What's the Rage Behind 4 Door Pickups?

[MadMonk]

My particular favorite are the people who drive the largest possible truck to work, park it badly, and then go inside and work in a cube farm.

That holds true for anyone driving any vehicle. Bad parking knows no vehicle type boundaries.

I work with some of those people...

Ask where they live and they live on a regular lot with no acreage, ask if they hunt and it hasn't been in decades,...but they still always get 4x4 because bad weather.

And the kicker...when it snows they ALWAYS stay home anyway.

I work in a cube farm, but so what? I didn't buy my 4x4 for work, but for play. And screw skipping work because of snow, I look forward to those days! On the way to work I've helped lots of clueless souls who have no idea how to drive their cars on snow get unstuck as well as given rides to fellow employees who couldn't make it to work and even pulled a cop out of a ditch once (hellooo good karma).

[WilliamTell]

Little senstive aren't we....

Now don't get me started on short men who drive trucks. I personally get a kick out of watching them scamper up the side and climb in. It looks like a little kid climbing the stairs to a school bus.

[David]

You are right that bad parking knows no vehicle type boundaries, but there is far more margin for error with a smaller car. A crookedly parked sedan may still be within the lines, the same for a giant 4x4 is very unlikely. And you are much less likely to find a sedan sticking out of their spot into the lane of traffic.

Park yours well? Then I have no problem with you.

[kelroy55]

That holds true for anyone driving any vehicle. Bad parking knows no vehicle type boundaries.


I work in a cube farm, but so what? I didn't buy my 4x4 for work, but for play. And screw skipping work because of snow, I look forward to those days! On the way to work I've helped lots of clueless souls who have no idea how to drive their cars on snow get unstuck as well as given rides to fellow employees who couldn't make it to work and even pulled a cop out of a ditch once (hellooo good karma).

I have a Jeep and it's not as big as a pickup but I skip work when it snows so I can go out and play

[GaryOKC6]

I have a Jeep and it's not as big as a pickup but I skip work when it snows so I can go out and play

I also drive a Jeep and I thought that I was the only one that did this.

[kevinpate]

... you are much less likely to find a sedan sticking out of their spot into the lane of traffic.
...

I'm gonna chime in just long enough to note you and I, we must visit different parking lots. I am often amused at the folks who leave a good 2 feet or more of spare space in the front part of their parking space. I presume they are worried about touching bumpers and need new eye wear to boot.

[kelroy55]

I'm gonna chime in just long enough to note you and I, we must visit different parking lots. I am often amused at the folks who leave a good 2 feet or more of spare space in the front part of their parking space. I presume they are worried about touching bumpers and need new eye wear to boot.

They must be the same ones who stop a car length behind the person in front of them at a stop light.

[rezman]

" And you are much less likely to find a sedan sticking out of their spot into the lane of traffic. .[/QUOTE]


You don't go to Walmart much do you?

[Mel]

What's nice is that you could reach over into the bed of that El Camino with out having to tiptoe or stand on the back tire. You can't do that on today's pickups.

I still got asked to help move stuff. The inflatable shocks came in handy.

[David]

Ehh, different people notice different things. The 4x4s are the ones that stick out in my mind as being noticeably bad (like, almost always), but I'm willing to concede that I may be biased in my observations.

[MadMonk]

They must be the same ones who stop a car length behind the person in front of them at a stop light.

Ooohh, that irks me too.

[MadMonk]

Little senstive aren't we....

No, not at all. Just esplainin' that you don't have to work in the outdoors to enjoy having a big, roomy four wheel drive vehicle (truck, SUV, whatever). Its a lot of fun too. Heading out to the offroad park this weekend in fact.

[WilliamTell]

Heading out to the offroad park this weekend in fact.

Honestly - I can respect it that you actually use your vehicle. I was referring to people who never have any intention to ever use it (even though its their own choice and own money), but its like why eat that continued cost if you dont use it.

[Stew]

I have an old dodge truck I bought just to have one for hauling stuff and it ended up being my everyday vehicle. Sure it gets horrible gas milage and smells like a dirty shoe but it sure is comfortable. I don't know what the rage is or if it even exists but that's okay I tend to miss the point of a lot of things.

[RadicalModerate]

I worked at a taxpayer funded training installation that provided me with a nicer version of this to drive in performance of my duties. Note the impressive "bed fenders" over the dual wheels.



One day, for reasons that are too complicated to get into here, while hardly moving, I barely brushed the driver's side rear wheel bulge up against a rickety, steel, fence gate post. It, that is, the fiberglass codpiece, shattered like fragile, antique china.

Perhaps one reason you never hear the slogan "Built Chevy Tough" . . .
(although I loved my old '68 Chevy pickup and '70 model van. and still have fond memories of the '48 Chevy pickup i was going to restore. did you know that a '48 model would still start and run even if you had the battery cables reversed. it would. the generator gauge would drop the more the engine revved but it would still run! =)

[bluedogok]

I drove a truck all through highschool and college at 10-13 mpg, and now I drive a car and the wife has a CUV. 2 years ago before I bought my car I brought home a 4 door gmc and a 4 door f150 and neither comfortably fit into the garage we had at the time with out some major inconvenience. With the new house one should be able to fit but im still on the fence because its a solid 35 minutes each way, before even factoring in picking up kids and running errands which easily makes it over an hour to get home. I get an actual 28.5 mpg on a weekly basis which is hard to give up in a comfortable and good looking full sized car. With trucks even with technology upgrades such as direct injection, 8 speed trannys, ecoboost, etc. All of the research i've done people are still only getting an actual 12-14 mpg in weekly use, unless they hypermill the crap out of it which doesnt reflect actual use. Im hoping technology continutes to improve and that more manufactures start offering diesel outside of their heavy duty trucks.

I like how the dodges are now offering the 6cyl turbo diesel with the 8 speed tranny, but im just not a huge dodge fan. I also read two weeks ago where the new titan will have a cummins diesel, so I will make a point to test drive that one, they just desperately need to update the body style thats almost a decade old.

My dream would be a 3-4 liter turbo Diesel sold in a f150 or a new silverado but with gas not going back down and 1-1.5 hour commute 5 days a week im not in a huge rush to spend 45k on a truck that gets 14 mpg.

Back on topic - If people want to drive one more power to them, I prefer to use my money in other ways and live pretty far from work. I have mentally thought about getting one and making it a weekend truck, but then I would have it sitting in the garage, a new payment, and i keep on thinking we are about to see some major improvements in technology within the next few years.

My 2000 F-150 had the 5.4L and I would get about 18 mpg in town and around 24 on the highway. I did have one of the roll-up vinyl bed covers on in, one of the best items that I have had on a truck, made the bed useful as a trunk when traveling and keep things out of sight. A friend with a hard cover (bought the truck with it) and hated it because it wasn't very functional when having to haul anything taller than the bed. He ended up selling it and getting a roll-up type.

My 2000 was 2WD, bought in Oklahoma and living in Texas I didn't need a 4x4. Up here it is easier to find a used 4x4 than a 2WD, in fact the Toyota dealer calls or asks my wife every time her car is in for service about buying it or trading it in until she tells them it is a 2WD, my Colorado co-workers didn't know they even made a 2WD version.

[rezman]

Over the years, I've had numerous pickups, regular cab short beds, then longbeds because I used my trucks a lot and could haul more. Then I moved to extended cab, and then Quad Cab Dodge. Now I'm back to a short wide Chevrolet. ... Better milage and easier to park.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

My 2000 was 2WD, bought in Oklahoma and living in Texas I didn't need a 4x4. Up here it is easier to find a used 4x4 than a 2WD, in fact the Toyota dealer calls or asks my wife every time her car is in for service about buying it or trading it in until she tells them it is a 2WD, my Colorado co-workers didn't know they even made a 2WD version.

That's hilarious.

When I lived in Denver, the girl I was dating had a 2WD S10 Blazer. The power steering pump went out on it, and when telling the auto parts store guys the usual info for them to look up the part. Every single one of them argued with me...They said that Chevrolet didn't make a 2WD S10 Blazer. 4x4 only. I would invite them to parking lot to see for themselves...It was quite the novelty. One guy even whistled and said "that's a clean custom job...But why did you keep it stock height? If you're doing that work, lower it and put some nice wheels on it!"

:facepalm:

Over the years, I've had numerous pickups, regular cab short beds, then longbeds because I used my trucks a lot and could haul more. Then I moved to extended cab, and then Quad Cab Dodge. Now I'm back to a short wide Chevrolet. ... Better milage and easier to park.

I had to go crew cab when I had kids. I miss my regular cab trucks something fierce.

[CaptDave]

I always get a chuckle comparing the number of 4x4 trucks vs "regular" vehicles stuck in the ditch during snowstorms. Usually about half are the huge trucks with lift kits and ridiculously huge wheel/tire combos.

I think the only way I would ever seriously consider purchasing a truck is if there were a mid size, small displacement diesel powered option available. I always liked the Nissan Frontier - seemed to offer 90% of the utility of the monster trucks in a much more reasonably sized package. I have a neighbor who got the David Stanley "Trick Your Truck" deal and the thing won't even fit in the garage now.

[catch22]

I am constantly annoyed at the jackasses with the super lifted trucks with monster truck tires, dual smokestack exhaust, etc. driving 90 mph down the interstate, zipping in between cars like they are driving a small sports car. Dangerous. If you are going to drive that large of a machine, you should be responsible by driving the speed limit and allowing plenty of space between you and other cars. One slip of the steering wheel and something that big can kill several people very fast. I don't want to be anywhere near those. Notice how most semi-truck drivers obey traffic laws and are very respectful of other drivers and fully understand the consequences if they make a mistake. It drives me absolutely insane how people with monster trucks value no one else's life enough to drive responsible for how large of a vehicle they operate. Everyone should drive responsible, but the larger and heavier machine you operate, the more you should be responsible. Honestly, the monster trucks should not be legal on the road or should require a special training course.

[bluedogok]

That's hilarious.

When I lived in Denver, the girl I was dating had a 2WD S10 Blazer. The power steering pump went out on it, and when telling the auto parts store guys the usual info for them to look up the part. Every single one of them argued with me...They said that Chevrolet didn't make a 2WD S10 Blazer. 4x4 only. I would invite them to parking lot to see for themselves...It was quite the novelty. One guy even whistled and said "that's a clean custom job...But why did you keep it stock height? If you're doing that work, lower it and put some nice wheels on it!"

:facepalm:

I had an 89 Ford Bronco II 2WD (in OKC), it still had the transfer case but just no output shaft or front drive axle.

[rezman]

I had to go crew cab when I had kids. I miss my regular cab trucks something fierce. [/QUOTE]

My Quad Cab came in very handy with the wife and two kids, plus hauling gear and stuff around. Now that my oldest child has been moved out a couple years now and the next one is a teen, i just didn't need the big pickup like I used to.

I like my shortwide.

[rcjunkie]

Ooohh, that irks me too.

To be safe, that's actually how far back you should stop.

[RadicalModerate]

To be safe, that's actually how far back you should stop.

You are joking, right?

Can you even begin to imagine what an already maddening traffic situation around The Intersection from Hell (Memorial and Penn) would be like if people actually did that? Cars would stretch all the way back to about Britton Road and it would take about three hours to go three miles when you factor in the delay factor caused by people focused on phones instead of driving plus the needless delays after the lights turn green.

One the other hand, zig-zagging into all of the open spaces in a small enough car doing the 45mph speed limit through there might be fun. I doubt trying it in a Road Barge Pickup would work, though.

[bluedogok]

Traffic lights are setup to sense a certain amount of cars in a certain amount of time, large gaps in the traffic caused by people putting a large gap between them and the car in front of them creates traffic signal confusions and backups.