(10-17-2024, 09:18 PM)l0st Wrote:
(10-17-2024, 09:18 PM)l0st Wrote: The Chinese trucks aren't legal here. If they were, I might buy one, only because I could use a small, cheap, cheap to run truck for small load pickups. I doubt there's any longevity but they're dirt cheap.
Toyota sells the HiAce in other "developing" countries which is a basic small pickup, but not in the US.
The US automakers have gone way off the rails with the feature creep in what are supposed to be work vehicles. There are no work trucks anymore, unless specially ordered. They're all Cadillac Sedan De-Villes on a lifted frame with a body kit. I see people driving around in these all the time. Can you actually get work done in one of these? At $120K a pop I'd be worried about scratching the paint on a job-site. Cloth or leather seats... you're getting in there with muddy pants and boots on?
I don't get it. The people I know who have them only have them because there is nothing else new available and if they can get one, they actually prefer older, more basic trucks which actually still go for pretty good value around here. Like $6000 - $7000 for a 150K Mi+ beat up 2003 without a tow kit and worn out suspension and a cracked windshield. Seems like quite a lot to me considering 20 years ago such a vehicle would have been sitting in the junkyard or on someone's farm.
I will build a modest house for $120,000, not spend it on transportation. This is the thing that really burns me. I should be able to ship an Arcimoto down here, and after cost, shipping, and duties, it's USD $30,000. Arcimoto FUV: Let's Golf! (youtube.com) Okay, fine, but if the battery goes kerpoof, then that's a major part of the cost of the frickin' car! And the car SHOULD be plug-and-play, if they want to sell the [religious invective] things!!!!! This is the problem. Modules that require replacement should be plug-and-play.
I came really close to buying one of those awkward-looking Japanese trucks, or South Korean trucks, like the Hyundai Porter. HYUNDAI PORTER II 2017 S/N 265858 Used for sale | JapaneseVehicles.com. I need to haul stuff. Still, they don't really corner well, and they are not great on fuel. I have been looking at Velomobiles -- vehicles you pedal, and some have a battery-assist. That assuages my desire for sustainability, but is also threatened by my sense of reality, which indicates I will get my ass run over.
I redid this post, because I screwed up the previous one.
