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.
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.
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.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.
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
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.
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.
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.Define "well equipped". Because an Ram ST for $35k isn't getting you much
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.
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.
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..
what a minute, isn't that what alot of parents did?
Go north. I had the same problem, looked in North Bay and found plenty of basic STs on dealer lots.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.
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.
My RAM 1500 quad 4x4 has roll up windows, no power locks, rubber floors, and bench seats. It's been bulletproof.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.
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.