What happened to small trucks?

[CDN Farm Boy]

Seriously? Did you really type that, and why is that ok? Don't get me wrong, my wife is a "small Asian woman" and I'm not offended, but would it be ok to say that about other races? Sorry for off topic.

I'm with you. There seems to be far more incompetent and oblivious drivers on the road than ever...it has nothing to do with age, race or gender

 

[DrRod]

Its funny, I am taking a break from work so now I do more driving during the day. I have to say that the drivers running errands during the day are far less skilled than those who deal with rush hour on a regular basis.

 

[troutsqueezer]

To many, bigger is automatically better, by default. I'm hearing "I can get the same gas mileage in a large truck as I can in a smaller one, so why buy the smaller one?" Or, "they cost about the same so why not buy the larger truck?" I'm 180 out on that one.

In the world of electronics, smaller costs more and everyone wants the same performance as larger products but in a smaller package. I feel the same way about trucks. I could have bought a nice F150 for what I paid for my top-of-the-line 2015 Tacoma. We even sat in and test drove the aluminum Ford trucks. There's nothing wrong with them but they felt too big for us. In forty years there's never been something that I needed to haul that wouldn't fit in a smaller truck but would in a full size model. I realize that is not the case for folks who use their trucks heavily on farms/ranches or certain businesses but for the average (key word there) homeowner, wanting a bigger model has less to do with practicality and more to do with image. Something that I pay less and less attention to the older I get.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Its funny, I am taking a break from work so now I do more driving during the day. I have to say that the drivers running errands during the day are far less skilled than those who deal with rush hour on a regular basis.

Here's my take on that.

Driving requires very little skill. Even fifteen year olds can master it.
Some folks think that because they can drive faster than those around them without hitting anyone that they possess a higher level of skill than most.
This is delusional.
Driving skill comes in the form of resisting the urge to drive fast and maintaining distance between yourself and other vehicles in order to mitigate the chances of causing bodily injury. In other words, ensuring there is a zone to maneuver in in case of unexpected events.
Any idiot can drive fast and keep the car in between the lines.

 

[ultrarunner]

Reminds me of driving on the Autobahn in Germany...

I've got the cruise set at 100 mph and cars are on my tail so close I can't even see the headlights or grill...

When I pull over they speed on past... maybe 140+ mph

On the flip side... many of the "Tow Trucks" are flat beds with a boom mounted claw that simply grabs onto the roof and plucks what's left of the vehicle and places it on the flat bed...

 

[vtsnowedin]

OTOH, do vehicles really need such a high beltline as they do today so you can't see out of them? What's up with that? 20+ years ago you didn't need one...you could actually see where you were going. Small windows seems to be the styling fad du jour, but I hate it.

Part of the high belt line small window design is making space for side airbags and making the truck more crash survivable.

 

[Oaktree]

In the world of electronics, smaller costs more and everyone wants the same performance as larger products but in a smaller package. I feel the same way about trucks. I could have bought a nice F150 for what I paid for my top-of-the-line 2015 Tacoma. We even sat in and test drove the aluminum Ford trucks. There's nothing wrong with them but they felt too big for us. In forty years there's never been something that I needed to haul that wouldn't fit in a smaller truck but would in a full size model. I realize that is not the case for folks who use their trucks heavily on farms/ranches or certain businesses but for the average (key word there) homeowner, wanting a bigger model has less to do with practicality and more to do with image.

Cold day you-know-where when I drive a Toyota truck, but you do make a good point. Most, if not all suburbanites who own pickups mainly use them as a passenger car, maybe once or twice a year use it to bring home a sheet of plywood or a few bags of peat moss from the home center. Maybe drag a small trailer to the mountains once or twice a year. Nothing a smaller truck couldn't handle, but it's not as "manly".
Even out here in the sticks where we do regularly use our trucks to haul stuff you see a lot of people getting by just fine with a Ranger or Dakota (Japanese trucks not so much...seem to mostly be owned by "city people" who moved here). I think my Dakota is just the right size for 95% of what I carry, though it would be nice if the bed was 4' between the wheel wells so plywood/sheetrock would lie flat or you could fit an ATV or snowmobile in it.

IMHO much of the reason Nissan & Toyota still market small (ish) trucks is that neither of them make a full sized truck that's worth a ****. And both of their "small" trucks are a whole lot bigger than they were even 10 years ago.

Part of the high belt line small window design is making space for side airbags and making the truck more crash survivable.

Should've guessed that the government with their obsession with "keeping us safe" would have entered into this.

 

[dave1949]

Should've guessed that the government with their obsession with "keeping us safe" would have entered into this.

Speaking of obsessions ....

You are safer with more airbags. People walk away from wrecks today that would have been fatalities or lifetime disabling years ago. It's hard to find the evil in that from any perspective, from economic to simple human compassion.

A lot of these crash safety items are driven by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's real test results.
IIHS-HLDI: Crash Testing & Highway Safety

 

[ultrarunner]

Cold day you-know-where when I drive a Toyota truck

A little off topic... Toyota is now the leader for most American made car...


Surprise choice tops list of most 'American' vehicles

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Ford needs to bring back the Model A Pickup.