Pardon Me… Your Behind is Showing

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Raz

I had an '03 Tundra. Very nice truck and certainly a big improvement on my '91 Ranger. When the time came to replace it, I went with the Nissan Frontier over the Tacoma. For my purposes all three are sized just right. Not much smaller than my '80s full size Fords and Chevys and certainly more reliable. I suspect my next truck will be a Honda. Raz

My '92 Ranger was a 4.0L 5SPD with a 3:08LS gear, it was a great truck,It had articulated Mustang GT style seats, leather wrapped tilt wheel with cruise, a great stereo, a sunroof and everything else I wanted, including unsurpassed performance and reliability. It was like a sports car with a big trunk and the ability to tow my car trailer.
All that... and I only paid $9000.

[Jay H]

I have had a '87 Ford Ranger that I loved, a 92 Nissan Hardbody that was cheap and decent and I have been driving a 2004 GMC Canyon for 12 years now. I am 6'4" and I bought all 3 trucks because I fit in them (not so comfortably in the Nissan..). I live in the country and always have and I have always preferred a truck. I don't see the need for me to have a huge truck so I appreciate the options on the market. (I am looking forward to the return of the ranger too).
Yes, the new canyon/colorado are nothing like the old S10 in size and really they are more like 80s or 90s era full size trucks but I still see that as an option. I would rather buy a midsize than a current model full size. The only thing I really wish hadn't gotten bigger on the midsize trucks was the purchase price - guess I'll have to drive my truck a few years longer!

[Jim Bennett]

Ford will be giving us new sizes within the next year or so, when they bring back the Ranger and Bronco.

The Ranger will be a great tow vehicle. Though larger than the previous model in North America, it is still smaller than the F150, and offered elsewhere in the world with a 2.2 or 3.2 litre diesel. If it has the payload capacity, it would be a contender for an Escape 5.0 TA.

Not sure the Bronco will be a good tow vehicle, or not, as it maintains the short wheel base similar to its predecessor, kinda like the Jeep YJ.

[Roger H]

Originally Posted by floyd

What really bothers me though is that the new vehicles are little more than smart phones with wheels. Nobody seems to care about the mechanicals anymore, they simply want to know how many "apps" they can get on the big screen dash.

Of course, there are all those terrifying new electronic "safety" devices which take control away from the driver. (for his own good of course)

Originally Posted by floyd

I'm not a Luddite when it comes to technology, but I do resent the ersatz technology provided by electronics which has completely stifled any progress in real mechanical improvements and taken the driver out of the equation.
Electronics are an important element (still overused) in engine control technology but the rampant and excessive use of electronics for peripherals is nothing short of obscene.
A vehicle should do the same exact thing with the same input every time, and drivers should go back to learning how to drive and paying attention to the task at hand.

Oh man, Floyd, did you punch my buttons here! I bought a new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in February. I needed a towed that can, itself, tow at least 3500 lbs in really bad weather as I tow my Kubota tractor 30 miles to an apartment building I own and do my own mowing in the summer and snow removal in the winter. i also tow, launch and, recover my 2,500 lb 21' trailer-sailor sailboat on some pretty steep ramps.

I wanted Dana 44 rear ends front and back, with a heavy-duty transfer case (a Dana 300 would have been just fine) and a six-speed manual transmission. I don't even care if the thing has a radio, frankly. Manual window regulators are fine. I have a $99 Magellan gps, I don't need it in-dash. I have mirrors, I don't need a backup camera. I simply want it to go where I want to go, be easy to tow behind the moho, and two 3500 lbs.

So I walk into a Chrysler dealer and sit down with a twenty-something salesman who asks me to rank the features I want, and he starts with Bluetooth, Nav, and how many speakers I want! This is a JEEP I'm looking at for cryin' out loud! The last two I had were CJs that barely had real seats!

I looked at him as seriously as I could muster and said, "Son, I don't give a sh*t about ANY of that nonsense. I want Dana 44 rear ends, a six-speed manual, the heaviest transfer case and two package you've got. I want doors and a hard top. Do you think you can find something like that?

He looked stunned, and stuttered for a few seconds about all of the electronics... and I asked him if he even knew what a Dana 44 is... and he didn't. I left that dealership.

I ultimately got what I wanted from another dealer here in eastern Iowa, although they weren't a lot more knowledgeable about the actual capabilities of the Jeep, and they had to dealer trade after finding one with what I wanted in St. Louis, 310 miles away. At least they were willing to listen to what I was telling them I wanted. This Jeep has a "standard" radio with bluetooth and steering wheel controls, although it does have power windows and locks. Amazing.

[Roger H]

Originally Posted by larryc

Don't forget the government regulations in place since the golden age (1969). Just to mention a few: crash ratings, roll over sensitivity, tire pressure monitoring, back up camera, and there are many others. I believe some of the lack of maneuverability is restricted turn radius to reduce roll over tendency. And crash ratings drive a lot of the front end design. Of course "styling" is driving the push to larger tires.

If the population was really interested in highway traffic safety, there are some easy things they could do that could not only reduce the crash rate to nearly zero, but cut the costs of vehicles dramatically too.

I don't recall the exact statistics right now, but something like two out of ten drivers on the road around you are either impaired or don't have a valid license at any given time.

There are just few easy steps that would make a dramatic difference in how safe it is to drive on our highways: First is make getting and keeping a driver's license expensive enough that it has value and people have to work hard to get one. Second, institute a DRIVING test with decision gates and skid pan performance rather than having the current version of a parallel parking test. Third, remove the 'entertainment center' and replace it with an emergency broadcast radio that ONLY receives weather alerts and other emergency communication when necessary. Fourth, remove 'bluetooth' and install a cell phone jammer in every car that broadcasts when the ignition switch is on and prohibits the use of cell phones from running cars.

Then, of course, if you're arrested for driving under the influence, your car is seized until the outcome of the trial. If you're convicted... it's forfeit, regardless of who owns it or who has a lien on it. That sounds harsh, but it would help folks reconsider making their cars available to folks who can't keep their driver's licenses.

A combination of ensuring that licensed drivers are actually competent to drive, removing common distractions, and having significant financial impacts on irresponsible car owners and drivers would reduce crashes dramatically; likely enough that much of the 'passive' safety equipment with it's attendant penalties in cost, weight and complexity could be eliminated altogether.

Something tells me I wouldn't be a very popular politician though.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Roger H

If the population was really interested in highway traffic safety, there are some easy things they could do

And they've done them in spades, every time I look around at "the population" on and off the road, I MARVEL at how safe we really are.
Traffic laws are made for the lowest common denominator and safety systems seem to be designed by DORD.
(Dept.Of Redundancy Dept.)
Statistically our highways are safer than our beds, since most of us die in bed and that's where the most "life altering" accidents occur!