This truly monsterous truck caught my eye, as I trust it has now caught yours. The owner was sitting on his balcony as we took photos and we chatted a while. On one level I admire these sorts of trucks, but with gas now topping $3.70 at the pumps in Eugene, this one burns a dollar of gas every 3 miles. If I drove one of these, my first hour at work each day would just pay for the commute. The car behind is a normal-sized saloon, and barely comes up to the top of the bumpers.
A side effect of over-bigging your truck is that it won't fit in the garage. We like to park a car in the garage, and it's easier for unloading shopping. Not everyone uses their garage as a garage of course, but it's nice to have the option. This picture and the two below were taken on a walk round a subdivision north of our old apartment complex.
The advertisements for trucks such as these emphasise their ability to pull tree stumps out of the ground, or haul huge rocks or a spare truck engine with minimal effort, but these are not common endeavours for most owners. For daily life, commuting, shopping trips and so on, I can't help feeling that they're impractical and unnecessary. The pick-up bed is usually empty, and as it's also open to the elements in most cases, still isn't used in bad weather for hauling furniture or a new 55" flat screen TV. Far cheaper and more practical to hire a U-Haul van for those rare occasions when a big haulage space is required.
Oddly, Hummers seemed to peak a few years ago then subside to a large extent. But I keep seeing these enormous pick-ups. I do sort of think everyone who drives them ought to hang those little "truck balls" from the rear bumper, because I think the trucks do meet a certain primordial need of the owner's.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, once in a while, the driver is someone who actually hauls lots of stuff.
I drove around a Ford Explorer for 3 weeks this month, while my car was having body repair. An Explorer is nowhere near as huge as one of these Chevy Avalanches and whatnot, but I was still delighted to get my Subaru back. Parking or driving in tight downtowns is wacko in giant vehicles.
Hello Martin - I don't like those big trucks at all. I think they are unsightly and possibly dangerous on predominantly residential streets. Should they be banned from urban areas?? They do seem out of place. Janet
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