Why are light trucks in the United States no longer available with a?
I think the answer is Yuppies. The people that used to drive Lincoln Continentals, Big Caddy sedans, Buick Electras, Olds 98s, were SOL when Detroit stopped building them. Some auto designer had an inspiration, and Voila! Four door pickups became the new thing. For the same reasons they drove the big sedans, they jumped all over the trucks. Theyre huge and heavy- you can drive into anything but a Peterbilt, and come out alive. Sure, the guy in a compact will die, but who cares? Theyre intimidating to anyone in a car- you can own the road from one. Four doors, and a huge passenger cabin, with all the whiz bang amenities that come in a top end car. And the driver sits way up there, with a royal view of the road. Yeah, the bed is tiny, but to them its extraneous, theyll never put anything in it. Why dont they buy a Ford Excursion, which is just as big, and stuff behind the third row of seats will actually stay dry? I suspect that answering the question what do you drive? makes you more manly if its I drive a truck. Interestingly, most of the ones I see out on the road have only a driver, no passengers. Now, the part that annoys me. These road going behemoths sell for between fifty and seventy thousand dollars. I would bet they dont get over nine or ten MPG. I would point out, as someone else already did, that you wont find a single cab eight foot bed truck on anybodys lot. I spoke briefly to a Ford salesman and was told they are special order. I had one with a 300ci six and loved it, it pulled like a locomotive. Of course, that great motor wont meet smog regs now. The new standard motor? A 2.7liter V6 (about 165 ci) with 335HP. Over stressed motor much? Nah! Its all good. And I think theres n o manual trans option. I got my truck, a F150, six cyl., Borg Warner T-18, posi 3.50 diff. back in 1976 for $6250. A new one now runs about $35000. The day I put in my retirement papers I got served with divorce papers, so Ill never have one. Inflation over 42 years is more than five and a half times what mine cost new. Ever notice your pay never inflates? So, thats why you cant buy the truck you want.