Who can afford a new truck anymore?

[Old Junk Man]

My daily driver is 1/2 ton 66 GMC 250 six granny four speed. Ive got another 66 GMC short stepside with a souped up engine and auto trans. My hauler is a 71 chev 3/4 flatbed. 454 and turbo 400 auto trans. Ive pulled a gooseneck trailer and bumper pull trailers. Ive hauled 7500 pound of scrap iron on the bed no problem. I can completely rebuild a old Chev or GMC for a fraction of what a new truck would cost. I haven't seen any Pk truck made after 1972 that I wanted!

 

[Old Junk Man]

I drove semi truck over a million miles. And I and millions of other drivers used a CB radio with a handheld mike. We never caused any problems?

 

[dmccarty]

I drove semi truck over a million miles. And I and millions of other drivers used a CB radio with a handheld mike. We never caused any problems?

The difference is that you did not have the mike held up to your ear.

I see drivers hunched towards the middle of the car so they can rest their arm, which is holding up the phone, to their ear. They cannot look in any direction except forward and their driving shows it. Even when they are not hunched over, having your arm up holding the phone makes it much hard to see what is happening around you because the driver has to move their upper body, not just their head, to see around the vehicle. I see this mess a couple of times a week....

There was one hunched over idiot zooming in and out of traffic who never looked to see if he could safely change lanes. He just zipped around with his right arm on the center console yacking on the phone.

Later,
Dan

 

[Old Junk Man]

I think the Texting is worse then the Yakking.

 

[300UGUY]

Note to self: Don't drive in front of 300UGUY

Not me. I was just repeating what I've read about cell phone use, in fact people texting are as dangerous as a drunk driver?

 

[Trillium Farm]

10-4 good buddy, see you on the flip flop

 

[drajj5]

My daily driver is 1/2 ton 66 GMC 250 six granny four speed. Ive got another 66 GMC short stepside with a souped up engine and auto trans. My hauler is a 71 chev 3/4 flatbed. 454 and turbo 400 auto trans. Ive pulled a gooseneck trailer and bumper pull trailers. Ive hauled 7500 pound of scrap iron on the bed no problem. I can completely rebuild a old Chev or GMC for a fraction of what a new truck would cost. I haven't seen any Pk truck made after 1972 that I wanted!

I hear you loud and clear.... You and I are one and the same (except I am a Ford man)!!

I do like all the features that seem standard on todays automobiles. Power windows and A/C, stand out the most. However nothing that I own is new or even considered worth any money. 69' Bronco, 78'bronco, and a 73' f100 are parked in the yard. Without a doubt there is nothing that I cannot repair on any of these vehicles, even if the repair was on the side of the road very few tools would be needed to get it going again. I feel that todays automobiles are designed to last only a very short time as the plastic hardware will crack and fade and electrical issues will dominate them after a few years. The older vehicles were simple in design and folks can keep them going for generations. All of the automakers had it right until the 80's...Then something happened plastic replaced metal and bumpers started to disappear into the body.

I am curious who will be restoring a 2015 Chevy/Dodge/Ford- 30 to 50years after production. Something has forever changed and soon there will be no shade tree mechanics and everything will be disposable. Sad really that automakers and emissions regulations have thwarted any (souping up of engines and such).

Guess we will be the last to get in the boat....I will give up owning my old vehicles when I retire and move on to one that require AAA and a dealership to make the repairs. But until then I will BANK that 700 dollar car payment vs give someone 50k for automobile that I can't fix with a 9/16 wrench err 14mm....

 

[Tomtint]

Well, I ended up trading my play car for a new F350 a couple days ago. Although I didn't have much sticker shock because I had been looking at them for a couple months. With all the rebated and discounts, new just made more sense than used.

 

[MossRoad]

I hear you loud and clear.... You and I are one and the same (except I am a Ford man)!!

I do like all the features that seem standard on todays automobiles. Power windows and A/C, stand out the most. However nothing that I own is new or even considered worth any money. 69' Bronco, 78'bronco, and a 73' f100 are parked in the yard. Without a doubt there is nothing that I cannot repair on any of these vehicles, even if the repair was on the side of the road very few tools would be needed to get it going again. I feel that todays automobiles are designed to last only a very short time as the plastic hardware will crack and fade and electrical issues will dominate them after a few years. The older vehicles were simple in design and folks can keep them going for generations. All of the automakers had it right until the 80's...Then something happened plastic replaced metal and bumpers started to disappear into the body.

I am curious who will be restoring a 2015 Chevy/Dodge/Ford- 30 to 50years after production. Something has forever changed and soon there will be no shade tree mechanics and everything will be disposable. Sad really that automakers and emissions regulations have thwarted any (souping up of engines and such).

Guess we will be the last to get in the boat....I will give up owning my old vehicles when I retire and move on to one that require AAA and a dealership to make the repairs. But until then I will BANK that 700 dollar car payment vs give someone 50k for automobile that I can't fix with a 9/16 wrench err 14mm....

Look at the fatality rates of new vehicles VS old vehicles. Lots of those chassis changes were to include crumple zones in newer vehicles. Sure, older vehicles are easier to maintain and repair, but you're also more likely to die in an older vehicle vs a newer one.

As far as souping up engines, there's a huge aftermarket for performance parts on new cars and trucks. However, it now takes some technical know-how to accomplish it compared to mechanical know-how of the past.

 

[MossRoad]

Traffic deaths peaked in the 30's, dropped for a while, then peaked again in the late 60's and early 70's, which is precisely the time period that you guys are loving your vintage trucks.

Don't get me wrong, I love that era of vehicle. But I wouldn't put my family in one on a daily basis. I'm fairly convinced the traction and stability control on our new car saved my oldest child from a very serious accident on two occasions. Its gotten me through some scary stuff rather well, too, compared to my cars from the 70's and 80's.