Posted on 06/12/2011 8:22:40 AM PDT by nhwingut
This scumbag liberal must be looking at the sales figures from GM! Heh Heh Heh....
My home has 4 pickups parked here.
We always called that primer, lol.
“the fact remains that pickup truck sales have gone from almost 20% fifteen years ago down to 12% this year, with a forecast of 10% for the near future. “
I think the loss in market share can be attributed to CAFE standards...the automakers discount small cars and put a premium on pickups and SUVs, to meet CAFE....good ole’ government interference.
And, I believe SUV sales have put a dent into the market share.
The latest fuel standards, which I believe kick in in 2016, will be a death blow for pickups...so this article is pre-emptively calling the sector dead, before fuel standards get blamed.
My 91 Chevy has 296 K on it. It still pulls the trailers and hauls anything and everything. It can still work harder and better than most vehicles that are half it age and half its milage.
The ironic thing is it was the small pickups that MADE Nissan in America.
Here in the Colorado Rockies just about everyone owns either a large 4WD SUV or a pick-up truck. I personally drive a Ford F350 diesel I purchased new in 2000. I traded in an F250 that I had owned for 10 years when I bought this one.
Our small car is a 1982 4WD Toyota we purchased in 1982. We traded in a Nissan pickup for that vehicle. I have a tendency to take care of and hang on to my vehicles. I’ve never really understood the need to constantly trade every couple years.
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2010/12/top-10-best-selling-cars-november-2010.html
Looks like the Ford F-150 is still #1, by a mile. Sales up 29%.
Truck sales would be booming right now if a standard full-sized pickup didn’t weigh around 5000 pounds. Heck, the little Ranger is at 4000+ pounds these days, more than a Ford F-100 weighed back in the 1970’s. That heft doesn’t help mileage a bit.
My 1983 Ranger weighed a little over 3000 pounds, and with a 4 cylinder engine and 4-speed stick (they didn’t have the 5-speed yet), still managed 30 MPG on the highway.
I am guessing it gets gas mileage comparable to the 29 MPG I get with my Ranger when I run it on non-ethanol gas.
I get 22 MPG with ethanol gas, and my state requires it if the price is not too high. Right now they are not putting ethanol in the gas, and I get dramatically better mileage.
Good point on SUVs. The modern SUV was invented about 25 years in the form of the Jeep Cherokee.
The latest fuel standards, which I believe kick in in 2016, will be a death blow for pickups...so this article is pre-emptively calling the sector dead, before fuel standards get blamed.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the government simply let the market decide what we drive? With gas prices going through the roof I do most of my driving in my Mini Cooper S, and get 35 mpg. Of course, when there's a foot of snow I switch back to the 18 mpg Cherokee...but that's my choice.
I have a 2003 Ranger XLT with 160K on the clock and am looking at replacing it later this year and will probably go Toyota. I see nothing in GM or Dodge that impresses me and not a whole lot in Fordland.
Doubt I will be buying another truck. My ‘03 F-350 just got ten new spark plugs and it has 92,000 miles on it. It’s gonna outlast me.
If we simply ditched the environmentally useless and economically harmful CAFE standards it would instantly make trucks more affordable.
The ol’ ‘89 F-150 six cylinder sits up by the barn most of its days, but when I need it I just turn the key, and go.
I can’t imagine my life without it.
I have a 2004 Dodge Ram with the Hemi, and a Honda Civic Si. The truck gets a little usage, but my primary driver is the Honda. There’s a big difference between 32 mpg and 14 mpg, not to mention the handling and ‘fun to drive’ factor! But when I need to haul something, or tow, the truck gets ‘er done! Plus, the 4WD does come in handy on occasion.
Well you can get them, like mine, with the under-carriage built several inches higher. This is of course for better clearance particularly for snow. But you are right the vast majority of pickups are jacked up for show only leaving the differential(s) about 6 inches off the ground. That leaves them pretty much useless for anything but freeway or city driving. You get a one foot snowfall (very common in my neck of the woods) and those things are going nowhere.
Car size creep. A 1990 Camry weighed 2700 lbs and had 115hp. A new Corolla is the same size and weight as the ‘90 Camry but has 132hp.
And there are no small pickups any more.
I know it’s primer paint, just gave it a deluxe description because I love old trucks :>)
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