Is America ready for 4-cylinder full-size pickup trucks? Because they're here (GM)

[niky]

When people say they need an SUV. 99% of the time, what they really need is a minivan.

The SUV is simply a *want*.

That's why the Ford Explorer is the best-selling mid-sized SUV in the US.

Because it's basically a Ford Flex on stilts in drag.

That's not to say there aren't people who need the capacity or go-anywhere ability of an SUV... but by and large, most don't.

[Lemmy]

SUVs have their uses. Im 6'5", 265, and have a 54" chest. I tend to not fit in small cars (with some notable exceptions) so for someone my size I could easily justify one on that basis alone.

However, I don't want to squander my cash or the Earths finite resources, so i have the Smart (which fits me ok, even if it does feel a bit like im wearing it).

[Xist]

Vehicles in the U.S. are status symbols and people never thought that minivans are cool. I do not understand people's obsessions with trucks and SUVs, or expensive cars with bodykits sold as SUVs, but I have never had money to spare.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Never understood the US obsession with pick-ups
They're not practical
Load bed is way too high
No weather or theft protection without a lid of some sort
Load volume is crap, especially with a weather cover.

In Europe, we almost exclusively use cargo vans / panel vans for work.
For personal use, virtually no-one uses a pick-up truck.

It's mostly men who want the image that goes along with driving a truck. A van isn't going to project a strong image to women.

The projection of that image is mostly successful with making a guy more attractive to a woman, too.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Most of the times some more compact vehicle can actually feature an off-road performance comparable to a much highly praised SUV. Needless to speak of the VW Beetle, Citroën 2CV and a handful of other "people's cars" which were meant to cater not just to urban people but also to small farmers.

Originally Posted by euromodder

Never understood the US obsession with pick-ups

IIRC it had to do more with the tax structure that benefitted vehicles with a separated load compartment at least 6ft.-long and 4ft.-wide.

They're not practical
Load bed is way too high
No weather or theft protection without a lid of some sort
Load volume is crap, especially with a weather cover.

Sometimes it may be actually easier to haul something bulkier with a pick-up instead of a van due to the absence of a fixed roof restricting the height of the load compartment. But I'd still rather get a van if I needed a commercial vehicle to use as a daily-driver.

In Europe, we almost exclusively use cargo vans / panel vans for work.
For personal use, virtually no-one uses a pick-up truck.

IIRC only a few years ago pick-ups could be classified as a passenger vehicle in Europe, in order to follow the same speed limits of cars instead of the ones meant for trucks.

[teoman]

It can be an advantage if you haul wet, muddy or oily stuff. Like diving gear, offroad motorbikes or oil to make biodiesel.

Unless you really need offroading the small fiat is perfect.

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

Trucks are a perfect fit for my construction business. Van might work ok, but a truck with a lumber rack and a topper is my first choice. My average tank is 17 mpg and best tank is over 20 mpg (not bad for a 20 year old 2500). If I put a fiat in the back of my truck, my mileage wouldn't change much. Pulling trailers loaded with materials happens frequently. A friend has a small suv that is less than half the weight of my truck and is underpowered and gets worse mileage than my truck.

I agree that most people don't need a truck, but for some of us, it is essential.

[teoman]

I am pretty sure you would not want your next pickup truck to be a luxury model where every scratch and ding hurts.

If you drive the truck yourself, and you can justify spending a lot of time in it, then todays offers may be ok for you. But from my perspective new trucks are just too fancy to be work vehicles.

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

I agee with that statement 100%. Don't like the complexity of the new diesel trucks either. They have serious reliability issues. I'm restoring both of my old dodges for less money than a new one.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by euromodder

They're not practical

They're practical for some things, but 99% of buyers nowadays don't ever use them for that.

My father has always maintained a large garden and orchard, and uses his truck to haul loose mulch, gravel, manure, topsoil, etc. all the time. You can't do that with a van or SUV. But, he drives a 20-year-old Japanese compact pickup, like he always has, and works it hard.

Full-size trucks have become oversized commuter cars. Both the manufacturers, who love the high profit margins, and consumers, who are only too happy to indulge themselves with luxury trucks because they think they might need a bed someday for something, are to blame.