On Sun, September 30, 2007 11:01 pm, Terrible Tom said:
>
> Hmm - well... I blame the guys who mutilated the dodge dakota design for
> the 2005 and later models. I blame them for making a truck so ugly that
> it killed off loyal dakota followers.
I respectfully disagree. I don't think the design has anything to do with it.
Here's the thing... all brands are having a difficult time selling trucks and
SUVs. This is what's killing GM as a company, their model lineup is too
dependent of larger vehicles and they're too slow to adapt to the new market.
It's the price of fuel, plus the fact that trucks are no longer trendy or
politically correct. I get snide remarks and dirty looks all the time in
Toronto for driving a gas guzzler, and I'm constantly having to justify myself
to some snide self-righteous envirodouchebag. No vandalism yet, but I've seen
news reports of people destroying Hummers in the name of "saving the planet".
The unfortunate truth is that the heyday of sport trucks is over. The 70's
saw the demise of muscle cars, now we're seeing it happen to trucks as
personal transportation. Not that trucks are ever going to go away, there are
enough people around who need the carrying and/or towing capacity. But I
don't think they'll ever regain the popularity they enjoyed in the 90's. For
a lot of people out there, it's just too damned hard to afford the fuel for
one unless they really need it.
Personally, there's almost zero chance that whatever replaces my '95 will be
another truck, no matter what it looks like or what features it has or how
much I might want one. That makes me a bit sad, but I've accepted that I just
can't afford fuel plus a loan payment. We need one truck because we have that
RV, but there's no good reason to have two of them in the driveway. The only
reason I still drive mine is that it's paid for, and I know it well enough by
now that I figure I'd be better off keeping it for the time being rather than
trading it for someone else's worn-out junk. Once the '01 is paid off, I
haven't decided what I'll do. Largest I'll probably go would be a Journey if
I figure I need the cargo room. If not, I actually kind of like the Mazda 3,
or the new Lancer. I was even thinking of checking out the Mini until I
realized it takes premium fuel (which defeats my purpose in going small).
This is life at $4/gallon. Yes, it sucks, but it's pretty well here to stay.
Granted that my perspective is probably different that what it would be if I
were still living in the US. Taxes and fuel prices up here are much higher,
but salaries aren't. It's just a much more expensive place to try to scratch
out a living. But, I don't see any signs that things are going to get any
better on either side of the border, at least not any time soon.
Bah... maybe I'm just in a particularly pessimistic mood again. If only I
could remember where I left my "Will code for gas" sign...
-- Jason Bleazard http://drazaelb.blogspot.com Burlington, Ontario his: '95 Dakota Sport 4x4, 3.9 V6, 5spd, Reg. Cab, white hers: '01 Dakota Sport 4x4, 4.7 V8, Auto, Quad Cab, black
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