It seems like everyone wants to drive a truck these days. From the kind-of-awful all-new Bronco to the ever-popular Ford F-150, America is just gaga for trucks.
I’ve said repeatedly that I would never drive a big truck as a daily, but I do get that they have purpose. I mean, we do have race cars to tow and plywood, fencing and bags of concrete to fetch.
So while I don’t understand this truck obsession–and don’t even get me started on the Carolina squat–I am starting to understand my own hypocrisy. You see, despite my disdain for full-size trucks, I too own and love to drive (some) trucks.
As many of you know, I have a perhaps unnatural love for Honda Ridgelines. I owned my first Ridgeline for 13 years and covered more than 235,000 mostly trouble-free miles. From our Florida base, we drove it to places like Road Atlanta, Road America and even Laguna Seca.
When the newly redesigned Ridgeline came out in 2017, we were invited by Honda to the press preview. I felt that Honda had improved the styling, along with everything else, and we worked out a deal for a long-term loaner.
When the year ran out, I purchased the same truck in the same color. For a brief time, while waiting for Honda to pick up its loaner, we had two identical white Ridgelines in the driveway. Our neighbors thought we were nuts.
The Ridgeline fulfilled all my needs. It could tow 5000 pounds, plenty enough to get our car to the track and also drag home building materials. On a trip out to Montana to pick up an early VW Rabbit GTI, the Ridgeline managed 24.9 mpg.
But that’s not the only truck currently in my life. A few years ago, I needed six-passenger seating and even more towing capacity. I bit the bullet and bought a used Ford Expedition. The idea was to keep this humongous gas hog in our barn until needed, as I’d rather not single-handedly deplete the earth of all its resources.
To me, at least, it was no Ridgeline. The Expedition lacked the Ridgeline’s economy, packaging and handling. My wife, however, had other ideas.
She drove the Expedition for the first time and declared that she loved it and wanted to use it as her daily driver. I protested: It’s huge, inefficient and lacks panache. It wouldn’t even fit in the garage.
Yeah, she countered, but it’s roomy, fast as hell, and has both heated and air-conditioned seats. So I lost that skirmish rather quickly.
Then there’s the special relationship I have with my 1973 Ford F-350 car hauler. Everyone in the family rolls their eyes at its mention.
They claim it’s been unreliable. I reply that it’s now sorted.
They say it’s old. I say it has charm.
They say it has no back seat. I call it the sports car of haulers.
Part of that love is perhaps a leftover illusion of my youth. When I was a teenager working at my dad’s Ford dealership, I was often called on to deliver trucks and bare chassis to either the body builder or directly to the customer.
As a kid, I loved the power and rowing through the gears. For a few brief moments, I was a trucker and savored the sounds and sensations, whether it was the notchy shifter on an F-250 or the air brakes on an F-600. Every time I drive this truck, I think of my dad and my teenage years.
So how about you? Do you speak ill of trucks or do you have a favorite? I’d love to hear about them.
Comments
I wouldn’t want to daily a full-size truck. I did that with a Silverado for several years and while it wasn’t terrible, it’s not a fun vehicle in heavy traffic or tight downtown areas. 12 mpg was also kind of painful. So I replaced it with a first-generation Ridgeline. I drove it daily for a year or so and it’s a very good vehicle. Most of the advantages of a truck but without the disadvantages. It only lacked torque and towing capacity so it went down the road for the Touareg TDI and the 7700 pounds of towing capacity. At times I do miss the bed and trunk of the Ridgeline but not enough to give up the 490 lb-ft of torque. I keep thinking about buying another one but it would just sit in the yard and collect leaves. Maybe after the Touareg’s time is up.
Tim Suddard said:
the kind-of-awful all-new Bronco
Whoa! Shots fired! 
wae
PowerDork
10/4/23 1:00 p.m.
I am not at all comfortable with the idea that the liking of something has to be derived from some rational basis. For example, I don’t want my wife to think too hard about if there’s some valid reason she likes me.
If you like something, like it. Aspire to have it. Get it when you can do so. Life is way too short to try to justify liking something. Should I have liked my Excursion? It was hard to park, burned fuel like nobody’s business, didn’t handle well, wasn’t particularly attractive, and the towing and hauling I did could have been done with a more “reasonable” vehicle. But I loved the damned thing and don’t feel like I need to justify why.
You like trucks? Buy a truck. You hate trucks? Don’t buy one.
wae
PowerDork
10/4/23 1:02 p.m.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:
Tim Suddard said:
the kind-of-awful all-new Bronco
Whoa! Shots fired!
I’ve only driven a two-door one a very short bit around the block or whatever, but I kind of like them. The 7 speed manual shifts nicely and the turbo gives it plenty of power. It’s weirdly both huge and tiny at the same time.
Tom1200
PowerDork
10/4/23 1:04 p.m.
I loathe trucks……………I find them joyless farm implements, BUT
They have great outward visibility, the modern ones are plush as plush can be, they are quiet inside and generally are a nice place to be.
I still loathe them for daily driving but I understand why people like them.
Seems like the crew cab pickup is making a run at the full size SUV for the title of “lacrosse mom vehicle of choice” around here. Dads with office jobs are using them to commute. Many of those trucks are hauling a giant travel trailer or boat on the weekend; there seem to be a lot more of those around now too.
A loaded up pickup is expensive but nice enough to be a status symbol and (apparently) drivable enough to run around in every day. One vehicle to do it all instead of having a car and a separate vehicle in the driveway that only gets used to haul stuff.
Sometimes I forget that normal people don’t usually have more vehicles than drivers in their household 😛
Hey Tim, I’ve been in auto lending since ’79 working for various banks and OEM’s finance companies. I learned a lot from car dealers over the years
Back when I was say 25, mid 80’s before the SUV and Truck craze, I always remember a general manager saying, “every homeowner needs a truck.” So true, kind of like another dealer once told me, “everyone buys a black car, once!”
I daily an ’07 Scion tC with 190,000 miles. My wife drives a minivan with the rear seats out for her home staging business. We do any personal business/travel in my car. If we need anything bigger, we just rent it for the day.
I don’t have a solid answer why I like them but I am happiest in a stripped out V8 regular cab truck. It just does everything I need, I can haul the dogs to the beach, I can go to the dump, cheap to insure, easy on tires, super comfortable while towing, don;t care if it gets scratched or dented, easy to work as the engine bay is huge.
I don’t get the super luxury trucks as all when people use them as trucks, totally get it as transport for the family plus the occasional haul. Things like hte Raptor ride better on bad streets then any luxrury car I have ever owned.
Son of a construction worker. They were always around. You become comfortable with them.
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