Opinions on trucks

[dodge man]

Canoetrpr, it's just like someone from Canada to make jokes about killing baby seals. I have no stomach for it. I use puppys and kittens in mine. They are easier to catch and I can't find any seals around here.

On a more serious note, what will trucks and cars look like in 10 to 15 years? I expect we will be driving smaller cars and trucks in the future. Much, much smaller. I have never owned a vehicle that got 35mpg. The only thing close was a 1986 Dodge Charger, which was a 2 door version of the Dodge Omni, and it would haul down pretty close to 35mpg on the highway. It was small, light maybe 2300lbs, a 2.2 liter 4 cylinder and a 5 speed stick. Alot of people are going to have a hard time driving a car like that after driving a SUV.

Saftey will also be an issue. I just watched video on Fox News showing one of these really small cars hitting what I would call a mid size car, a Camary. It just about turned that little car inside out. The rear wheels on the mini car came two feet off the ground. I'm guessing if people were in the cars instead of crash dummies, the person in the Camary would walk away and the person in the mini car would either have been killed or seriously hurt.

Kind of amazing what this thread has involved into.

 

[canoetrpr]

dodge_man - to be honest, I don't think that cars in this part of the world will get smaller as long as the price of gas does not get substantially more expensive - I mean 2 to 3x what it is right now.

The distances we drive are too big, many of us have legitimate uses for a truck as well.

I think they will become much more fuel efficient over time and I am hoping that some reasonable alternative energy sources will be developed.

I have always hoped that diesel will come in in a big way in all kinds of vehicles - providing much better MPG. I'd love to see some high quality diesels in the next decade in 1/2 ton pick ups. I'd love to get 25 MPG on diesel in my 1/2 ton. That will do much more for the environment than trying to convince me and the next guy driving a 1/2 ton that we should drive a smaller vehicle instead.

I hate to say this, but I think the only thing that will drive the kind of innovation we need to get fuel efficiency to 25 and 35 MPG in a 1/2 ton pick up is a price of gasoline that is substantially higher than what it is today. Not suggesting that is what I want - just that the market will innovate when it becomes necessary to do so.

 

[dodge man]

You must not have been watching the news lately. Unless things turn out different than I anticipate, we won't have a choice. They are passing new fuel economy and emissions standards. I think the requirement will be 35mpg for cars and 30mpg for light trucks. Thats the average. So if you buy a car that gets 25mpg, they have to sell another one that gets 45mpg to offset it.

Tell me what kind of trucks we will have that average 30mpg? They are also kicking around numbers of $1600-$1800 per unit in increased cost.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Canoetrpr, I saw a new F150 just like yours broke down at the side of the highway with the hood up. Must have been a blown seal.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I like BIG!!

Wait 'til you see them Italian birds...

 

[Builder]

dodge_man - to be honest, I don't think that cars in this part of the world will get smaller as long as the price of gas does not get substantially more expensive - I mean 2 to 3x what it is right now.

The distances we drive are too big, many of us have legitimate uses for a truck as well.

I think they will become much more fuel efficient over time and I am hoping that some reasonable alternative energy sources will be developed.

I have always hoped that diesel will come in in a big way in all kinds of vehicles - providing much better MPG. I'd love to see some high quality diesels in the next decade in 1/2 ton pick ups. I'd love to get 25 MPG on diesel in my 1/2 ton. That will do much more for the environment than trying to convince me and the next guy driving a 1/2 ton that we should drive a smaller vehicle instead.

I hate to say this, but I think the only thing that will drive the kind of innovation we need to get fuel efficiency to 25 and 35 MPG in a 1/2 ton pick up is a price of gasoline that is substantially higher than what it is today. Not suggesting that is what I want - just that the market will innovate when it becomes necessary to do so.

Whew, BOY! I could argue that point, but then politics would get involved. We've got more oil than we know what to do with.

I don't know how trucks could get smaller when we still build with 4x8 sheet goods.

Maybe the answer is taking big trucks away from people who don't really need them? Lots of them are used as macho toys, right? But that would be an infringement on our freedoms.

Trucks of the future will have a smaller diesel engine powering a decent sized generator with a motor attached to each wheel. Just like a locomotive. The engine will simply power the generator/batteries. The generator will make electric power for the motors.

 

[mwb]

Ssssooooo...
After all that, which truck is better?





I like my old '94 F250 7.3, no reason to get a newer one.

 

[canoetrpr]

Canoetrpr, I saw a new F150 just like yours broke down at the side of the highway with the hood up. Must have been a blown seal.

LOL! that was a good one.

 

[canoetrpr]

Trucks of the future will have a smaller diesel engine powering a decent sized generator with a motor attached to each wheel. Just like a locomotive. The engine will simply power the generator/batteries. The generator will make electric power for the motors.

I think that is a pretty good vision. I am told that Canadian National rail can move 1 ton of cargo for something insane like 400+ km on a single gallon of diesel.

Now of course it helps that you have one locomotive pulling all those cars, but generally I think MUCH better fuel economy is possible than what we are getting today.

 

[LBrown59]

I like BIG!!

I don't see anything to like about it.