/steering and it does well.

The 30 Ford is more for Home Depot runs… something like a dozen sacks of ready mix concrete… it’s very Spartan… 3 spd manual with no power anything.

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In the salt belt all of our old vehicles have dissolved. And new mixtures of anti-icing will dissolve older vehicles dragged into our environment faster than when they were originally sold as new back in the day because of more advanced de-icing mixtures.

It is all very tragic and sad making me envious of anybody living in warmer places or I'd likely be driving some clapped-out, rat-rodish truck with a brand new, sorta modern, drivetrain with Detroit Locker (now Eaton) differential carriers in Dana axles.

 

[ultrarunner]

In the salt belt all of our old vehicles have dissolved. And new mixtures of anti-icing will dissolve older vehicles dragged into our environment faster than when they were originally sold as new back in the day because of more advanced de-icing mixtures.

It is all very tragic and sad making me envious of anybody living in warmer places or I'd likely be driving some clapped out rat-rodish truck with a brand new, sorta modern, drivetrain with Detroit Locker (now Eaton) differential carriers.

Maybe if we salted the roads in California the legislature would not be working so hard getting older vehicles off the road or emission testing back to 1976…

 

[rontaki]

Maybe if we salted the roads in California the legislature would not be working so hard getting older vehicles off the road or emission testing back to 1976…

Nah, we left-coasties are dumping anything that isn't a Tesla. Except some of us here on TBN.

 

[rontaki]

Or Yugo, it doesn't.

If buying a new Yugo back then, the smart thing to do is get the optional rear-window defroster. Keeps your hands warm in winter as you push it down the road!

 

[Paystar]

Wipers, so hard....

Must be because dealer couldn't even put the arms back on in the right spot parked, LOL

 

[QRTRHRS]

Had one of those, spec'd just as you've listed, for many years, put thousands of trouble-free miles on it. Bought it for $1200 from a friend who used it as a wood-cutting truck. Pickup bed was removed and a flatbed installed, with high wood racks. It WOULD haul a load - I moved several single-wide mobile homes with it for friends. Biggest problem was those split rims - tire dealers didn't want to work on them. I'd probably still be driving that thing but the wife insisted she needed a/c and a bigger cab.....

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I was changing tires at my friend's garage/ gas station one day. No one else in the shop but me when this guy saw me and literally threw a $$$t fit. Split rims are a whole other thread so I don't want to go on and on about it but I was taught well.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Must be because dealer couldn't even put the arms back on in the right spot parked, LOL

The bat-stuff crazy thing is Ford has the easiest system for removing and installing the entire wiper arm in the industry.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Maybe if we salted the roads in California the legislature would not be working so hard getting older vehicles off the road or emission testing back to 1976…

In the salt-belt we have a natural mechanism of old vehicle removal that doesn't require legislation. Which is the say, Dr. Spock, I'm waiting for plastic cars. Smile.

 

[Hay Dude]

I also think a lot of the older, simpler light trucks from the 90’s and early 2000’s were destroyed by the “cash for clunkers” program, which caused a horrific shortage of basic cars & light trucks and also doubled the prices of the ones that remained..

 

[Oaktree]

I've never understood the gripe against them anyways. Sometimes it's nife to open the passenger and/or rear windows from the driver's seat. I've put hundreds of thousands of miles on vehicles with them and had one window motor fail. I've also had the same number of manual windows fail.

My only dislikes about power windows are
(1) they only work if the vehicle is on or in accessory. So if you left your windows open on a hot day and it starts to rain you've got to go in the house, grab keys/fob to close them. I suppose if you lock up your vehicle every moment you're not it, that's not an issue.
(2) The ^%$# auto-up/down feature. I wish there was a way to turn it off. Often as not you try to open/close the window a couple inches and it goes into auto mode, so you have to fart around with hitting the switch just right so as to do what you want. What's the purpose of this? It takes, what, 5 seconds to fully open/close a window anyway.

Must be because dealer couldn't even put the arms back on in the right spot parked, LOL

I had an early 70s vintage Mopar where if the arms were parked flush with the bottom of the windshield, it left several inches unwiped at the top of the cycle (wipe arc was too small) so I moved the park position a couple inches up. EVERY time someone removed them (ie-getting it repainted, etc.) they got put back flush. Minor inconvenience, but still PITA.

I also think a lot of the older, simpler light trucks from the 90’s and early 2000’s were destroyed by the “cash for clunkers” program, which caused a horrific shortage of basic cars & light trucks and also doubled the prices of the ones that remained..

Yeah. Saw a lot of perfectly good trucks/SUVs in the CFC lot at dealerships. What a waste. Also kind of frosted me that the government was subsidizing people who bought foreign made vehicles.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yeah. Saw a lot of perfectly good trucks/SUVs in the CFC lot at dealerships. What a waste. Also kind of frosted me that the government was subsidizing people who bought foreign made vehicles.

They drained the oil from them and ran the engines with a sodium silicate solution in them until they overheated & seized.
Imagine what that did to the salvage industry’s prices for used engines?

All that program did was screw poor people and high school/college kids out of inexpensive cars & car parts, and benefitted big car manufacturers who sold us crap for decades.
It continued to drive up basic used light truck and car prices for decades.
So stupid.

 

[jyoutz]

My only dislikes about power windows are
(1) they only work if the vehicle is on or in accessory. So if you left your windows open on a hot day and it starts to rain you've got to go in the house, grab keys/fob to close them. I suppose if you lock up your vehicle every moment you're not it, that's not an issue.
(2) The ^%$# auto-up/down feature. I wish there was a way to turn it off. Often as not you try to open/close the window a couple inches and it goes into auto mode, so you have to fart around with hitting the switch just right so as to do what you want. What's the purpose of this? It takes, what, 5 seconds to fully open/close a window anyway.

I had an early 70s vintage Mopar where if the arms were parked flush with the bottom of the windshield, it left several inches unwiped at the top of the cycle (wipe arc was too small) so I moved the park position a couple inches up. EVERY time someone removed them (ie-getting it repainted, etc.) they got put back flush. Minor inconvenience, but still PITA.

Yeah. Saw a lot of perfectly good trucks/SUVs in the CFC lot at dealerships. What a waste. Also kind of frosted me that the government was subsidizing people who bought foreign made vehicles.

Do we even know what vehicles are foreign made? Many Fords are made in Mexico and many Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and VWs are made in the U.S. Then we have the GM cars that are partially made in USA, Canada, and Mexico.

 

[Hay Dude]

My only dislikes about power windows are
(1) they only work if the vehicle is on or in accessory.

Not true on my Ram. Once you put mine in park and shut it off, the windows continue to work, until you open the door. Then they no longer work.

So if you left your windows open on a hot day and it starts to rain you've got to go in the house, grab keys/fob to close them. I suppose if you lock up your vehicle every moment you're not it, that's not an issue.

Well, if it had crank windows, you’d still have to go outside and crank them. So it comes down to which is quicker: finding keys and pushing the PW button, or cranking up all the windows by hand? It takes forever to crank up windows by hand if all 4 are down. lol

(2) The ^%$# auto-up/down feature. I wish there was a way to turn it off. Often as not you try to open/close the window a couple inches and it goes into auto mode, so you have to fart around with hitting the switch just right so as to do what you want. What's the purpose of this? It takes, what, 5 seconds to fully open/close a window anyway.

The way you defeat this is by putting the window all the way down, then closing it back up to just where you want it. Thats for “express down”. Some fancier higher-end model cars have “express down” and “express up”. I’m not sure how those work, but usually partially cracked windows are for smokers. I do not smoke, so for me it’s widows all the way up (heat/AC “on”) or all the way down (nice day/talking to someone/listening for noises). I have little need for a window cracked 2”.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Clean Cars for All is the new Cash for Clunkers California of course. LOL, ever notice how many items that are not for sale in California? Wonder when that state is going to ban food?

 

[Jstpssng]

(2) The ^%$# auto-up/down feature. I wish there was a way to turn it off

You can. As it gets to where you want it, push down (or up) again.

I do agree that it's a pain when it starts raining, but my keys are in the truck until I go in for the night anyways.

 

[4570Man]

Not true on my Ram. Once you put mine in park and shut it off, the windows continue to work, until you open the door. Then they no longer work.


Well, if it had crank windows, you’d still have to go outside and crank them. So it comes down to which is quicker: finding keys and pushing the PW button, or cranking up all the windows by hand? It takes forever to crank up windows by hand if all 4 are down. lol


The way you defeat this is by putting the window all the way down, then closing it back up to just where you want it. Thats for “express down”. Some fancier higher-end model cars have “express down” and “express up”. I’m not sure how those work, but usually partially cracked windows are for smokers. I do not smoke, so for me it’s widows all the way up (heat/AC “on”) or all the way down (nice day/talking to someone/listening for noises). I have little need for a window cracked 2”.

Some people are just stuck in hard mode for no apparent reason. I can’t imagine walking in the car dealership in 2025 and finding the base model truck with a manual transmission, manual window and manual locks and think that’s the one I want. I’ve had that exact truck, but I didn’t buy it new or even close to new. Apparently not many other people wanted that truck or they would still sell them. Manual locks and windows suck especially on a 4 door. Manual windows suck even more when you don’t have ac and are constantly having to put them up and down.

 

[not2old]

You can. As it gets to where you want it, push down (or up) again.

I do agree that it's a pain when it starts raining, but my keys are in the truck until I go in for the night anyways.

I like vehicles with a leather interior so get stuck with all the gimmicks including a key fob. Apartment buildings can use a very small plastic fob without a battery. Why can't vehicles? My three summer vehicles have large fobs I don't want in my pocket. I long for the days when I had three F series trucks with one key and a Volvo that had a key and a fob that was never used. In addition, nobody could steal them with a computer.

 

[tacticalturnip]

They were still around (crank windows, not Yugos) in the early 00s, my '02 Dakota had them. That truck was pretty bare bones by modern standards. V8, power steering/brakes, automatic, 4WD, extended cab, those were about the only "options".

I had an '06 Silverado half-ton that someone had to of ordered from the factory, a real weird setup but I loved it. 5.3 V8 with 4.10 rear, dual-zone climate control, mid-range audio setup, premium cloth, power locks, along with rubber floors and crank windows.

I swapped the crank window handles for some chrome looking ones, it really made me smile. My wife was happy when the RAM I replaced it with was quite well equipped.

 

[4570Man]

I like vehicles with a leather interior so get stuck with all the gimmicks including a key fob. Apartment buildings can use a very small plastic fob without a battery. Why can't vehicles? My three summer vehicles have large fobs I don't want in my pocket. I long for the days when I had three F series trucks with one key and a Volvo that had a key and a fob that was never used. In addition, nobody could steal them with a computer.

I used to think a key fob was an overpriced gimmick which they kinda are but I actually like mine after I have one. I like the price of a $5 key better but those days are gone anyway. A chipped key is going to set you back a couple hundred bucks anyway. I like not having to dig through my pocket for keys. With the fob it unlocks when I pull the door handle. Here’s the size of my key fob compared to my dad’s ford key. At least both of those options are smooth unlike an old key plus a remote clicker. If someone actually had the ability to clone your key with a laptop don’t you think they could take a picture of your vin number and order an old school key? I hate a big mess of keys to carry around. I’ve always kept my vehicle keys separate from my other key ring so I only have to carry one key even when I still had old fashioned keys.