http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...t-selling-cars


F150 is top selling vehicle of 2008, followed by the Silverado. interesting read. also highlights the decline of the SUV

 

That's awesome.

 

Now pickup trucks should go from crew cab, and super luxury... to reg cab, vinyl seats, power nothing, and stick shift.

 

Why? So the market narrows and less people buy pickups?

 

"F150 is top selling vehicle of 2008, followed by the Silverado."

Naturally. - Og

 

No thanks.

 

No Harley-Davidson Edition? Nope. Not feeling that. - Og

 

Dude.. get off it. Your worn out. Choice is the new white meat. Dang.. why do you have to try to limit options? why do you care that I drive a lariat? What business is it of yours? I made my choice.. go make yours.. I don't care what YOU drive. Don't care what I drive. Go sit on your stick shift.. ok?

 

What's terrible is that you get what you want... but for the average Joe that wants to have a pickup that is simple and easy to maintain, has to now deal with more junk to go wrong. But then again... most just bring theirs to an overpriced service joint. Which is sad.

So far the only reason my truck has ever been seen in a service shop was due to a warranty related issue. If I didn't have the warranty... guess what? I would have my Haynes book out and the truck apart in my garage. If I can't figure something out, I ask around. Owning a truck is the pride of working on it yourself. A truck has always meant to be a simple but heavy duty piece of machinery -- like a tractor. It was never intended to be used like a car. Furthermore, the truck has been labeled as a great misconception of what it is. Which is why I laugh.

The original truck was designed for the max of 2-3 people, 8 ft bed, a heavy duty engine, frame, suspension, and usually a long throw manual transmission, and was designed to last 500k easily no matter how much you beat on it. Plus there was no power locks, windows, or even a/c. It was meant for picking up or hauling stuff. Hence the name "pickup truck".

These new trucks are like what happened to the Hummer. Sad, but it's a clear example.

Just my 2 cents.

 

It may be sad but the auto makers are only giving the consumers what they want. You can still buy a plain-jane pickup or you can get the loaded model.

Guess what?

Most consumers want the loaded model! So automakers understand this and so they keep adding features to cars/trucks. If buyers had rejected the loaded pickups and only purchased the no-frills models, then you would see more and more of these plain old pickups like they used to be.

It's just economics 101.

 

Ford was smart with the 04' and up generation by their trim models. They made the XLT seem more "basic" in appearance compared to the FX4/Lariat trims.

My previous generation 2000 XLT Scab looked great to me, and the Lariat didn't seem all that different in appearance.

When the 04' came out, the XLT just seemed too plain jane compared to the FX4 inside and out, that I had to get the FX4.

 

I take it you still have a rotary dial phone, too. - Og

 

Hmm.. This seems to go against what the Media is saying. I thought the Big truck was dead and the reason the Auto makers are crashing is because they're not making battery cars...

 

just when I thought manual stopped posting here

dude, get a clue...are we living in a communist nation? are we a primitive society? what the eff does it matter if someone wants heated seats leather and power windows?

 

i do sympathize with him becasue i loved my 94 f150 xl. so easy to mantain. single cab, shortbed. only thing power was the steering.