Plunging Gas Prices Fuel Sharp Rise in Truck, SUV Sales

[longam]

Considering Ford rules in the truck market, the others will have to find something that works for them. Toyota is late to begin with coming into the large truck market and Chevy just went ugly for so long nobody wanted them.

[Zachstar]

Yes they will rise for about 5 mins until gas goes back up.

Toyota will be fine.

[A Very Super Market]

The short-sightedness of consumers astounds me.

[Monica Lewinsky]

I have a full fledged pick 'em truck [4x4 and stuff]. I just ride out the gas wars per gallon. Doing o.k. right now.

My favorite thing to do is to pull behind a foreign piece of crap car and shine my lights in his/her mirrors - all of them and blind the jerk or jerk'ess from a height 3-4 feet above where they are at a stop light.

My thrill is seeing their hands trying to block the light from my truck.

Much fun!

and ....... the jerk that cut me off a mile or a half mile ago can not do a thing about it.

Another favorite thing to do is ... these scum bags trying to pass from the right lane or right shoulder, I take my truck, straddle the right lane, and run them off into the ditch on the road. With our winter conditions here, have put 7-8 into the ditch and needing a tow. Much fun. Does not cost me a dime and has no effect on my safety.

Large MASS under a controlled condition is a good thing now and then.

[fatty]

"I enjoy blinding other drivers with my lights and forcing them off the road." Yeah... you're safe to be around!

[subchaser12]

Originally Posted by Monica Lewinsky

I have a full fledged pick 'em truck [4x4 and stuff]. I just ride out the gas wars per gallon. Doing o.k. right now.

My favorite thing to do is to pull behind a foreign piece of crap car and shine my lights in his/her mirrors - all of them and blind the jerk or jerk'ess from a height 3-4 feet above where they are at a stop light.

My thrill is seeing their hands trying to block the light from my truck.

Much fun!

and ....... the jerk that cut me off a mile or a half mile ago can not do a thing about it.

Another favorite thing to do is ... these scum bags trying to pass from the right lane or right shoulder, I take my truck, straddle the right lane, and run them off into the ditch on the road. With our winter conditions here, have put 7-8 into the ditch and needing a tow. Much fun. Does not cost me a dime and has no effect on my safety.

Large MASS under a controlled condition is a good thing now and then.

Where do you live? It's deinately not New England, I know what would happen to you and your truck if you tried that here.

[XabbaRus]

Originally Posted by Monica Lewinsky

I have a full fledged pick 'em truck [4x4 and stuff]. I just ride out the gas wars per gallon. Doing o.k. right now.

My favorite thing to do is to pull behind a foreign piece of crap car and shine my lights in his/her mirrors - all of them and blind the jerk or jerk'ess from a height 3-4 feet above where they are at a stop light.

My thrill is seeing their hands trying to block the light from my truck.

Much fun!

and ....... the jerk that cut me off a mile or a half mile ago can not do a thing about it.

Another favorite thing to do is ... these scum bags trying to pass from the right lane or right shoulder, I take my truck, straddle the right lane, and run them off into the ditch on the road. With our winter conditions here, have put 7-8 into the ditch and needing a tow. Much fun. Does not cost me a dime and has no effect on my safety.

Large MASS under a controlled condition is a good thing now and then.

First to respond to this post. As one of the said drivers who gets plenty of jerks in the UK sitting right on my tail with the lights on if you did that to me, well I won't say as I don't want to get barred but lets say I'm surprised it hasn't already happened. Even if you are joking I don't find it funny.

Crappy foreign cars - Isn't that why the US auto industry is in the state it is in due to "crappy foreign cars". I've lived in the US and driven in a fair number of detroit cars and I'm sorry to say but they just don't match up to the Japanese and European standards.
Foreign crappy cars are

1. More reliable,
2. More fuel efficient,
3. Better quality - see number 1

Sure I like the Mustangs and the Corvettes, but they tested them on Top Gear and when stacked up againsts equivalent european rivals they got whacked each time. Also if I want a sports car I want something that goes fast and can turn the corner.

The Mustand I know STILL has a live rear axle. I think the new vette might but not sure.

As for the F-150, Jeremy Clarkson tested that. First impressions he liked it. Big noisy engine, muscular looks. But then what let him down - rubbish brakes, loose steering, tacky interior.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by XabbaRus

...Sure I like the Mustangs and the Corvettes, but they tested them on Top Gear and when stacked up againsts equivalent european rivals they got whacked each time. Also if I want a sports car I want something that goes fast and can turn the corner.

The Mustand I know STILL has a live rear axle. I think the new vette might but not sure....

You must not have been watching in the last couple years. The Vette has smacked down all European cars costing 2x to 3x as much. The 500+ HP Mustang can also do it on a budget!

Mr. Clarkston actually bought the ZR-1 Vette if I am not mistaken he liked it so much.

-S

PS. A Transcript. Notice what they say last -

Right, make no mistake. What we have here is one of the truly great supercars. Bragging rights ahoy: the ZR1 currently holds the production car record for the Nürburgring.

I feel like I've been tipped off the top of the Cresta Run. On rollerblades. And I'm blindfolded. Holy cow, this is scary. To clarify the situation, let's look at the issues.

One: the track I'm on, which is full of closing-radius sphincter-tightening corners, treacherous cambers, conniving double-apex curves and, most of all, blind traps that jump up at you from behind crests.

Issue two, the car. In the Corvette ZR1, we've got 638bhp, in a machine that weighs just 1,518kg fully fuelled and optioned. That's Enzo Ferrari territory.

I don't know the car, and I don't know the track. That combination is so intimidating, I feel like I've about 1,500bhp under my toe.

My first tickle had the rear tyres spinning up in second gear, in a straight line, with the ESP and traction control fully on.

"Oh, it'll do that," chief engineer Tadge Jeuchter told me later, showing only a slightly evil grin. It cuts in only when the car gets properly sideways. And that's in full-nanny mode: after that, there's a 'competitive driving' mode (I'll not deploy that, because I'm not competitive). And then an 'off' mode. If I used that too soon in the learning curve, I would indeed be off.

I'm not saying the ZR1 is dangerous. Far from it. After a few laps, I feel more comfortable. Comfortable? Hmmm, maybe not. Lightning-bolt alert, doing what I can to stay with a car that'll do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, top out at 205mph and corner at 1g-plus.

More than that, it's gradually apparent that the handling is pretty damned sublime. That, and the brakes, and the grip.

Right, make no mistake. What we have here is one of the truly great supercars. Bragging rights ahoy: the ZR1 currently holds the production car record for the Nürburgring.

[SUBMAN1]

Figured I'd put up a picture too - http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ries/03/1.html

-S

PS. The envy of the Europeans!

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Monica Lewinsky

I have a full fledged pick 'em truck [4x4 and stuff]. I just ride out the gas wars per gallon. Doing o.k. right now.

My favorite thing to do is to pull behind a foreign piece of crap car and shine my lights in his/her mirrors - all of them and blind the jerk or jerk'ess from a height 3-4 feet above where they are at a stop light.

My thrill is seeing their hands trying to block the light from my truck.

Much fun!

and ....... the jerk that cut me off a mile or a half mile ago can not do a thing about it.

Another favorite thing to do is ... these scum bags trying to pass from the right lane or right shoulder, I take my truck, straddle the right lane, and run them off into the ditch on the road. With our winter conditions here, have put 7-8 into the ditch and needing a tow. Much fun. Does not cost me a dime and has no effect on my safety.

Large MASS under a controlled condition is a good thing now and then.

As much as I love pickem'up trucks, and conservative fellows, I would shoot you if you did that to me.

I don't pass on the right, or on the shoulder, except for when I was on my motorcycle. Even then, I only do so when the shoulder is too narrow for automobiles. Occasionally I drove between the lanes, as well. What? Everyone else has a giant fat-ass car so I have to wait? I'm not in anyone's way or anything right? As long as they bother to use turn indicators there is no chance I'll hit them either.
Lots of people conside motorcyclists to be a$$holes because we don't wait in traffic as long. Would you?

Also, I drive an 04' Kia Spectra. I don't do it because I hate big cars or American vehicles or conservatives or anything like that. I drive it because it's cheap, I currently live in a suburban area, and I don't like to waste money. When it was practicable, I had a Dogde Ram 2500 diesel. Now it isn't practicable, so I sold it.
I would have bought an American car, but they were not as cost-efficient.

Being in Texas, I see plenty of trucks on the roadways. I'm not some jerk who would pass on the right or the shoulder, (except in the aforementioned circumstances, on the bike) would you blind me with your lights?

Instead of antagonizing drivers that you don't know, you should probably focus on making sure that you drive safely and don't impede traffic flow, just out of common courtesy.

On the other hand, if someone were to change lanes into you, feel free to run them off the road.

[conus00]

Originally Posted by Monica Lewinsky

I have a full fledged pick 'em truck [4x4 and stuff]. I just ride out the gas wars per gallon. Doing o.k. right now.

My favorite thing to do is to pull behind a foreign piece of crap car and shine my lights in his/her mirrors - all of them and blind the jerk or jerk'ess from a height 3-4 feet above where they are at a stop light.

My thrill is seeing their hands trying to block the light from my truck.

Much fun!

and ....... the jerk that cut me off a mile or a half mile ago can not do a thing about it.

Another favorite thing to do is ... these scum bags trying to pass from the right lane or right shoulder, I take my truck, straddle the right lane, and run them off into the ditch on the road. With our winter conditions here, have put 7-8 into the ditch and needing a tow. Much fun. Does not cost me a dime and has no effect on my safety.

Large MASS under a controlled condition is a good thing now and then.

Do you realize how ridiculous you sound? People like you should have their DLs suspended for the rest of their lives. I can't even believe that you wrote all this. I wonder if anybody gets killed on the road as a result of your actions how you are gonna live with that. I am never harsh in my reactions to stupid posts here on subsim but unless you are JOKING (and I don't consider this to be funny) I have an advice for you: GROW UP!!!!

[longam]

Originally Posted by A Very Super Market

The short-sightedness of consumers astounds me.

Its OK really, the BS bailout will allow them to re-tool for the hybrid line of SUV's and Trucks.

Heck, today the retail stores are jumping in the game with the hand out, it was a bad holiday sales they say.

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by A Very Super Market

The short-sightedness of consumers astounds me.

I don't see it as short-sighted. I believe that this entire economic mess was caused by an overvaluing of the world economy. The world wanted to believe it was rich, then suddenly it found that resources didn't quite add up to the value it hoped for.

I think that we're looking at the mechanism of a self-correcting economy. The world is in a defacto fiat golden age - money no longer equals a tangible resource. In the US, this means that there will be just as much bread to feed the masses tomorrow as there is today. The amount of dollars around to purchase said bread is what will change, but the market will adjust to accomodate the basic need for the bread.

[Diopos]

Time to start blowing air into the next bubble...:hmm:
The bubble has bursted. Long live the bubble!

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by longam

Considering Ford rules in the truck market, the others will have to find something that works for them. Toyota is late to begin with coming into the large truck market and Chevy just went ugly for so long nobody wanted them.

Ford sells the best selling F150, but overall, I think GM outsells them if I'm not mistaken.

Besides, GM has become a bank, so I guess they can get all the bailout money they want now.

-S