Been thinking about a new car

[Janderso]

Not going to happen. Ford announced the end of their car manufacturing back in 2018. There is significantly more profit margin in trucks and SUVs.

GM and Ford sure did an about face on the EV subject. Kind of saw that coming.
You have to have a market.
I noticed they have zero percent financing on EV’s right now.

 

[JPMacG]

I have a 2011 Forester. Mine had the infamous oil consumption issue. It lost about a quart/1000 miles starting new out of the dealer's lot. I had to harass them for awhile but eventually Subaru installed a new short block under warranty. I saw the invoice that the dealer sent to Subaru - about $7K. Since then it has been trouble free.

I am impressed with Subaru. I do not think other car manufacturers would have done the same.

 

[pontiac428]

A new pickup truck is really just a minivan with a doorless trunk.

 

[Reddinr]

Around these parts, if you're driving a Subaru, you're sending a message.

Must be regional. If you go to Alaska Subaru's are everywhere. I doubt the message is the same. I know they are great in the snow. We have a very steep hill in the neighborhood and it gets snowy/icy. More than one 4x4 truck in the ditch most winters. The Sub just creeps up and down the hill like there is no ice.

 

[David2011]

An 8ft bed Ford truck is available in a regular cab and a Super Cab. The Super Crew is not available in an 8ft bed because the market share was so infinitesimally small that the decision was made to halt production.

Nobody makes a 4ft full-size truck, so I'm not sure where you get that from. The 5.5' and 6.5' bed trucks with a crew cab is what the market demands. The manufacturers will not make a vehicle to satisfy 2% of the market. I shake my head when someone scoffs at the soccer mom driving a truck around. Who cares. They purchased that vehicle because it fits their needs, not because it did or did not fit someone's perceived notion of what a truck should look like or be used for.

You're right; they're more than 4' long. They just look ridiculously short; especially some of the Subaru beds and the Avalanche. If I can't fit my RC airplanes in a pickup bed, the bed is too short. I have to limit the fuselage length to fit in a 6-1/2' F-150.

More ramblings:
One time a guy from California asked me what I needed a truck for. The question dumbfounded me. Model airplanes, ice chests, sails, other boat gear, lumber, gardening supplies, pretty much an endless list. People that don't own a truck ask friends to help them haul stuff so they need a truck too.. I live in a small neighborhood of custom homes and virtually all of my neighbors have a pickup.

I always thought a good looking woman driving a pickup made her a little hotter.

Don't remember where I saw it but I read that the mechanics in a shop checked the radios in every Subaru that came in. They estimated that about 45% of them had the radio tuned to NPR.

 

[woodchucker]

First Toyota was a late '60s Corolla bought used with 130,000 miles in '79. Figured it was good for a few months. We finally traded it in on a small Toyota truck years later with 290K miles and very little maintenance. Been 100% Toyota since. I grew up Ford and at one point my parents bought a Ford Granada. The contrast between the two extremes was quite noteworthy.

in 94, I test drove a 4 runner, and a ford explorer. The explorer was horrible in turning, in braking, in accelerating. I was stunned at how long it took to react to a change in the wheel. Ford Salesman asked me what I had already tried. When I told him the 4 Runner he kept saying the 4 Runner was a nice vehicle. I knew that, didn't think he did. Everytime I try to buy American hoping the quality is there, I am seriously disappointed. I wish it was required for Detroit Engineers to own a Honda or Toyota for a period to understand the difference, their arrogance (I had friends that were engineers) is preventing them from understanding.

Needless to say I bought the 4 runner.

 

[Aaron_W]

A new pickup truck is really just a minivan with a doorless trunk.

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They kind of have a point.

Most of these Kei trucks have a 6 foot bed which is longer than a lot of pickup trucks these days which run 5-5-1/2 feet, with 6-6-1/2 feet being "long beds".

I wanted an 8 foot for lumber but can live with the 6-1/2' bed on my truck. 8 foot sheet goods mean I have to drop the tail gate, but at least it is fully within the tailgate, and I can put narrow 8 foot goods (2x4s etc) diagonally and close the tailgate.

 

[pontiac428]

Don't remember where I saw it but I read that the mechanics in a shop checked the radios in every Subaru that came in. They estimated that about 45% of them had the radio tuned to NPR.

Did they check all the pickups for broken-down driver's seat cushions and french fry grease on the steering wheel? Stereotypes work both ways.

 

[Aaron_W]

Did they check all the pickups for broken-down driver's seat cushions and french fry grease on the steering wheel? Stereotypes work both ways.

When I take my Subaru to the dealership, I like to leave the satellite radio on Ozzy's Boneyard to help skew the stats.

 

[JPMacG]

On RC model airplanes... A guy in my RC flying club has a Mercedes Sprinter van for transporting his large-scale models. He outfitted it with a sliding floor, which he can extend for loading and unloading. I told him it would be less costly to get a pilot's certificate and buy a Cessna. He said he preferred models.