Small VS Large Trucks

[rumination]

Great thread, Butch. I have been pondering the same thing as I will be buying truck in the near future. I had started leaning towards smaller trucks like the toyotas due to mileage considerations, but after reading all this I will have to do more research into what each model I'm looking at supposedly gets. I didn't realize the difference between the small trucks and the big ones was so small.

 

[SkwerI]

Leon, I've been a Ford owner all my life and for the most part have been happy with them. But if I were buying today I'd be looking at the Chevys specifically because of the fuel mileage. 3 mpg makes a big difference at $4 per gallon.

 

[treetx]

Brian, talking about old technology that is not available currently in the US market yet is available in the modern world is not a waste of time.

It makes people aware that the problem isn't that gas costs almost $4 a gallon but rather that it doesn't cost closer to $6 a gallon.

We watch TV and see this tripe about Americans hurting because of higher fuel prices, blah, blah blah when it simply isn't true. We are hurting because we drive shitty technology and have for years and now we are paying for it.

You can do something about it. Write you local maggot politicians, get people talking.

If you think simply buying a chevy over a ford is some kind of answer, keep going with those thoughts like America has been and I am sure it will keep us exactly where we are...... attempting to keep up with more progressive countries while our currency takes it in the pooper.

BTW - the poll options suck. They make the wild ass assumption that bigger vehicles are safer vehicles.

Personally, I will keep driving my TDI diesel and listening to others whinge while I spend a whopping $50-$60 a month for fuel costs.

 

[Al Smith]

I could get on my soapbox of American made goods but refrain for one reason .If it were not for the world wide competition we would still have cranks on the front of our vehicles with hard rubber tires .

The big three won't produce anything better than the market place demands of them . If they had not repeated the same mistakes they had made during the late 70's they wouldn't be in the sorry state they are in today .

Then you get to finding who owns what and find out that for example GM owns Opal and Ford has Mazda then it becomes clear as glass whom is screwing whom .

 

[MasterBlaster]

BTW - the poll options suck. They make the wild ass assumption that bigger vehicles are safer vehicles.

Tell me how ( in the event of a collision) a smaller vehicle is better.

Please.

 

[Burnham]

Butch, it depends on how the specific vehicle is designed. The 2003 Ford F150 was not designed to handle a front corner head-on crash well at all. The cab would fold severely. The 2003 Subaru Forester, which weighed less than 2/3rds as much was designed to keep the cabin section intact under extreme distress...you were simply more likely to walk away from a head-on crash between the those two vehicles if you were riding in the Subaru.

This is just an example...for the most part I think you are correct that more mass is better...but not neccessarily.

 

[treetx]

Vehicle quality is a much more important safety factor than weight for the drivers of vehicles involved in a crash.

Always remember, you are even safer in the even you don't have a collision.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's no answer. I'll stick with a large vehicle to crash into a smaller one any day thank you very much.

 

[Paul B]

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[Al Smith]

Now here is the irony of that situation.One of many I might add when dealing with insurance companys .

Large pick-em -ups and SUV's might prove to be safer for the occupants and your chances could be better of survival .The greedy old insurance company's charges you more for insurance under the guise that because they are larger they can cause more property damage .:what:

 

[MasterBlaster]

Awesome airbag inflation shots, Paul!

 

[treetx]

Get a sprinter if you need to tote your toys. Standard tree man's car in Europe. 26mpg in the city and 30 hwy

http://www.caranddriver.com/car/make-model/dodge-sprinter.html

 

[MasterBlaster]

Bleagh!

 

[treetx]

Not cool but that is the way it goes. Americans want to whinge about gas prices but at the end of the day, they are driving gas guzzlers to be "cool".

Personally, I find saving money to be cool

 

[Tom_Scheller]

They always look like they're about to tip over, but I'll take 30mpg.

TS

 

[treetx]

Ha! They do look like that but you can put an amazing amount of kit inside of a sprinter.

 

[Frans]

Sprinters do not come in 4 wheel drive here in the states, yet.

I have read that one person already has put a million miles on a sprinter.

Some engineer (s) musta lost their job over that good design

 

[Thor's Hammer]

plenty of sprinters owned by eastern european truckers with a million miles on them. And they do a 4x4 version too...
http://www.achleitner.com/english/fahrzeugbau/allradtechnik/index.htm

 

[lumberjack]

Expensive little bastards!

One of my customers has one to haul his family of 9 or 10 around in.

The 1 ton version has a comparable payload to that of my 1 ton.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Still the same problem! I need a separation of church and state!

 

[treetx]

Como? they come with a pick up bed!

 

[MasterBlaster]

I didn't see any pics.

 

[Blinky]

I voted big but a little Toy is perfect for doing bids and quick flop jobs.
I have a 4 door Nissan for driving around and I'm trying to close a deal on a used F-250 for hauling and pulling.

 

[SkwerI]

Bargain hard and pick your own price, Blinky. F250's are cheap and plentiful right now because all those wannabe tough guys are finding out that it's too expensive to drive an F250 Lariat or Fx4 to run errands and pick up groceries. The used truck lots are overflowing around here with thousands of late model trucks.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I can't believe how many housewives and old men I see driving brand new shiny 3/4 tons, WTH?