Lighter pickups coming soon- but geez have they gotten fat!

[autoteach]

I figured that if it was a universal amongst the auto industry, it must have been written somewhere on the net. So I searched with no results. Either you have the quote wrong or I inaccurately searched it (sorry, cut and pasted). It may be that adversarial nature that sales manager and shop owners feed the sales staff that creates the drama that is new and used car sales.

As for the trucks, look for run flats and no spare tires coming in the near future. I would guess that there will be other weight saving tactics that are less than enjoyable.

[Frank Lee]

For Older people- Ever met an SUV you couldn't climb into?

OMG, a bunch of ninnies almost proud of the fact they need a step stool for ingress/egress!

[The Rooster]

Originally Posted by autoteach

I figured that if it was a universal amongst the auto industry, it must have been written somewhere on the net. So I searched with no results. Either you have the quote wrong or I inaccurately searched it (sorry, cut and pasted). It may be that adversarial nature that sales manager and shop owners feed the sales staff that creates the drama that is new and used car sales.

As for the trucks, look for run flats and no spare tires coming in the near future. I would guess that there will be other weight saving tactics that are less than enjoyable.

It's not a quote, it's a saying. Sayings tend to have a lot of variations, such as "You're not the sharpest tool in the shed" is the same as "Your daddy dosen't call you son because you're bright". Different sentence, same inference. And since car sales is not in the realm of pop-culture, stumbling upon derogatory insider sayings may be a little harder than a google search.

Instead do a google search of "Customers lie", and you'll get the idea of where any dirivitave of my saying would come from.

Bonus Round;

If you want to see a great movie about car sales, one that's fairly accurate too, watch "Suckers". It was absolutely hillarious to me, viewing it through the prizm of a car salesman at the time.

[user removed]

The 94 T100 with the 2.4 4 cylinder had an original EPA rating of 28 highway (now 26).
With 16 years of advancement in engines, better gearing, and something like the 2.5 engine in my Altima, they could get it to 30 highway or maybe a couple of MPG higher.

That might not be enough for some who want to tow more than 6000 pounds or carry more than 2000, but it would be perfect for a lot of people. It wouldn't need to weigh more than 3200 pounds and I would wager than a lot of people would buy one if they just built a basic truck without all the rubbish that doesn't belong in a truck in the first place, if you are using it for the purpose for which it should be designed.

Of course the manufacturers and sales personnel would hate it since they can't make a ton of money on the 100% marked up options.

The two trucks I bought were both basically strippers. I took the ads with me to the dealer and basically told them that was the one I wanted. They tried to sell me anything but the cheap stripper, but miraculously "found" one when they realized I was walking out the door.

regards
Mech

[The Rooster]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

For Older people- Ever met an SUV you couldn't climb into?

OMG, a bunch of ninnies almost proud of the fact they need a step stool for ingress/egress!

And now they have those power hide away running boards. Open the door and a running board pops down to let you in to your lifted hulk.

PowerBoards

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by The Rooster

Ha! I thought it was egineers that hated designers, and salespeople just en up hating people.

I was a designer and an engineer and I hated myself. Eureka! Now it all makes sense!

[The Rooster]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

The 94 T100 with the 2.4 4 cylinder had an original EPA rating of 28 highway (now 26).
With 16 years of advancement in engines, better gearing, and something like the 2.5 engine in my Altima, they could get it to 30 highway or maybe a couple of MPG higher.

That might not be enough for some who want to tow more than 6000 pounds or carry more than 2000, but it would be perfect for a lot of people. It wouldn't need to weigh more than 3200 pounds and I would wager than a lot of people would buy one if they just built a basic truck without all the rubbish that doesn't belong in a truck in the first place, if you are using it for the purpose for which it should be designed.

Of course the manufacturers and sales personnel would hate it since they can't make a ton of money on the 100% marked up options.

The two trucks I bought were both basically strippers. I took the ads with me to the dealer and basically told them that was the one I wanted. They tried to sell me anything but the cheap stripper, but miraculously "found" one when they realized I was walking out the door.

regards
Mech

I doubt it. It seems to me the only people that buy strippers are the actual truck people who use them, which has become a fairly small segment of the market...this astute assumption based on my personal observations of seeing very, very few strippers on the road.

If it were available, and people had enough money, they would by V-12 Alcohol burning 6x6 Moster trucks with Ostrich skin seats and a built in, 6 way power ego stroker. And if they don't have the money for that, they just won't buy anything. They'll go get a used one instead.

Gas prices themselves or regulations are the ONLY thing that's going to change what people want to buy. Not even the economy can kill trucks.

SUV, Truck Sales Trumping Energy Efficient Cars - CBS News

Ford's 2011, base model 4x2 F-150 with a 3.7 V6 gets 23mpg highway. This isn't far off from your current request for a basic truck that get's 30. We could also wait to see how Mahindra does once they release their trucks for sale later this year;

Mahindra Clean Diesel Pickup Trucks and SUVs

That's your pure utilitarian truck, lets see how it sells.

[Big Dave]

What happens when you put the pickup through bariatric surgery and wind up with a 2,800 lb truck that won't pass US crash tests?

Will designers drop the "crush zone" and go to the fortifed passenger citadel surrounded by a vehicle that is flimsily built and shreds in a wreck. This is common practice on race cars where weigh and safety are at a premium.

It might be one way to meet weight and safety requirements but your vehicle is "one and done" in accidents.

[cfg83]

The Rooster -

I looked the Mahindra up. The base small-cab version has a 4,400 lb curb weight. Do they consider themselves to be a small-pickup or a full-size?

CarloSW2

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by The Rooster

So here's the issue. People say they want...from an intelectual standpoint, a small, utilitarian, efficient, inexpensive truck but when you get to the lot and that Colorado is parked next to a big, beautiful, Chevy Silverado with baby seal skin seats, the emotional brain gets involved, and usually wins.

Here's my problem: from the late '60s (Toyota Stout - I owned one once, rescued from a junk pile) to the early '90s, several manufacturers - Toyota, Nissan, and others - managed to build and sell a lot of small pickups. A good many of these are still running, some as beater work trucks, some like mine as second vehicles, some modded for off-road (check your local Craigslist), when there seem to be few "full-sized" trucks of the same vintage left.

So that begs the question: If people bought small trucks not that long ago, why wouldn't they buy them now? And If automakers could sell them then, why can't they make & sell them now?