Ah, but I think the F-series truck that's listed there is the "little" one, the F-150 and the F-250LD. The F-250HD and F-350 are counted as commercial trucks, though they do not have to be licensed as same. That's what you're not getting. F-150s are bought and used as both run-abouts and as light commercial vehicles. They're also the sturdiest thing one can buy for the money.
(I wouldn't expect a Brit to get "sturdy". Even my Jaguars don't *quite* get that. The rest of your auto industry sure didn't, either.)
FYI, the cheapest cabover is about $45,000, and dropsides were a commercial failure in the US because they don't do anything a regular truck doesn't do except add complexity.
Oh, farmer's over here will often have a 4x4 pickup or van (a friend of mines' grandad had a 90 hard top on his dairy farm) as a farm runabout, a town runabout, and various specialist heavy vehicles, what do they do in Iowa?
Usually they use the truck on the farm and to go to town. Amazingly, it's cheaper and the fact that they use ONE vehicle instead of two means that less pollution enters the atmosphere. (Also helps that agro diesel isn't taxed.)
I do understand all that but I can't get rid of the feeling that when it comes to trucks, Americans are very good in coming up with excuses to justify them, instead of thinking about alternatives.
I don't doubt that you think a pickup truck is a practical car. Well, it is but
only when you need its
full capacity. And how often to you need that? Be honest. It would be interesting to know if someone ever made the effort to come up with a kind of weight ratio between car and driver to compare different countries. I assume the Italians would be last and the USA first then :lol:
We also have people here who live in the countryside. Actually I'm living in one of the less populated areas of Germany, with many single and remote farms. The farmers here also need to go anywhere by car and I'm sure that the basic demands between German farmers and American farmers are quite the same.
Yet no one - not a single farmer here - has a truck. They have 4x4's, SUV's or estate cars with a trailer (all diesel-powered of course). But no trucks. If you see a pickup truck once in a while here, they are only driven by city blokes who think it's cool or because it makes them feel like a cowboy or something.
How many of those sedanss, which are sold in USA, are driven by people who don't actually need them? I bet it's a huge percentage.
By the way: I have been to Dallas in the 1990's for a couple of weeks. When I think about cars in that time, there are two things coming to my mind: A frightening neglect of buckling up and truck beds full of Mexicans, riding into town
Hm, let's turn that around and send it back to you with a slightly different spin.
"I do understand all that but I can't get rid of the feeling that when it comes to luxury sedans, Germans are very good in coming up with excuses to justify them, instead of thinking about alternatives.
"I don't doubt that you think a luxury sedan is a practical cargo and people carrier. Well, it is but
only when you need its
full capacity. And how often to you need that? Be honest. It would be interesting to know if someone ever made the effort to come up with a kind of weight ratio between car and driver to compare different countries. I assume the Italians would be last and the Germans first then :lol:
(psst - AFP and the BBC says that more Germans are overweight, by percentage of population, than Americans. And you're MORE overweight, on average, than the average overweight American. In fact, the Germans are the fattest people in Europe:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,478303,00.html)
"We also have people here who live in the city. Actually I'm living in one of the more populated areas of Dallas, with many apartments. The people here also need to go anywhere by car and I'm sure that the basic demands between German city-dwellers and American city-dwellers are quite the same.
"Yet few here have a German luxury sedan. They have 4x4's, SUV's or maybe a mid-size sedan (all gasoline powered of course). But no German luxury sedans. If you see a German luxury sedan once in a while here, they are only driven by stockbrokers who think it's cool or because it makes them feel like rich oil sheik or something.
"How many of those luxury sedans, which are sold in Germany, are driven by people who don't actually need them and could get by with a two-seater or motorcycle? I bet it's a huge percentage."
-snip-
Do you begin to see the absurdity of your logic here? You ask how often we use the full capacity of our trucks; I ask how often you see a full 7 series or S-class. You say people should consider alternatives to the wasteful truck, I say you should consider alternatives to the wasteful German luxury sedan.
Physician, heal thyself.
By the way: I have been to Dallas in the 1990's for a couple of weeks. When I think about cars in that time, there are two things coming to my mind: A frightening neglect of buckling up and truck beds full of Mexicans, riding into town
We did make the seatbelt law mandatory in the 90s, and most people always have buckled up. You won't get any arguments from me on how much of a joke our licensing system is.
Remember this is the country that gave you the great British roadster (Trimuphs, MGs etc. etc MX5 is influenced by all of them), not much power, but handles great.
You also gave us Lucas electrics and British Leyland build 'qwalitee'. We're even.
Of course! Americans tour across Europe in one week and think they are experts on Europe!
How about almost six months in Europe off and on in the last decade, relatives that live in London (that unfortunately send me many media stories and do nothing but complain in emails), and a few laps of the Ring in the late 90s on a rented Fireblade?
What, "Please build me a car that will accept a V8, yours CS."? Brilliant.
Wow. You really are clueless about car history. Psst - the car predates Shelby's involvement, not the other way around. The Cobra is what happens when you stick an enormous V8 in a tiny AC Ace.