#253680 - 15/04/2005 17:27
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: SuperQ]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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But I know way too many people in Minnesota that don't need the size of vehicles they buy.
True, but I think most people don't choose their vehicle based on "need" alone anyway. Here in Texas there are probably more people driving full size pickups than any other type of vehicle (the SUV is probably a close second), and when I ask people why they drive them the answer is generally not "so I can haul stuff," but rather "because they are more comfortable." I guess the height of the driver's seat requires a different positioning of the body that some people prefer, though I don't really know. The fact that they build trucks today nicer than luxury cars might also have something to do with it.
I personally think my wife's escape is about the most comfortable car I've driven, mainly because you step "into" it rather than "down" or "up". In fact, with her back problems this has turned out to be a major benefit and she always makes us drive her home from the hospital in it for that reason alone. We never take my car (a mustang) only because it's so painful for her to climb down into it.
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After that run, we made a second run with the uhaul.. most of that could have been avoided if we had put a couple things in thte pickup.
BTW, they also have a bedliner to protect the truck from the nothing they put in it.
Most Texans I know who drive trucks don’t go for the 2500/250+ options because they don’t need the towing power. However, I have rarely met anyone who drives a full size pickup that doesn't use it to its fullest when given the opportunity. And I have to admit, it's nice always being one relationship away from someone with a full-size truck because there are definitely moments it comes in handy. Still, I think most people here use trucks because they have them rather than having them because they need to use them.
Having said all of that, I personally don't see what the big beef is against full size trucks, but that might just because I'm so used to seeing them- it's just something people do around here. I don't covet one (I like smaller, sportier cars) but I don't begrudge those who do.
And the CFO of my company drives an H2. VERY comfortable, though I can’t imagine what he has to pay in gas. That is one car I simply do not desire in the least, but to each his own I guess.
Edited by JeffS (15/04/2005 17:31)
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#253681 - 15/04/2005 17:44
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Remember when you used to be able to drive behind a car on the road and still see the rest of the road? Or if you did get behind someone with a huge car (usually a commercial truck or van of same nature), you could just change lanes or pass them or whatever?
Yeah, you can't do that now, and the roads are more dangerous now, IMO. It used to be that you could see traffic coming to a stop in front of the car in front of you, but now your entire world is the rear-end of one other car.
Or how you used to be able to look over the hood of the car to your left at a stop sign to make sure you could make a right turn into traffic? You can't do that anymore, either.
Now, SUVs and trucks are not the cause of all of this. There's also the rockstar-style window tinting on 80% of the cars. But the big cars are a large portion of it. And, possibly more relevantly, the people who drive them.
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Bitt Faulk
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#253682 - 15/04/2005 17:54
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: JeffS]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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My biggest problem with the SUV craze is being stuck behind them and not being able to see the traffic ahead of them. I now simply pass them given any opportunity, without any guilt if I'm not actually making any progress by passing them.
However, my father drives an SUV because he needs it occasionaly, and I need one to borrow to haul my horse trailer. A Tahoe is really the absolue smallest vehicle capable of hauling a normal size horse trailer safely. (On Topic Comment: Diesel is far better for towing compared to gas, but I can only think of one diesel SUV on the market)
So people need them, some people don't, and many people can't afford to own two cars so one can sit in the driveway most of the time. Are there too many of them on the roads? Probably.
If we assume for a minute that there is a problem with too many of them, the natual solution is to let US gas prices get in line with the rest of the world. Gas is cheap because the users don't pay the environmental costs associated with releasing tons of polution into the atmosphere every year. If gas prices doubled, only people that needed large vehicles would buy them AND gas usage would decline so we wouldn't need to defend our oil which someone with a twisted sense of humor decided to burry in a desert halfway around the world from us.
Matthew
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#253683 - 15/04/2005 18:04
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
Remember when you used to be able to drive behind a car on the road and still see the rest of the road? Or if you did get behind someone with a huge car (usually a commercial truck or van of same nature), you could just change lanes or pass them or whatever?
Actually, no, and this is probably why they don't bother me. I can't remember a time where there were more cars on the road than trucks and SUVS, so dealing with them in my path of vision is just natural for me. That doesn't make it less dangerous, just that I don't perceive it. I wonder if there are more auto accidents in places with heavier concentrations of trucks/suvs?
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#253684 - 15/04/2005 18:10
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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How old are you?
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Bitt Faulk
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#253685 - 15/04/2005 18:12
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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29.
And yes, the SUV craze didn't start until recently, but there have ALWAYS been lots of trucks around here.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#253686 - 15/04/2005 18:19
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12320
Loc: Sterling, VA
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You do live in Texas  I absolutely remember that time, and I'm younger than you. It only happened here in the mid 90's as far as I can remember.
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Matt
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#253687 - 15/04/2005 18:30
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: Dignan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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You know, I must admit I could be wrong about my impressions as well. But I remember clearly having friends in High School driving full size trucks (I also remember wondering why they needed such a big vehicle). I also remember as early as junior high where kids would have the "FORD! CHEVY! FORD! CHEVY! (dodge)" arguments; of course that doesn't mean people were actually driving them. I've always joked that in order to live in Texas you were required to join one of the Ford, Chevy, or Dodge fan clubs (because no one in their right mind would drive a full size Toyota truck).
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#253688 - 15/04/2005 18:57
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12320
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Yup, like I said (and you sort of said). You live in Texas. I don't think I know anyone who has ever had that argument  Not that anything's wrong with that There's really no use for trucks around here outside of businesses.
Around here it was pretty much just sedans and station wagons until about 1990 when minivans were big. Then another 4 or 5 years and SUVs were absolutely everywhere and have stayed that way.
Trucks have pretty much always been the same level of popularity here, which is to say not very popular. People do drive them, and I had one female friend in high school who you would never picture drove a truck, but loved her F150. I'm pretty sure that's the only friend I've ever had who drove a truck.
Edited by Dignan17 (15/04/2005 18:58)
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Matt
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#253689 - 15/04/2005 19:18
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: JeffS]
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old hand
Registered: 20/07/1999
Posts: 1102
Loc: UK
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(because no one in their right mind would drive a full size Toyota truck).
The funny thing is, over here in the UK the toyota trucks have something of a reputation for being quite good. They're still pretty rare though.
The Top Gear thread is a case in point. That was all about how tough that particular truck was. I mean, It was driven into the poor defenceless tree, someones wall, parked under the bristol channel for about 8 hours, set on fire, had a caravan dropped from a crane onto it, parked on top of a building that was subsequently blown up, and a few other trials, and it was still drivable! Really quite impressive, all things considered.
pca
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#253690 - 15/04/2005 19:20
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: pca]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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It's not so much a reputation of not good so much as a reputation of not American.
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Bitt Faulk
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#253692 - 15/04/2005 21:18
Re: Americans and diesel
[Re: pca]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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The funny thing is, over here in the UK the toyota trucks have something of a reputation for being quite good. They're still pretty rare though.
The Top Gear thread is a case in point. That was all about how tough that particular truck was. I mean, It was driven into the poor defenceless tree, someones wall, parked under the bristol channel for about 8 hours, set on fire, had a caravan dropped from a crane onto it, parked on top of a building that was subsequently blown up, and a few other trials, and it was still drivable! Really quite impressive, all things considered.
pca
I caught that show while in the UK for work- what a surprise!
I'm looking for an early 90's Toyota 4x4 for utility purposes, but here in the states only the gasoline (erm, petrol) version was available- no diesel!
A shame- I'd prefer a good Toyota 4 cylinder diesel motor.
As the show proved- they're hard to kill.
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there. And there are plenty of Texans who drive foreign cars, but if it's a truck, for some reason it must be American. I can't really defend that viewpoint (or any of the other truck fan club stuff), as it makes no sense to me at all. I'm merely reporting what I observe.
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