Why don't...

[yud]

Europeans have pickup trucks?

[Zed]

Europeans have pickup trucks?

small roads 

[AHB]

Google-FU.. 

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/06/new-volkswagen-pickup-to-be-called-amarok.html

http://www.automobilesnews.com/tag/fiat/

http://www.carpages.co.uk/nissan/nissan-navara-28-01-07.asp

So there's a few on the roads here too...  

[stressmaster5000]

Europeans have pickup trucks?

cuz there not from TEXAS!

[John]

Europeans have pickup trucks?

Yes as it happens and a hole lota sh*t "top secret" as well  


[edit] BTW that was not meant in bad taste as I love the USA 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Does this count as a pick up

[yud]

So there's a few on the roads here too...  

I did know there had to be some over there

But still for camping the UK tow car of the year is a VW Golf here you would get  

[Sazabi]

Does this count as a pick up

(Image removed from quote.)

No, but having a similar design made around a mountain bike frame would be nice, especially for grocery runs. >.>

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Does this count as a pick up

No, but having a similar design made around a mountain bike frame would be nice, especially for grocery runs. >.>

You need a Surly Big Dummy then or an Xtracycle

[DaveK]

We do have them, but they are generally used by tradesmen rather than being personal / family cars.

I guess the easy answer would be we don't really need them, and the US are highly criticised throughout Europe for the "gas guzzler" culture of unnecessarily big cars (not necessarily my opinion, but one widely held).

[John]

 

get out the way!    
 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

get out the way!    
 

This is more representative (eh Paul!)

[John]

Lol Mike thats why I just love eggs,boiled   Oh? and my name is johnny  

[edit] brilliant 

[stressmaster5000]

We do have them, but they are generally used by tradesmen rather than being personal / family cars.

I guess the easy answer would be we don't really need them, and the US are highly criticised throughout Europe for the "gas guzzler" culture of unnecessarily big cars (not necessarily my opinion, but one widely held).

Perhaps this is true in some larger cities here in the US but when your state is larger than most countries and you work throughout the whole state it makes it easier to understand the "Pickup Truck" culture of this area.

Public transportation in the "South" is not as good as it is up North. The largest city near me is Dallas and they are just barely halfway through installing a public electric train system. While it is good to see them do this the "everybody needs a car" culture makes it hard for it to get a real following. Eventually it will be a big help with the horrible traffic in DFW but because there are so many that commute more than 75-100 miles One Way to work it becomes obvious that public transportation will never replace a car or truck here in Texas.

[rioredgt]

I build these for a living. Right here in Texas.

Toyota Tundra


Toyota Tacoma

[thebullfrog]

Because Europeans aren't retards? Seriously, I got sooo effing sick of seeing people drive around in ginormous trucks just to get around town. "Are you a tradesman and need it for work? No? Do you have a trailer or something you tow a lot? No? Do you go off-roading for fun on the weekends? No, because it would be stupid to ruin your truck like that? Then why the F*%^K do you own an F-350 extended cab with an 8" lift and 38" rock crawling tires just to go to the frakin Post Office?"

God I hate people like that. the "I drive an Excursion and my husband takes the Tahoe to work every day because we like to have room for our kid in the back, and love feeling so high up, but I bitch about gas prices when I have to dump $100 a week into the tank". If you need room, buy a wagon. Unless you need to tow something, or maybe venture someplace more rugged than the mall parking lot, you have no damn reason to own anything bigger than an Outback.

Europeans don't have trucks because they are generally not consumerist idiots that just like to "feel big" in their trucks because something more sensible would be beneath them to drive. As far as I'm concerned Europe can have the the Expedition, I'll trade it for an Audi RS-4 Avant, or a Focus RS, or any number of awesome cars we don't get here because Americans refuse to be seen in anything resembling a wagon. Because driving any number of "SUV's" that are FWD and based on minivan platforms is soooo much more masculine and "cool". Idiots.

Wow, okay rant off. I feel a bit better lol.

[John]

Hey!    

pickups for the world I say  

[DaveK]

We do have them, but they are generally used by tradesmen rather than being personal / family cars.

I guess the easy answer would be we don't really need them, and the US are highly criticised throughout Europe for the "gas guzzler" culture of unnecessarily big cars (not necessarily my opinion, but one widely held).

Perhaps this is true in some larger cities here in the US but when your state is larger than most countries and you work throughout the whole state it makes it easier to understand the "Pickup Truck" culture of this area.

Public transportation in the "South" is not as good as it is up North. The largest city near me is Dallas and they are just barely halfway through installing a public electric train system. While it is good to see them do this the "everybody needs a car" culture makes it hard for it to get a real following. Eventually it will be a big help with the horrible traffic in DFW but because there are so many that commute more than 75-100 miles One Way to work it becomes obvious that public transportation will never replace a car or truck here in Texas.

I did say it wasn't necessarily my opinion, and you've outlined why.

The trend in Europe generally seems to be for smaller, more environmentally friendly cars, but that all seems a bit futile when it's customary for each family to have two or three of them! In the UK, cars and commutes such as you describe are pretty common, and the public transport system is a joke and far too expensive for most to consider viable outside of the big cities. In a job like mine, a 100 mile journey such as I do at least once every week would take hours, multiple changes of trains, and you'd end up using taxis for large parts of the journey anyway, so it's easier, cheaper and probably cleaner just to drive.

On the continent, public transport (especially the rail networks) are far more viable, hence cars are less essential. The UK is suffering from serious under-investment over probably 50 years by comparison.

[John]

Because Europeans aren't retards? Seriously, I got sooo effing sick of seeing people drive around in ginormous trucks just to get around town. "Are you a tradesman and need it for work? No? Do you have a trailer or something you tow a lot? No? Do you go off-roading for fun on the weekends? No, because it would be stupid to ruin your truck like that? Then why the F*%^K do you own an F-350 extended cab with an 8" lift and 38" rock crawling tires just to go to the frakin Post Office?"

God I hate people like that. the "I drive an Excursion and my husband takes the Tahoe to work every day because we like to have room for our kid in the back, and love feeling so high up, but I bitch about gas prices when I have to dump $100 a week into the tank". If you need room, buy a wagon. Unless you need to tow something, or maybe venture someplace more rugged than the mall parking lot, you have no damn reason to own anything bigger than an Outback.

Europeans don't have trucks because they are generally not consumerist idiots that just like to "feel big" in their trucks because something more sensible would be beneath them to drive. As far as I'm concerned Europe can have the the Expedition, I'll trade it for an Audi RS-4 Avant, or a Focus RS, or any number of awesome cars we don't get here because Americans refuse to be seen in anything resembling a wagon. Because driving any number of "SUV's" that are FWD and based on minivan platforms is soooo much more masculine and "cool". Idiots.

Wow, okay rant off. I feel a bit better lol.

Sorry I missed this   you sound like a person who knows a lot?  

[thebullfrog]

I have to completely disagree with stressmaster. Yes he's right in why we all have cars and drive everywhere. But the point is you can do all that in a CAR. You don't need a damn pickup to get groceries, or go to work at the office. Unless you have a specific need for a truck, or are a truck enthusiast which I could understand, it just makes no sense. There are some good reasons for a truck or SUV, the problem is the vast majority of people that drive the things don't actually have any reason. They just don't wanna be seen in something smaller, because somehow it's embarassing.

[John]

Freakin hell! it's a size thing again  

[DaveK]

Because Europeans aren't retards? Seriously, I got sooo effing sick of seeing people drive around in ginormous trucks just to get around town. "Are you a tradesman and need it for work? No? Do you have a trailer or something you tow a lot? No? Do you go off-roading for fun on the weekends? No, because it would be stupid to ruin your truck like that? Then why the F*%^K do you own an F-350 extended cab with an 8" lift and 38" rock crawling tires just to go to the frakin Post Office?"

God I hate people like that. the "I drive an Excursion and my husband takes the Tahoe to work every day because we like to have room for our kid in the back, and love feeling so high up, but I bitch about gas prices when I have to dump $100 a week into the tank". If you need room, buy a wagon. Unless you need to tow something, or maybe venture someplace more rugged than the mall parking lot, you have no damn reason to own anything bigger than an Outback.

Europeans don't have trucks because they are generally not consumerist idiots that just like to "feel big" in their trucks because something more sensible would be beneath them to drive. As far as I'm concerned Europe can have the the Expedition, I'll trade it for an Audi RS-4 Avant, or a Focus RS, or any number of awesome cars we don't get here because Americans refuse to be seen in anything resembling a wagon. Because driving any number of "SUV's" that are FWD and based on minivan platforms is soooo much more masculine and "cool". Idiots.

Wow, okay rant off. I feel a bit better lol.

Sorry I missed this   you sound like a person who knows a lot?  

Lol. We don't have pickups, but the big 4x4s (like mine  ) are our equivalent of what's making your piss boil Bullfrog! I justify mine by being the minibus for the football team I coach, the trips to the Peak District where 4WD is pretty well essential if you want to get to the good bits etc.

However, there is a culture for these things (I think what you guys call SUVs?) in some of the richer areas of London that lead to the now well known term "Chelsea Tractor":

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chelsea%20Tractor



I don't do school runs in my Freelander

[thebullfrog]

It really is. Come to the U.S. and start asking most truck owners why they have the truck for just family transportation. 90% of people will tell you it's because they like feeling high in the air, and having the biggest car they can. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that answer from someone bitching about how much it costs to put gas in their truck.

My favorite answer though is when somebody tells me they refuse to buy a "little foreign car" (because apparently American companies don't build cars?). Of course trying to point out that their Chevy Silverado Diesel has a Japanese (Isuzu) engine and is built in Canada is a lost cause.

[ryan1835]

it does annoy when i see people going round towns and inner cities in 4x4s whats the point?

out in the country etc or if you have stuff to tow then fair doos

[rioredgt]

Most of those American small cars are made on foriegn soil.

[thebullfrog]

Because Europeans aren't retards? Seriously, I got sooo effing sick of seeing people drive around in ginormous trucks just to get around town. "Are you a tradesman and need it for work? No? Do you have a trailer or something you tow a lot? No? Do you go off-roading for fun on the weekends? No, because it would be stupid to ruin your truck like that? Then why the F*%^K do you own an F-350 extended cab with an 8" lift and 38" rock crawling tires just to go to the frakin Post Office?"

God I hate people like that. the "I drive an Excursion and my husband takes the Tahoe to work every day because we like to have room for our kid in the back, and love feeling so high up, but I bitch about gas prices when I have to dump $100 a week into the tank". If you need room, buy a wagon. Unless you need to tow something, or maybe venture someplace more rugged than the mall parking lot, you have no damn reason to own anything bigger than an Outback.

Europeans don't have trucks because they are generally not consumerist idiots that just like to "feel big" in their trucks because something more sensible would be beneath them to drive. As far as I'm concerned Europe can have the the Expedition, I'll trade it for an Audi RS-4 Avant, or a Focus RS, or any number of awesome cars we don't get here because Americans refuse to be seen in anything resembling a wagon. Because driving any number of "SUV's" that are FWD and based on minivan platforms is soooo much more masculine and "cool". Idiots.

Wow, okay rant off. I feel a bit better lol.

Sorry I missed this   you sound like a person who knows a lot?  

Lol. We don't have pickups, but the big 4x4s (like mine   ) are our equivalent of what's making your piss boil Bullfrog! I justify mine by being the minibus for the football team I coach, the trips to the Peak District where 4WD is pretty well essential if you want to get to the good bits etc.

However, there is a culture for these things (I think what you guys call SUVs?) in some of the richer areas of London that lead to the now well known term "Chelsea Tractor":

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chelsea%20Tractor



I don't do school runs in my Freelander

Actually it sounds like you have a valid reason, especially if you are having to take it on some trails or whatever. That makes sense. My problem is with all the people (especially women) who are convinced that you need the biggest truck/ SUV on Earth just to get to the nail salon. Their excuse is they need room for the kids, the reality is that they could easily get their daughter and a couple of her friends into an Outback, or a Volvo XC-70, or something similar, but refuse because a "station wagon" is embarassing.

[John]

If I want to build a mile long truck   and drive it once built I will    

[thebullfrog]

Most of those American small cars are made on foriegn soil.

Most American cars period are made on foreign soil. Toyota actually builds more cars in the Us than Ford, Chrysler, and GM. Most Mitsubishis, Subarus, and even Hyundais that are sold here are actually built in the US, while most GMs are made in Canada, Ford has a lot of stuff made in Mexico, and who the Hell knows where Chrysler builds some of their crap lol.

[thebullfrog]

If I want to build a mile long truck   and drive it once built I will    

Go for it, breaking a world record sounds like a valid reason in my book lol. Sounds like something Jeremy Clarkson would do.

[DaveK]

it does annoy when i see people going round towns and inner cities in 4x4s whats the point?

out in the country etc or if you have stuff to tow then fair doos

Well to be fair, if you have a 4x4 for doing "country stuff", then that's likely what you'll be driving when you go to town. That's certainly how it is in my case anyway

I do take your point though. I live in what is technically described as a rural area, but it isn't really rural to my definition. I live on an estate, near a fair sized town, that happens to be surrounded by countryside and is a 15 minute drive from the motorway. I moved here because it's far enough away from a big town to be relatively peaceful, but I can still get to an airport (a choice of 2 in fact) in an hour for work. There is absolutely no need for the number of 4WDs in our street. I reckon that 20 of the 40 houses have SUVs / Pickups / 4WD vehicles parked outside, and you can tell they never take them anywhere other than the school run and the shops!

At least mine is normally covered in mud