I wrote the other day about the disappearing V-8 (and also the disappearing six). This Vidcast gets into all of that:
Like a tsunami that hasn’t yet arrived, the seas appear calm. But there is an epic shift under way that will become increasingly obvious over the next several years, as we get within sight of the 2025 model year. That is the year by which – by order of the government – all new cars must average 54.5 MPG (news story here).
This is a near doubling of current federal fuel economy mandatory minimums.
And it will mean The End for cars with engines that have more than four cylinders – and which are larger than about 2.0 liters.
At least, as far as cars for you and I are concerned.
Our Dear Leaders in Washington – and the lampreys in the “private sector” (e.g., Elon Musk) who use government to feed off the productive, tax-paying sector – will continue to have (and be able to afford) the handful of by-then exotic cars still being made with V-8 (and even V-6) engines. The “beast” used to ferry around el presidente, for instance, will not be powered by an “ecoboosted” or “green dreams” turbo three. There will likely continue to be Land Rovers and Lamborghinis. Just no more Tahoes and Chargers. At least, not as we know them now.
The European Model is going to be transferred here.
In Europe, the “people” drive compacts and subcompacts – if they drive anything at all. They do not drive trucks or SUVs. Punitive fuel taxes and punitive taxation generally have made it an economic impossibility. But the elites who impose the taxes continue to be driven around in large Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs and have Range Rovers in their garages at home. It is easy enough to afford such when you control (per Lenin) who does what to whom.
As discussed in my earlier article, the issue is not the goodness – or availability – of “fuel efficient” vehicles. The issue is the lie that such would not exist absent government force. And the right of government to take away people’s choices. Not only would “fuel efficient” cars exist absent government force, we’d have more of them than we have now – and they’d be better than we have now.
Because, absent government dictating vehicle design, car builders could build much lighter – and so, inherently more efficient – cars. A current economy car such as the Mazda3 that gets 40-something MPG would be capable of getting 50 MPG if it were 500 pounds lighter than it is.
But it’s as heavy as it is because government insists it must also be “safe” – as defined by government apparatchiks. And “safe” invariably means heavier, which means uses more fuel.
It will be interesting to see what happens as the conflicting edicts bash into each other head on. “Safe” cars that also average 54.5 MPG.
Good luck with that.
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ready must be short for: “ready for a glorious beatdown by costumed heroes”
maybe ready-4aGBBCH was molested by a truck during his childhood? He cowers beneath the skirts of our wise overlords because he imagines they’ll provide him protection.
Yeah… I had to toss another of his in the trash. Here it is:
Everytime I start leaning libertarian someone sends me an article like this complete with the comment section and it shocks me back to liberalism. Thanks.
All this and libertarian is single villain fallacy. The government is ALL your woes nothing else. Then we have the trash talk as well as apologists for faggot dudes with mall crawlers. Guessing science denial is around the corner as well.
If you libertarians REALLY want to recruit people to your cause you need to stop this nonsense. Find explanations for things aside gubmint and stop mindlesless talking trash.
Sheesh, I think he had that rant in mind b4 he did his little drive by here.
1 So ready expects you to edit out the “non-libertarian” comments?
2 Real comments by real [sometimes paradoxical] people shock him back to liberalism? Liberalism for him seems to mean: “shared phoniness.” I highly doubt he’s welcome among liberals of any substance.
3 Single Villain Fantasy? What’s wrong with focusing on the largest problem[belief in violent fantasies labelled govt] until its tackled or mitigated? Then work on other problems.
4 There is no govt per se. Giving it a reality it does not deserve IS science denial.
5 Faggot dudes with mall crawlers. To my knowledge none of us has a “for show only” monster truck. But even if one of us did, why the vitriol 4 this hobby?
6 Nothing wrong with science denial in and of itself. It’s when you substitute something irrational and destructive in its place, I’d say. Science + Entrepreneurship is why we’re able to communicate over the internet, now isn’t it?
7 This isn’t a single-minded cause we’re recruiting anyone for. It’s a spontaneous assembly of related, but varied ideas on how we can retain and increase our freedom in a world hostile to our very existence.
8 Without government, ready and other clovers would be more of a nuisance than the existential current threat they certainly are. He’s the one spewing trash talking nearly incoherent nonsense.
Big Tex Gooseneck Trailers
Red Bull in China
Red Bull in Uhm’meriKuh
Awesome Tor.
Those Squirrel suits are fantastic. These days, the state of the world and my advancing age are almost enough to make me jump out of a perfectly good plane to try it. What is the worst that could happen? Splat, game over?
Hmm. No, splat, not game over, much worse.
Tor, don’t know what I’d do without my Big Tex 32′ dovetail trailer, either of them. Red Bull, another of my fav drinks(don’t drink it, just like the Merc big van they use to deliver).
Just Fri. I hauled a 20,000 lb.+ backhoe on that trailer. Of course I hate light trucks too so we used a dozen Honda Pilot’s hooked to a single axle fifth wheel Jeep for power. Not much fun stopping but at least we avoided that “light truck” onus. Take all the trucks outta Texas and we’d have open roads forever….and everybody else would be asking What happened to the gasoline?
As an aside, if you want to get right down to it, that ’90 Chevy would save fuel over a Porsche any day. It’ll still get 10-12 mpg while pulling the trailer hauling the 3 Porsche’s.
“I had the TV on this morning. They were talking about Ebola.”
– Clover
The lack of precision of a brain that “has a TV on” and knows only that “they were talking about Ebola” is jaw-dropping to contemplate.
That’s likely the full extent of Clover’s memory and objective understanding of everything Clover believes about the world.
The commentors here at EPautos aren’t individuated. We’re “those people” who “posted things on the internet.” Clover has no understanding or memory of any individuals and any specific website being visited.
In Teletubby Clover reality, Internets and TVs are “turned on” by pushing a button. Once they become on, Clover can hear people talking about things.
If only Clover knew what channel had been viewed. And what show was playing. And who specifically was talking about Ebola. Or that we are mainly libertarians loosely interconnected due to lewrockwell.com. But of course that is far too advanced for Clover.
Within the subset of dumb Pakleds who learn “things they need” from TV. There is an even dumber subset of really dumb people like Clover. Below average Pakleds that don’t even understand TVs have named channels, named shows, and named individuals whose voices are captured for transmission.
The 54 MPG will most likely be put off until 2030 or so. But by then our comrade planners will have humanity living in their 600 Sq Ft urban box and go downstairs to the electric trolly for those mandated to do physical work. Everything else will be done via the virtual connected world Goog chip in your head, as you sit in your Laz-Z-Boy furniture. Recreation optional. Only the politburo uppers will have permission and the money for Land Rovers and ex-urban country life.
The now remade downtown Phoenix and parts of Hollywood/ LA is the planners Perti dish starting point. Owning a car will be totally optional for those who can afford one..
I drive a 1999 Tahoe, a 1992 Silverado, and a 1990 Silverado….I live in the country in Minnesota where we get snow. Big trucks and 4×4 are all people drive in my area.
Troy, that ’92 a turbo diesel? If it is I’ll buy it. I need a new pickup, one without a computer or any other nanny shit on it.
As an addendum to my earlier post, I do try to use my motorcycle to commute to and from work as much as possible. I use the truck for hauling things such as the boat, mulch, play sand (I have 9 grandkids), lumber and commuting to work on days it rains in the morning. Also, I’d love to have a trailer but I can haul my bike in the bed of the truck and have done so on several occasions when it taking it for service. Additionally, a trailer is just one more thing I’d have to allocate storage space for. I live on a 1/8th acre lot so I don’t have much space in the backyard. I already have a 10’X12′ metal shed, a 16’X12′ workshop, a 15′ above ground pool, a swing set and my 17.5′ boat back there! It really is kind of cramped already a trailer would eat up what remains.
David Ward
Memphis, Tennessee
Yeah! No reason to have a truck! My 2004 Honda Civic does great towing my 17.5 foot ski boat… (sarcasm switch off now…) Of course, I have a 2005 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 1500 with a 4.7L V-8 to tow that sucker with. With it being a Quad Cab, I can also haul 5 adults and one child (if i put the center console up). The bed gets the food and drinks for the outing in multiple coolers. I love that truck and it gets pretty good fuel economy on the highway, 21 mpg (it probably would get better mileage if i used real gas). I don’t get that pulling the boat but even at 14.5 mpg it beats taking two vehicles to the lake.
David Ward
Memphis, Tennessee
Sorry Eric but there are plenty of SUV’s in Europe – or, at least, in the only Country which counts – Germany. Unlike the States however, most are powered by Diesels. With the exception of a few Dodge Rams driven by guys who own Mountain Climbing shops, there are very little Pickups dispite the VW Amarok being readily available. There is absolutely no justification or logic in buying a Pickup.
Hi Doug,
You must be a city boy! I own two trucks – and like most country boys, I need them. I need them to haul wood out of the woods; to carry loads of gross things to the dump. To haul animals around.
Of course, whether one needs any type of vehicle is really no one else’s business… right?
You missed the part where he said that people commonly drive SUVs in Germany, which is strue. The europeon model you came up with is not real. People will drive SUVs there, they just don’t drive pickup trucks unless it’s specifically work related. The mall crawler mentality is non existant in europe, that is the only difference. People would rather have a 90 944 than a 90 silverado.
I can’t make heads or tails of your comment, Ready. What’s your point? Do you take issue with people driving trucks? If so, why?
“There is absolutely no justification or logic in buying a Pickup.”
Yes, many of the folks I have removed from ditches in winter thought that, before I pulled them out.
Several of the people I have helped move massive equipment trailers thought so too before they tried to move them with their SUV.
Looking out the window of the gym the other day, I counted (on average) 9 Pickups empty for every 1 with something in the back. The ones which were carrying something could have easily put those things in a trailer. And this is Mexico where the citizens are known to use Pickups for carrying stuff to work, to sell or to haul their 15 relatives. It has been said several times here, the Smart is a stupid vehicle yet the people driving around in empty Pickups have the same passenger space but are using much more road space and fuel than a Smart – yet they pay less taxes because these are considered “Work Vehicles”. Unless a guy is hauling hay to the sheep he is fucking in the back hills of Wyoming, there few things a Pickup can do a car with a trailer cannot.
I used to live in that shit-hole, whore State of Nevada and few people if any (except for the guys driving off-road for fun) went anywhere I couldn’t go in my VW with studded snow tires. Granted, the car had Porsche 90 PS engine and running gear but that really mattered only when pulling a trailer full of wood, tile, plants or whatever. In California, every Summer, I towed a 14′ boat over the Grapevine with a 40PS VW so with the power cars have today, there is no need for a Pickup (or SUV for that matter) to do the same thing. If someone thinks he needs 4 Wheel Drive, get an Audi Avant. They much more sense.
Many Americans visiting Europe are amazed at the size trailers and boats people pull with their vehicles. With fuel costing around $8/Gal. US, they are certainly not going to purchase something they will only use a fraction of their time on the road. If someone gets stuck somewhere, he can call always call the ADAC (or AAA in the US). Or, if he is lucky, maybe a VW T5 4Motion will come by and pull him out of his situation. You can bet he will not be rescued by a Pickup truck.
Most SUV’s are driven by Moms taking their fat-assed kids to the Mall or guys who think their Dicks are bigger than people who drive cars. As one writer said years ago, the only time most of these SUV’s are driven off-road is when the owner pulls the thing onto to his lawn to wash it. Pulling an SUV out of a snowbank doesn’t require a Pickup. The Hausmeister of my apartment building has a Touereg V8 Diesel with 800Nm of pavement wrinkling torque. He has pulled a car stuck in the snow back onto the pavement and pulled a trailer loaded with a boiler for our building which has 27 apartments. Not only is it not a Pickup, it can easily travel at 200Km/h on the Autobahn.
Last year at SEMA, one thing which impressed me was a huge Chevy Pickup 4×4 with 600+ Horsepower and probably every off-road piece of equipment available. It must have weighed 3 Tons. In the other hall was a Porsche with silver matt-finish wheels. In the few States I am familiar with, the Government and Insurance Companies will extract more operating and ownership money from the Porsche owner than the Chevy Pickup driver. What a crock-of-shit.
If someone wants a Pickup, that is his business but he shouldn’t pay less taxes and insurance for his F150 than my Mother pays for her Golf TDI. Everything being equal, he should pay more. That goes for Motorhome drivers and SUV’s as well. I have spent time in nearly every State West of Oklahoma as well 1/3 of the States in Mexico. I have never met a person who needs the Pickup he is driving – well, except for the handful of North American Pickup Drivers who are using the bed as a coupling for their House-trailer.
Who the fuck are you to tell me what I do or don’t need?
I’m not telling you what you need or don’t need, but I or anyone else who drives something more efficient shouldn’t have to be subsidising your ass by paying more fees, taxes or whatever. Someone driving a truck who is not paying fees based upon weight or size instead of type of vehicle is in the same league as a Tesla owner.
“Someone driving a truck who is not paying fees based upon weight or size instead of type of vehicle is in the same league as a Tesla owner.”
Where’s Eric on the clover button
Doug wrote, “I’m not telling you what you need or don’t need,”
Yes, you were.
You’re thinking like a bully.
I do hope you can find out how your perspective is fucked up. To The Max.
How much do we all already subsidise Tesla and other rubbish “green” clap-trap?
Companies shouldn’t be subsidised to keep them afloat because nobody wants their crap.
Doug,
Do you see where this leads?
A bicycle is so much more efficient than your Golf…. well, as defined by someone else’s values.
What makes those values any less valid than your desire to impose punitive taxes on others whom you believe are not driving “efficient” vehicles (as you see them)?
I paid for my trucks. I did not receive “help” (via the government) from any unwilling victim. The same is true of every other truck owner. We bought our vehicles with our own money. So there is no valid comparison to Tesla, which is a massive wealth transfer operation.
Here in Pennsylvania we (pickup truck owners) actually pay MORE for registration than cars….
You ain’t “subsidizing” shit where I’m concerned
SUVs and pickups do not do any more damage to the roads than passenger cars. Weights are in the neighborhood of old full size cars.
Taxes are currently set up so everyone subsidizes the trucking industry, transit, and electric cars. Subsidies flow from those without lobbying to those with lobbying.
Doug, as in every other state of this good old US of A, shit has really gotten out of whack. But used to, vehicle tax rates were adjusted as to what size they were and their GVW. It may be in Tx now it’s just how much can they gouge for what it’s worth. I used to could register my truck(any size except anything above a one ton)for $5 on farm tags, trailers too, no matter what the size as long as they were farm use. I think some of this still holds true but the rates have increased substantially. (I need to look into what I’m not paying on crap like this…..one hell of a lot more than it used to be).
But somehow, you make it seem as if light truck owners(pickups….goddammit)some how get a free ride.
As far as I know every state has figured a way to get the most money from anyone for any thing these days.
They do(and this I know for a fact)really stick it up my ass for a pickup…..regristration-wise because of its size.
So, should I buy a Golf and haul just small calves…as in one at a time so supposedly, you won’t get screwed? Or should I haul the whole damned bunch in a trailer I almost never use and be gouged out the wazoo for it? I’ll opt for getting gouged and hauling the whole herd(that can be many loads and lots of fuel but let’s not facts get in the way here).
Just so you and others here won’t think I’m getting a free ride, those registration fees for big rigs are astronomical…..along with insurance, road tax use and the hundred to two hundred gallons of fuel tax I pay each and every single friggin day. I went for just a purely whimsical and fun jaunt today hauling some things that only enable YOU to fuel your friggin vehicle and I only used a 100 gallons or so of that stinky old dreaded fuel clovers seem to hate, diesel. I know this for a fact cause I just fueled up about 9 pm after pulling out at 5 am this morning so all of you could have your fuel and be hypocrites too. And now I’m going to bed. I haven’t had a day off in weeks. But hell, I make loads of money….as the deputy sheriff earlier in the week will attest after coming to serve me with a suit from the county for non-payment of my overlord’s school and “land” tax.
But just bust your ass in your Golf(gee, that makes me ill, a friggin “golf” vehicle)and get that great fuel mileage and cuss people like me who use “vast” amounts of fuel. Yeh, we just do it for a lark. Good night all.
And while you sleep well tonight Doug, just know it’s not in vain. I’ll be getting up in 4.5 hours to do it all again tomorrow(Sunday, that other day I keep working that you probably don’t). GFYS
RE: “but he shouldn’t pay less taxes and insurance for his F150 than my Mother pays for her Golf TDI. Everything being equal, he should pay more.”
I see: you love to feel like you’re a part of The Boot on another person’s neck, or holding the gun to his rib cage, in order to make him or her, “pay more”. Does that excite you?
RE: “Pickups have the same passenger space but are using much more road space”
When did “road space” become an issue?
Anyway, I wonder how your mother fits a washer or dryer into her Golf TDI? …I imagine your reply would be that she doesn’t mind paying someone else to do it while being at their mercy. Self-reliance is not something you consider to be important and you prolly sheepishly call your friends who own pickup trucks to come help you move. …And, just nevermind that load of gravel some guy brought home, or some load of firewood, I’m sure the Golf TDI would carry it, spiders, dirt, leaves and all. Pure joy.
One last thought, have you ever been called a snob?
Anyway, I wonder how your mother fits a washer or dryer into her Golf TDI? …I imagine your reply would be that she doesn’t mind paying someone else to do it while being at their mercy. Self-reliance is not something you consider to be important and you prolly sheepishly call your friends who own pickup trucks to come help you move. …And, just nevermind that load of gravel some guy brought home, or some load of firewood, I’m sure the Golf TDI would carry it, spiders, dirt, leaves and all. Pure joy.
I transported stuff like that in a trailer pulled by an ’83 Jetta.
I see: you love to feel like you’re a part of The Boot on another person’s neck, or holding the gun to his rib cage, in order to make him or her, “pay more”. Does that excite you?
I’m a whole lot more Libertarian than you think. I moved out of the USSA because I got fed-up with the Government breathing down my neck and trying to control everything I do. Where do you live?
It is frustrating when gangs don’t operate in a fair and balanced way.
Here in Vegas, being a white guy, I get charged three times as much as a black guy and twice as much as a hispanic guy when I buy crack for my Mom from the Playboy Bloods salesforce on MLK Blvd.
If only my gang representatives were more responsive to their neighborhoods.
Well, an election is coming-up soon so, come the end of November, you should see a marvelous change for the better.
Yeah, we have a couple of exciting propositions on the ballot this year.
Most of us pay our taxes by working in the Clark County Brothel until we earn 8% of our annual income for them.
But now we have new options, including auctioning internal organs, pulling a three month shift at Monsanto’s Meth Works, or killing two people under contract with the Fertita crime family.
Ha! This has – got – to be The ignorant quote of the year:
“Well, an election is coming-up soon so, come the end of November, you should see a marvelous change for the better.”
…Same as any other year. Plus, Change you can believe in?
“a marvelous change for the better” Yeah, ok, I’ll try hard to suppress my laugh.
Same as it Ever was, Dupe.
“Well, an election is coming-up soon so, come the end of November, you should see a marvelous change for the better.”
Words fail……..
http://imgur.com/iWKad22
….I took that as a sarcastic reply to Tor
Nope. At Doug.
Tor is odd, not stupid. 🙂
Dirtybobbastard,
Whoops. Ignore. I see you were not responding to me.
@ Me2
I was suggesting that Doug’s post was a sarcastic reply to Tor (giving him the benefit of the doubt on that one)
if not then double facepalm.
“I transported stuff like that in a trailer pulled ”
So, the GTi didn’t fill the ticket?
And, how much extra did you pay to your overlords for the ownership of that trailer? More than those you despise for owning a pickup truck?
You say, “I’m a whole lot more Libertarian than you think. ”
Really?
You wrote, “but he shouldn’t pay less taxes and insurance for his F150 than my Mother pays for her Golf TDI. Everything being equal, he should pay more.”
I’m missing the Libertarian message in that comment, please enlighten me.
helot “Anyway, I wonder how your mother fits a washer or dryer into her Golf TDI?”
Actually, I have moved both a washer and a dryer in my 1986 golf. Not at the same time of course but seats down one at a time they fit.
Though my pickup easily could take 9 with the sled deck on and still have room for six adults, and still do it in 12″ snow, and pull a boat…………
I wonder how many trips and how much fuel it would take Doug to do the same? In 12″ snow?
As if it matters, I seem to recall reading that hauling a washer on its side can (would/will?) damage the washer (or shorten its lifespan?) something to that effect. I could be misremembering (maybe that was for a chest freezer?) and/or it may depend on the model?
Not sure about dryers, but it wouldn’t surprise me that doing so would damage something. YMMV.
This End Up
Dear helot,
It’s probably refrigerators. I think they have to be kept upright or the refrigerant does funny things.
doug, here you go. This is a perfect match for a Golf to pull.
https://duckduckgo.com/l/?kh=-1&uddg=http%3A%2F%2Fbigtextrailerworld.com%2Fgooseneck%2F
Well shit, that wasn’t even close. WTF is happening to DDG?
Fridges can be carried on their side, but once in place need time for the refrigerant to settle back down to the pump before power up, about 15-30 mins.
These days, some fridges are being manufactured with the heat exchanger grille on the inside of the outer skin, where older models have their grille on the rear exterior.
I don’t think a dryer could be damaged by carrying on its back or side. The drum is pretty solid in its race.
Washers often have transporting pins that lock the drum in place to avoid damage, considering the drum is free at the open end (unlike dryers) and can wobble a fair bit during harsh transportation.
You can haul frigs on their side. After you unload it, let it sit for several hours upright before operating it. That allows the compressor oil to drain back into the compressor. The oil keeps the comp from seizing.
Cool rant. Well a rant anyway. Actually more of a diatribe. Maybe a disconnect…. Whatever.
Certainly some super-hero arrogance and self righteousness. Good luck with that.
And what Scott said.
And what I said to Scott. You guys want to drive your trucks? Good, I don’t give a shit – I’m no longer a part of your wonderfully, free Country anyway so I’m not one to say anything about what you do.
I’ll make you all an offer though. Next May, ship your truck to Germany, fill it with gas (ca. 1,60€/Liter) and follow me South on the Autobahn to Austria. Next, we can travel the B road from Salzburg to Hungry and then I’ll leave you to drive the side streets of Budapest. Maybe then you can distinguish between Want and Need.
Hi Doug,
Why should want or need be anyone else’s consideration?
I certainly don’t “need” five motorcycles and an antique car. Should I face punitive sanctions therefore?
@Eric,
I take issue with your using motorcycles as a means of transport. You could remove one wheel and take up less road space utilizing the new motorunicycle. God knows there is precious little road space to go around. And those 18 wheelers, good Lord, what shall we do?
Hmmm….. Can we turn 18-wheelers into monocycles? Think of all the wear and tear to be avoided on the roads, AND on tires!
Rather like this one, only larger…
http://rynomotors.com/
(And actually, a tracked vehicle could do this quite well, running down a dedicated lane on the highway, once the automated google Car is the norm. Like a slot car, it just follows the tracers in the ground, or even uses GPS; it communicates with the cars, and everyone meshes together like gears. And no need to pay for drivers, never an accident, etc. I’m sure it’ll happen, and the trucking companies will be driven out of business – a robot never needs to sleep, so it can drive for 24 hours straight without a break, and without AC or heat, you lose the weight of the cab…. Etc.)
I have seen the future – it makes the 1800s look GOOD…. 🙁
Exactly, Sirirb!
I certainly don’t “need” more than one bike… let alone four of them.
I guess if you were some kind of stunt rider, you could maybe ride 2 at a time, but 4?
“You guys want to drive your trucks? Good, I don’t give a shit ”
Apparently you do or you would not spout off like a fool.
“I’m no longer a part of your wonderfully, free Country anyway……”
Which country would that be? I know I am not in the same country a plenty of posters here. Be specific.
” so I’m not one to say anything about what you do.”
Yet here you are doing so anyway.
“I’ll make you all an offer though. Next May, ship your truck to Germany, fill it with gas……”
Um, why. if we are doing that, come here next month and follow me up the hill to my place. I’ll come back for you when you get stuck.
Oh, BTW, exactly how much do these uber-vehicles you prattle on about cost? How much did my pickup cost?
Lets have that talk about ‘want and need’ shall we, you arrogant fool.
Exactly Me2. Most SUV’s these days only go offroad to be washed on the lawn.
What people do for fun, a living, or even the geography of where they spend most of their time determines their need for a vehicle type.
As such, one of the oldest running fads of late is a “need” to have the biggest SUV possible to run the kids to and from school.
I and many others naturally find this laughably wasteful and stupid, but who am I to impose my wet dreams on their lives?
Zilch. A capability, responsibility and power not significantly greater than zero.
Which is what Doug should (likely does) feel about anyone attempting to exert their wishes on his freedom of choice.
I live in the fictitious entity known as Nevada. You do realize it’s no more real than Gryffindor or Slytherin from Harry Potter? Just another slave name.
What do you find so magical about México Federal District, Veracruz, Jalisco, Puebla, Guanajuato, Chiapas, Nuevo León, Michoacán de Ocampo, or whatever your wizarding district is?
Don’t know about the other 49 but I pay almost $300.00/ year to the state of California for granting me the “privilege” of driving my 15 year old Chevrolet pickup on the $0.49/gallon gasoline taxed roads we pay an additional $0.184 per gallon taxes on.
Am I rich, stupid, anti-human or just want something I pay for in a free country?
Well said “the guys who think their Dicks are bigger than people who drive cars.” (LOL not me). But who would fund all the workers the truck lift kit industry that would be put out of work and have to go on welfare?
You are right. If trucks didn’t exist, SEMA would be a half-day walk-through.
And that bothers you in Germany?
My relatives left that place when the socialists decided who should be allowed to live and die. Now the loosers are trying the shared misery program in the USA. You know, the country that used to run on capitalism, personal rights and that fed and put the Bosch engineers back to work.
Doug, did a pickup truck touch you in a bad place as a child?
Your irrational hatred of them seems very odd.
$700 AUD to register my 14 year old Holden Statesman. The $700 goes to finance the purchase of speed and red light cameras. These devices raise more taxes for the government and create more collisions and accidents, the repairs of which attract a 10% goods and service tax, which pours more money into gov coffers so they can buy more speed and red light cameras, to create more revenue for the gov, so they can buy more speed and red light cameras, and so on ad infinitum. Our state of 5.5 million people collects over a BILLION $ just from this scam activity. Of course, our fatalities this year are running 10% ahead of last year, but safety, safety, safety…. ad nauseum, except to the mindless scammers who run our gov….
How many “empty” compact sedans do you see out the window, Doug? Why, those people don’t need back seats… they are wasting space! They ought to be taxed to punish them for having more vehicle than they “need.”
Do you see how silly (and petty and vengeful) your statement is?
The fact that a truck is empty now (when you see it) does not mean it will be empty later. And in any case, who are you to criticize? Or, put another way, what makes your decision to buy/drive a Golf “ok” while my decision to buy/drive a truck not-ok?
Have either of us committed an act of aggression against the other – or anyone else?
Of course not. Therefore, MYOB.
I understand that you do not like trucks and do not want a truck yourself, nor understand why people think they need them. You are certainly entitled to your opinions.
But you’re not entitled to impose them on others. Advocating or supporting punishing measures such as you have on the basis you have is the apotheosis of the Clover mindset.
Look. I don’t like PT Cruisers. And I hate minivans. I think SmartCars are absurd. I’d love to be rich, so I could buy one just to crush it with my truck. But I am a Libertarian, so I respect other people’s right to buy and drive whatever floats their boat, so long as they are paying for said “boat” themselves and no tangible harm is done to me.
Comments such as “guy is hauling hay to the sheep he is fucking in the back hills of Wyoming, there few things a Pickup can do a car with a trailer cannot” come off as childish and very Cloverific. If a car with a trailer works for you, great! But for others, a truck is preferable – and it’s their choice to make.
I hope you’ll reconsider and repent!
“You are certainly entitled to your opinions.
But you’re not entitled to impose them on others.”
Bullseye Eric. It seems to be a hard lesson for people to learn, the only thing you can control is yourself and sometimes even that can be difficult.
I have a long and distinguished list of automotive pet peeves so I can relate to Doug on some level but most of the time I just get amused rather than outraged when I see one of them.
Like all the vehicles that proclaim whetever it is in 18″ tall neon bright lettering that can be seen from orbit. Makes me want to troll them, somtimes I even do.
Eric you are forgetting to take into account that there is no intelligent life East of a Berkley, or West of a Harvard degree in superiority.
“Looking out the window of the gym the other day, I counted (on average) 9 Pickups empty for every 1 with something in the back.”
What floor is your Gym on?
“The ones which were carrying something could have easily put those things in a trailer.”
What about ‘road space’ you value below?
“And this is Mexico where the citizens are known to use Pickups for carrying stuff to work, to sell or to haul their 15 relatives.”
Um, what?
” It has been said several times here, the Smart is a stupid vehicle yet the people driving around in empty Pickups have the same passenger space but are using much more road space and fuel than a Smart”
Um, my truck seats 6. That would be three Smarts.
” Unless a guy is hauling hay to the sheep he is fucking in the back hills of Wyoming, there few things a Pickup can do a car with a trailer cannot.”
Something rather revealing about the posters proclivities me thinks. Irrelevant anyway.
“I used to live in that shit-hole, whore State of Nevada and few people if any (except for the guys driving off-road for fun) went anywhere I couldn’t go in my VW with studded snow tires.”
Well, I can tell you that you are wrong. I had a Jetta when I move here (BC). There are no tires that will make you move once the body pan is sitting on 8″ of snow. I know this first hand. It’s why I have a F350 Crew-Long 4×4 lifted on 35s now. As do all of my neighbours (or equivalent). It’s not a penis extension, it’s a requirement 5 months a year if you wish to drive when you want to rather than waiting for a plow.
” In California, every Summer, I towed a 14′ boat over the Grapevine with a 40PS VW so with the power cars have today, there is no need for a Pickup (or SUV for that matter) to do the same thing.”
Hmmm. A 14′ boat? Wow. Um, I haul my friends boat (32′ cabin) in and out at the start and end of the season. Bring you VW to help him next year OK?
“If someone thinks he needs 4 Wheel Drive, get an Audi Avant.”
What is the ground clearance? Yup. Not enough.
“If someone gets stuck somewhere, he can call always call the ADAC (or AAA in the US)”
Yes, self reliance is so overrated.
” Or, if he is lucky, maybe a VW T5 4Motion will come by and pull him out of his situation. You can bet he will not be rescued by a Pickup truck.”
Bullshit.
Can’t be bothered with the rest. Dude, I loved all of my VWs but I can tell you they don’t cut it here in the Great White North, 6 months of the year.
At least I know I will never see you here as you will be at the bottom of the hill wondering why your Uber-vehicle has all four wheels off the ground and won’t go.
Forgot one.
Where exactly does the gooseneck for the fifth wheel attach on any of the ‘appropriate’ vehicles you listed? Take your time.
Why, Me2? There’s no reason or logic for anyone to pull a gooseneck. Just ask “lebertarian” Dougy.
‘lebertarian’ – I think you’re on the right track. Let’s try ‘Liebermantarian’ – you know, as in Senator Joe.
Or maybe it’s ‘lesbertarian.’
Libertardian?
As in retarder of liberty?
Like it Me2!
Wow, I love the one dimensional train of thought here.
I doubt that anyone with the slightest degree of intelligence would attempt hauling the welding machine and tools that reside on my old F350 with any trailer hooked to any European sedan or crossover wagon/thing. I carry a fairly small welder on my rig (Miller Trailblazer 325), but once you add in a couple hundred feet of 1/0 lead, oxygen/acetylene/argon bottles, tools and consumables you are looking at needing something with the braking system and structural strength to handle stopping that weight in a hurry without catastrophic failure putting yourself or others at risk. Does the mileage on that old school 460 (7.5L) suck? You bet it does. Do I feel safer with big brakes, dual rear wheels and a legit channel frame? I sure do. I’m seriously considering trading it off for an F650 for increased carrying capacity.
My “weekend” drivers are also truck based – an F150 4×2 that ALWAYS has a load in the bed (Not a lot of room for toolboxes and tools on a sedan), a 35 year old CJ7 that has had the hubs unlocked once in the last 3 years and the wife drives the 4×4 Tahoe.
A cursory review of internet “fail” sites will usually turn up a plethora of pictures and/or video clips featuring European cars in varying degrees of destruction due to their “enlightened” owners/operators trying to put their cars up to tasks that they just aren’t engineered to safely do.
Open up the world view a little bit, and don’t lump me in with some asshat kid compensating for something with his jacked up F350. I’ll do the same for you, and not lump you in with the morons mentioned in the previous paragraph.
“Does the mileage on that old school 460 (7.5L) suck? ”
Sort of. Mine gets 9-15mpg ( imperial). 8-9 in 4×4, ~15 highway. (Note Doug, no city)
Good? No.
Terrible, not in perspective. Empty my friends New Dodge 1500 gets ~14 highway. Way nicer and tons more power, but on expensive premium gas not 87 octane like mine. Also they are on SUV highway tires, not Mud Terrains like the F350. My winter tires slightly improve my mileage.
Also, normal haul loads, the mileage on the 460 does not change noticeably from empty. One friends new Dodge and another friends new Ford, both have noticeable decreased when loaded and have and actual haul capacity far below the F350.
It’s like my old 396 chevy that got nearly 20mpg. People would not accept that a Big motor could get better mileage than their 305. They never grasped that their small engine had to work a lot harder to get the same results in a heavy vehicle.
Me2, yep, that bigger engine(402 CI, 396’s never existed except in insurance company lists)doesn’t have to strain for the same job. How many 305’s did you ever see with dual exhaust and a good intake? None, at least not factory.
No doubt that Taureg would pull that 28′ four axle pipe trailer with 40 joints of 2. 3/8″ tubing, the welder trailer and the concrete mixer just as well as my old Chevy 4WD one ton. Never said I didn’t exceed the length laws but what to leave behind? Been wondering if I could get away with a GN hitch on the back of my belly dump so I could pull the backhoe too.
I canna take it anymore as Scotty would say. Ever insured a pickup? Insurance is based on “replacement cost”, not just for cars or SUV’s or anything else but for “everything”. So, my $60,000 pickup insurance is cheap? Thanks for volunteering to pay it since you must have some way to get it waaaay cheap as compared to me paying through the nose.
Gee, wish Doug could see what I see each and every day. Not dozens, not hundreds, not thousands but tens of thousands of pickups, nearly every one of them loaded with something that makes the owner a living. And if the schoolteacher merely wants to drive a GMC Duramax one ton crew cab to haul her kids, WTF difference does it make to anyone else?
I once had an old college buddy tell me he drove a Subaru cause they were made to shovel the engine under the car in case of a head on. I don’t really understand how that’s a good thing except I suppose having the engine come back through the firewall is less than ideal(but just when did that ever happen?). I rightly pointed out that if he had a head-on with a pickup like mine, one he’d normally be exposed to, having the engine submarine under the rest of the vehicle would be a bonus for me and a hickey for him. He had to think about that. So now, in the middle of big pickup country and big equipment using the roads(farm equipment)and big trucks, what does he drive? Yep, he got guilty(he’s good at this being an ex-pubic school teacher)and bought a Prius. I’m sure that Prius is fine for his wife’s 3 mile jaunt to school but he lives 100+ miles from any town of any size. And the Prius works for that I’m sure if you like flat seats, a tinny ride and battery packs that might quit at any time. Once his Prius suffered damage well beyond what “murkin” metal would in a hail storm I told him it was the opportunity to buy some long-legged diesel better suited for multi-hundred mile running in the heat. He defended the Prius and that’s ok since I don’t have to endure one. But those really hot days and having to stop and idle are the shits with those types of cars. Just tell me the a/c works fine under those conditions and I’ll call you out on no experience with them. They AIN”T Texas cars by a long shot.
Out where Tor lives though I’m sure all that “balmy” weather works just fine for them…..or an H2 Hummer.
I don’t know where you live and don’t care. In my state, insurance and highway fees are scheduled by (replacement cost for vehicles, the supposedly free market that insurance companies don’t actually fall into since it’s state law that brings them big bucks)and highway fees, dependent on your vehicle cost(in this state). No free rides in my state unless you’re an illegal.
“There is absolutely no justification or logic in buying a Pickup.”
The government tells us there is no reason or logic to having your shower head put out more than 2.5 gallons per minute, because that’s all you need to shower. Some assholes like me remove the rubber donut in the shower head to get more water. Not because we have to have it, but because we want it. I will do what I want.
Your idea that people driving pickups pay less in taxes is bullshit–at least as far as the U.S. is concerned. There’s these things called fuel taxes. The more fuel you burn, the more taxes you pay per mile.
I own a 2nd Gen Tundra, which I use to pull a trailer with a 7200 lb skid steer and 12000 lb mini-ex. I have a 75 gal fuel tank in the back to haul diesel fuel in. I haul tools and fuel in the back all the time. From your gym window you may’nt see all the stuff if I drove by one day, so I might be one of those guys hogging “road space”–it is a road hogging 4 door long box. Problem is that my wife’s sedan won’t pull a trailer for shit and I don’t want to haul gas, diesel cans, or trash in the trunk or back seat…….but maybe I’m just being illogical and unreasonable.
Congratulations on being the Mitt Romney of Germany, since obviously you believe in German exceptionalism.
“it is a road hogging 4 door long box.” Long box? Really? I have never seen a Toy with 8′ bed.
” There is absolutely no justification or logic in buying a Pickup.”
— Doug
“I will tell you these are ammunition — bullets — so the people who have those now they are going to shoot them, and so if you ban — if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.”
— Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette
Ignorance paired with arrogance. A deadly combination.
Bevin, that’s rich. Where in hell does she come from? It’s gotta be hell….to be that damned stupid. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Dear 8sm,
Apparently she’s from Colorado.
The presumption that people have to justify their personal choices on anything, from high capacity gun magazines to large capacity pickup beds, to ignorant know it alls makes my blood boil.
How did such an insane situation come about?
It came about because every human society on earth started out with the false premise that it is okay to override other peoples’ decisions about their own lives provided one forms a gang and calls it “The Government.”
There is no solution to this problem other than a mass transformation in consciousness. Fortunately a majority is not required. A critical mass will do.