When did trucks stop becoming utility vehicles and into $60,000 pussy cars with leather seats and wood trim?

The Chicken tax gave American companies a near monopoly over the American domestic truck market allowing them to stop making smaller trucks to focus on larger ones with a higher profit margin due to the lack of competition.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

I like trucks, but I'd never spend that much for one ever. Not even if I was a millionare. Those luxury pickups are a fast depreciating asset in the state of Texas. So if you were to buy one that's priced $57k, next two years they'll be at like $32k depending on it's mileage.

Sure it may still seem like a lot for some, but why even bother to pay that much to begin with? I can see why many people started leasing truck now.

What's wrong with light trucks they're legitimately useful for hauling and great on gas. Why do you think it's the automobile of choice for scrappers and farmers?

>Truck is full of soft, tearable, stainable fabric
>Truck is full of electrical things like power Windows, heated seats, etc.
>Have to put loads of plastic covers over everything or it gets fucked if you actually use the truck for work

>me man
>me want attract woman
>me lease Chevy Silverado Chrome Cowboy Limited Edition

I'm not spending 30-50k on a new truck just to have the shit beaten out of it

I usually haul equipment and tools to sites offroad and I can't imagine spending that kind of money just to have the truck destroyed in a few years

I bought a 1996 chevy dually with the 7.0l in it 6 years ago for $10,000 and it's been our go to truck ever since

Pure autism.

When they implemented CAFE

It was no longer feasible to make full size sedans and light trucks with V6/8s so everything shifted further away from the mean, up or down. You either get a 4 cylinder shoebox or a tank. That's why 1/2 ton trucks are as big as super duties were 20 years ago, and 3/4 ton trucks are as big as commercial vehicles.

Thanks, government regulation. Once you turn emissions standards into a game, people will play that shit.

around the same time cars did. mid-late 90's is when the American Car industry breathed it's last dying gasp and became an appliance/lifestyle industry

As usual, the only reasonable post isnl ignored.

>Once you turn emissions standards into a game, people will play that shit.
this

>government envirotards makes driving diesels in the city illegal to reduce emissions
>I can still drive my m3 to work
>coworker has to park his 116d at home and ride the bus

Feels retarded man.

Pretty much this, My dad has a 94 ram 1500 with the 5.9 in it. Runs like a top, but it had two big rust holes in the front of the frame.

Got it repaired a few weeks ago, its cheaper and more practical to just fix it from time to time than to shell out for some pavement princess.

Pic semi-related, helped a fellow Veeky Forumstist with buying a pontiac 400 a week or so ago and it didnt even feel like there was anything in the back.

Honest to god, theres just no real reason to buy a new truck unless youre some kind of rich faggot

>uncomfortable
>cloth bench seats

If there's anything I miss about my 89 ranger it's the seats, like driving on a couch.

Hey henrt

When people realized cars suck and trucks can haul while being comfy. Owning a truck shouldn't be martyrdom. If this bothers you, learn to restore old trucks.

Is that for the red turd gen trans am?

yep

When they got tax exemptions.

because retarded shits now daily drive trucks to haul their fat asses around suburbia instead of doing actual work with them
>b-b-but I move some wood and tow something like 3 times a year dude, I NEED a truck!!!

Nice. Wish I could help, that looks like a fun project. Godspeed. Hoping to get an LS1 or L33 into my 82 z28 eventually.

Uncle just bought a new 2017 chebby Silverado 1500 LS.
Extended cab standard bed 4x4 with the 5.3 for around 28k. Nothing special other than power windows. I think it’s a decent deal considering a truck from the 90s with that equipment adjusted for inflation costed around the same.

should be fun. you've got that blue one right?

Yep.

nice. maybe u could swap in a 400 chevy. it'll drop right in

This but unironically

Stupid idiot

When the boomers grew old. Old people need comfort.

Leather is good because heated seats. I also like bluetooth, GPS, and A/C. Other than that, I would prefer to be able to buy a brand new truck without all the luxury features.

why the fuck is there a propeller on that engine?

>yfw my $53k when new loaded out F150 can tow, haul, and carry more people while being more economical than the 1991 counterpart

>yfw $7,779 is $13905 in 2016 money and if a base model small Isuzu truck was still a thing it would cost the same while being better in every way than that 1991 counterpart in the OP

But yeah sure things are worse than back then OP

Japan is the last stronghold of the down-to-earth pickup. Even if they all have dwarfism.

>daily my truck
>use it to haul motorcycles, tow trailers for non-daily cars
>tons of space for tools
>also comfy seats for long trips
>heated and cooled seats
>various other luxuries

It's worth the extra money over a cheaper truck with no luxuries because it fills more than one role

7779 bucks in 1990 is like, what? 15k in 2017?

Also that 60k trucks are top of the line bigass truck that's dimensionally bigger than a hummer H1. If you want a puny single cab truck, you could get one for around 18k or so

That's a radiator fan. Cars weren't always soulless abominations.

>There will never be another truck like the datsun pickup
why even live

No it isn't you dumbfuck boomer. This is a radiator fan

You get them in many sizes in nipland

Isn't the Carry a kei truck though?

That's an electric rad fan. Older engines had clutched or viscous coupled fans driven off the accessory belt.

You can still get the Kei carry and this APV carry and then you move on to trucks that have 2 ton payloads on something that fits within a full size truck payload.

Typical millennial. As arrogant as you are stupid

Are you triggered people like to have nice things?

Anways, bought it used about 38k ... every option except cooled seats and sunroof.

I have driven it across the court and haul shit around all the time. Recently had fire exit gusher explode in bed and cover everything in white dust. Will clean when temperature doesnt freeze everything solid within 5 min.

Why suffer if you don't have to suffer? ...

Go back to /pol/ nigger.

There has always been trucks that are more appeal than utility. Look at the blazer for example, the cab is fucking huge

>that wheel base
parking must suck balls in that thing

Want. Heavily want.

Parking is only a problem if you cannot reverse park.

its a work vehicle not a fucking limo

My current pickup is probably one of the most upscale vehicles I have ever driven.

>I have to take it off road but I don't want to.
>I have to climb in and out of it with muddy boots and clothes
>Any little problem it has gets me worried that it's perceived value is going down
>I often have to use it for actually carrying things other than my tools and that really upsets me

I really wish I had my cheap shitbox pickup back because it really didn't stress me out as much and I would haul literal shit in it if I had to.

>my 53k f150
>my
Unless you paid cash, it's not yours, and the bank is loaning it to you while you pay them for the privilege, so better not damage it! Don't worry, you'll own it for yourself in only a few short years!

When retarded American consumers decided to continue to fall for the brand name Chevys, Dodges, and Fords on reputation from 2 or 3 decades ago while the manufacturers continue to develop and sell cars based off the opinions of soccer moms and retarded hicks instead of blue collar businesses who work with them. They molested the fuck out of SUVs as well. The only kind of vehicles that haven't but fucked by soccer moms, hillbilly retards, and liberal dikes are Commercial Vans and that's because nobody buys a Commercial Van except businesses.

No way you paid 53k for that. If you did you got fucking jewed hard af desu senpai. That's midrange 3/4 diesel 4x4 territory.

Bout 2000 I think

You retards talk like it's hard to get a bare bones pickup.

They're literally everywhere, every company/fleet has them, You're not being forced to buy the 60k king ranch f150 that the dealer keeps pushing on you. You tell the salesman what you want, don't let him tell you want you need.

Go on the fucking website, you can buy a 2018 f150xl 4x2, reg cab and 8' bed with a 5.0l out the door for likely under 32k.

53 thousand? is that in freedom dollars or canadian? Holy shit you got screwed

>CAFE standards made trucks bigger or smaller
They also caused SUV's and crossovers to happen and increased the auto crash death tolls by many hundreds per year. Lotta weird, fun stuff happens when the various parties at the big tables start playing.

>when new
Reading is a real bitch

Your a real bitch

I get Arma 3 flashbacks when I see one of those around here.

You’re*

Dunno OP but my older-than-me truck is comfy

that's bullshit.

chicken tax has been in place since the early 60's, and trucks didn't start changing character till the late 00's

the real reason was because fuel economy standards changed. It used to be that plain and simple, auto makers needed to make fuel efficient vehicles. thus, bigger more wasteful vehicles got fucked in favor of smaller ones. It's the reason so many small cars popped up in the 80's.

in like, 2009 or so, they changed fuel economy standards so that they take size into account. AKA larger vehicles have less strict standards because weight means a bit SUV can't reach the same MPG as a compact car.

But this created a problem where it made it so that a small pickup ended up with the same or similar cost to a bigger pickup. Basically, it resulted in the opposite effect.

So they just stopped making smaller pickups.

And then the chicken tax is added on top of that for foreign made small pickups.

Around 2000.

In the early-'90s trucks moved from utilitarian interiors to designers actually giving a shit about how nice the interior looks. By the end of the decade SUVs were already onboard with having wood and leather interiors. Ford was showed a luxury version of the F-150 in the 1999 autoshow circuit to generally positive praise and that was the moment when the writing was on the wall. They Lincoln Blackwood soon followed as the first luxury pickup. Poor sales drove to having luxury options in traditionally non-luxury brands.

how do the laws work? vehicles within a certain size have to comply with stricter standards, so you can just make the vehicle bigger to allow more emissions?

basically. The only vehicles that take advantage of this though, are trucks, since they (and the few remaining large SUV's) are among the very few vehicles still made primarily for the US Market, and not the "global" market.

bingo. a 90s colarado would be expected to get similar mpg to say a modern Malibu because they're of comparable size, or a 00s xterra would be expected to be the same as like a juke or rouge

What about the fucking size of them? God damn 3/4 tons look huge as fuck and new 1/4 tons look like fucking 1/2 tons 10 years ago. Compare a new Tacoma to an old Tundra, same size!

>Me need utilitarian vehicle where comfort is not really a neccessity beyond a seat you can deal with fora few hours
>Me need cheap but strong with a finish me not mind getting scuffed and scratched with repeated rough treatment.
>Me need easy to clean surfaces that can deal with much, chemicals, etc that don't stain easily.

Safety regulations demanded that your truck not be a death trap. Also things such as insulation, better suspensions among tons of other stuff that increase weight

Isn't that a Pontiac tho?

You got a backup camera? My xboxhueg SUV has one and parking is nowhere near as difficult as it reasonably should be in that tank.

>Me man
>Me no want to drive piece of shit that bad at driving but good at hauling when me no hauling and me just driving
>This because me have brain and disposable income
>Me want cheap utility vehicle and good car
>But me unhappy because memes made used trucks cost too many money papers if made after 1980
>me not want to pay $20,000 for 204 year old cummins diesel

Ford people are fucked. I know people that spend that much on Ford Escapes ffs. A truck that much isn't out of the ordinary. They get expensive quick when you load them up with useless packages you'll never use.

Its not that much of a problem to park, it just takes up 2 spaces. Turning around though, is always a 3 point turn or more. I cant even turn in the culdesac at the end of the street I live on without backing up.

It has a backup camera as well so its easy to get really close to stuff backing up without hitting anything. Also useful for hitching up trailers.
Length wise its easily 23 or more feet long.

>1996 Doge Ram Diesel
>Just under 900,000 miles
>Barely broken in
>leaks only a quart of oil per day
>soemtimes engine wont shut off
>no AC or heater
>tires have at least 120% life left in them
>interior smells like footlocker, but have air freshener
>turbo makes whale noises, but easily replaced
>mechanic's special
>know what i got
>no tire kickers
>$65,000 or it goes to auction

>90's Colorado
You mean s10?