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General Motors Oshawa to Close

The new Ranger is looking mighty good.

why Nissan even bothers with trucks is a mystery. they are the Japanese GM. blah, uninspiring cars and trucks with little redeeming value.

even their cargo van efforts are an abortion.
 
SunnY S said:
The new Ranger is looking mighty good.

why Nissan even bothers with trucks is a mystery. they are the Japanese GM. blah, uninspiring cars and trucks with little redeeming value.

even their cargo van efforts are an abortion.
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The new Ford Ranger looks like they took a 2019 Ram shrunk it down by 10%.

And yeah Nissan and Mitsubishi have been in a race since 2008 to see who can make the worst vehicles money can buy.
 
48Connor said:
The new Ford Ranger looks like they took a 2019 Ram shrunk it down by 10%.

And yeah Nissan and Mitsubishi have been in a race since 2008 to see who can make the worst vehicles money can buy.
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The 2019 Ranger looks a lot like previous Rangers that have been sold outside North America.

So I’d say the 2019 Ram looks like a big Ranger ;)
 
nobbie48 said:
A base model car today has more stuff than a Cadillac had 50 years ago. My brand new F-100 in 1978 cost $5000. Six cylinder and three on the tree. A base model is now six times the price but better equipped than most 1970's cars. If I had continued to work the same job I don't think I would be making six times as much.
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I bought my first truck in 1978, a base D100 4x4 with 3 on the tree, it was $8200. My first full time job was shipper/receiver and I made about $9000/year. That truck was equal to 11 mo pay.

In 2008 trucks were being given away, not because of the price of gas, because of the US recession. I bought a new 06 RAM 1500ST 4WD for $19995 and a new 08 GMC 1500WT 2WD for $13,000.

Today, that job I had in 1980 pays about $20/hr -- or about $40K/year. A 2019 RAM 1500 ST 4x4 well equipped is about $35K, or about 11 mo pay.
 
caboose56 said:
The 2019 Ranger looks a lot like previous Rangers that have been sold outside North America.

So I’d say the 2019 Ram looks like a big Ranger ;)
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The headlights of the Ranger have stayed the same as well as the upper line of the grille, but everything below that is basically a direct copy. Even went from a one piece fascia to an independent bumper like the Ram.
 
privatepilot said:
a pickup truck doesn't cost $80-$90+k because of the workers making $30+/hour. A pickup truck costs that much because manufacturers will charge what the market will bear, and it's been proven that even $80k pickup trucks sell quite well and the profit margins are gleefully enormous.

Because consumers are stupid. If the person who bought it keeps it...that pickup truck will have lost around 90% of it's value at 10 years of age. That is a terrible investment.

If you *need* a pickup truck for work and it's an essential tool for you, then fine...but i will never understand people that buy an $80k pickup truck just to use it to pickup beer and groceries.
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all of this!
 
Mad Mike said:
I bought my first truck in 1978, a base D100 4x4 with 3 on the tree, it was $8200. My first full time job was shipper/receiver and I made about $9000/year. That truck was equal to 11 mo pay.

In 2008 trucks were being given away, not because of the price of gas, because of the US recession. I bought a new 06 RAM 1500ST 4WD for $19995 and a new 08 GMC 1500WT 2WD for $13,000.

Today, that job I had in 1980 pays about $20/hr -- or about $40K/year. A 2019 RAM 1500 ST 4x4 well equipped is about $35K, or about 11 mo pay.
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Define "well equipped". Because an Ram ST for $35k isn't getting you much
 
48Connor said:
Define "well equipped". Because an Ram ST for $35k isn't getting you much
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That was meant to be relative to the 1978 version that had manual brakes, manual steering, 3 on the tree, AM radio, and hubs that were locked outside. My modern ST has air, touch screen radio with GPS, power steering, brakes, auto, tinted glass and posi.
 
The US tariffs on imported trucks are enormous, which protects the North American market. GM only makes the canyon to keep the Tacoma at bay, Ford has to build the Ranger domestically (someday) because the taxes to bring it into North America would kill it. Its been a great truck all over the world, except NA.
You can buy a nicely equipped F150 or Ram for 35K cash, but dealers know there are very few cash sales, so if your taking over 60months why not drive a cowboy limo for a hundred bucks a month more???

Good luck finding a base anything sitting on the truck lot, we wanted a Ram 2dr (already hard to find) with 4WD, V8 , no power pgk, wind up windows. That was a standard item for 30? yrs. Special order to get it in, anywhere.
 
danp said:
I'm sure this is a dumb question (I know nothing about the car industry) but since we already have this fully equipped plant and 2500 skilled workers, couldn't we just continue building our own cars without GM? Change it just enough so it doesn't infringe on any of GM's patents.
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Read up on the Tucker Torpedo. Suggestions are that the other manufacturers torpedoed it. Start up against a giant and they litigate you to death.
 
sburns said:
You also paid a lot less in taxes back then as well, on income and consumer goods.

I always believe this upward trend in ever increase cost of living is unsustainable. But somehow we all manage. Maybe that is the problem we've become so repressed by it and pressured to work harder, or take on a second income, and they all keep taking advantage of it by keep increasing stuff we need or want. Maybe the breaking point is starting to show with the next generation not being able to afford homes, it's not even on most of their radars.

Anyhow I am sure the workers of the phyamids had the same conversations of the Pharaohs of the day.
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You aren't alone thinking the spending can't be sustained. Read Limits to Growth.

I did some calculations that indicated a couple with modest earnings could end up with a decent house but it would take decades of their prime years living like hermits to do it. Immigrants are more successful at it than the locals.

It is very difficult to live frugally when friends are partying. Peer pressure etc.
 
nobbie48 said:
I did some calculations that indicated a couple with modest earnings could end up with a decent house but it would take decades of their prime years living like hermits to do it..
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what a minute, isn't that what alot of parents did?
 
crankcall said:
The US tariffs on imported trucks are enormous, which protects the North American market. GM only makes the canyon to keep the Tacoma at bay, Ford has to build the Ranger domestically (someday) because the taxes to bring it into North America would kill it. Its been a great truck all over the world, except NA.
You can buy a nicely equipped F150 or Ram for 35K cash, but dealers know there are very few cash sales, so if your taking over 60months why not drive a cowboy limo for a hundred bucks a month more???

Good luck finding a base anything sitting on the truck lot, we wanted a Ram 2dr (already hard to find) with 4WD, V8 , no power pgk, wind up windows. That was a standard item for 30? yrs. Special order to get it in, anywhere.
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Go north. I had the same problem, looked in North Bay and found plenty of basic STs on dealer lots.
 
crankcall said:
The US tariffs on imported trucks are enormous, which protects the North American market. GM only makes the canyon to keep the Tacoma at bay, Ford has to build the Ranger domestically (someday) because the taxes to bring it into North America would kill it. Its been a great truck all over the world, except NA.
You can buy a nicely equipped F150 or Ram for 35K cash, but dealers know there are very few cash sales, so if your taking over 60months why not drive a cowboy limo for a hundred bucks a month more???

Good luck finding a base anything sitting on the truck lot, we wanted a Ram 2dr (already hard to find) with 4WD, V8 , no power pgk, wind up windows. That was a standard item for 30? yrs. Special order to get it in, anywhere.
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4x4 reg cabs are tough to find anywhere. They don't really sell that well to the public so no dealer orders them in, and now with the swap to 5th gen they are only making certain trim levels. And I should know, I've got a 2018 Ram 1500 reg cab sitting in my driveway..

Also tough to find a new 4x4 Ram with roll up windows. I had a 2014 with them but it was 2WD, but you'd figure anyone willing spend money on 4x4 would spend a few bucks more on power windows and locks.
 
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Oddly found one in London Ont. Ram 1500, 4WD 2Dr power nothing. We have unique requirements , it only pulls a 30ft sailboat, 4wd is just a safety thing and since the last one gets parked sometimes with the windows left down for a couple days (yes idiots) we just got tired of changing water resistant window switches.
Its a company truck, but it only seems to pull a boat....
 
Surprised you can get manual windows at all gm dropped them in the 14 redesign.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I had a jeep in the driveway last summer, the nieghbour called his kids over to see how windows went up and down in the olden days. Cranks.

F him and his urban wanker kids. Actually they are really great kids. He's an urban wanker
 
48Connor said:
4x4 reg cabs are tough to find anywhere. They don't really sell that well to the public so no dealer orders them in, and now with the swap to 5th gen they are only making certain trim levels. And I should know, I've got a 2018 Ram 1500 reg cab sitting in my driveway..

Also tough to find a new 4x4 Ram with roll up windows. I had a 2014 with them but it was 2WD, but you'd figure anyone willing spend money on 4x4 would spend a few bucks more on power windows and locks.
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My RAM 1500 quad 4x4 has roll up windows, no power locks, rubber floors, and bench seats. It's been bulletproof.

Have a 2016 Jeep with a 5 speed, roll up windows, no power locks, and no air. Dealer couldn't give it away - after having a birthday on the dealer's lot I bought $11K last November as a winter beater.
 
Mad Mike said:
My RAM 1500 quad 4x4 has roll up windows, no power locks, rubber floors, and bench seats. It's been bulletproof.

Have a 2016 Jeep with a 5 speed, roll up windows, no power locks, and no air. Dealer couldn't give it away - after having a birthday on the dealer's lot I bought $11K last November as a winter beater.
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I didn't mind the SXT I had with similar options, but now that I have a fully loaded Sport, I can't go back. No doubt the less tech the truck has, the better change it has at living a longer life, but all the tech makes it a pleasure to drive. My reg cab also had the bench seat until I swapped it out for a center console that I found on Kijiji - really transformed the interior.

That Jeep a Wrangler or a Patriot or something? No A/C is a tough sell nowadays.
 
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