Originally Posted by Linctex
No...... retired people often want a small simple "truck"
My grandfather was an avid gardener....
his brand new El Camino was perfect for him.
A bed big enough for gardening stuff, it's lower to the ground so it's easier to load and unload, easier to get in an out of...
Think of all the baby boomers that could use a small truck, but do NOT want a full size truck cost and eating space
My parents (born 57 and 59) just brought home a 2015 Silverado CCSB a month or two ago. Some baby boomers like small cars, but there are just as many atavists who want a large car with V8 power just like when they were young. My parents don't do any chores that would require a truck around the house, they pay other people to do that. From what I can tell Baby Boomers are a lot closer to an average millennial than they are to their parents. However, their similar aged neighbors are avid gardeners, but they lived in Poland when they were commies so they are MUCH tougher.
Originally Posted by HemiHawk
I think there is some interest in car-based trucks/SUVs, but some are price prohibitive. The Ridgeline is a great example. I would probably prefer to daily that than any of the other mid sizers. It also gets better fuel economy than most of the midsizers. But it also seems to cost quite a bit more than the others. What 'most' people that have trucks really need is a bed for larger items, or dirty items. I use the bed on my truck pretty often but I don't bash around off road with it. The Ridgeline or a car based truck would have superior on road driving characteristics.
I checked, the Ridgeline gets about the same mileage as the gasoline Colorado. I'm not looking at Japanese SUV for driving dynamics, I would get a car if I cared about that. Most people want four doors, four seats and four wheel drive which makes a full sized truck very attractive, not to mention the increased capabilities and resale value that a full sized truck brings. The Honda price premium is real on the Ridgeline, it appears to do nothing well and costs a lot for what it is. There's a reason you never really see them, they suck.
On the Focus pick up: I think they are trying to bring a successful world model to North America. It worked with the Transit Express and Sprinter, so why not try to capture some niche commercial vehicle segment with a car-based pickup that should have lower cost of operation? If it has a large enough bed to be useful commercially and is cheap I think that's your low cost pick up that everyone laments about on this board. Having said that, I'm not sure it would sell that well as a personal vehicle. You don't see any Transit Expresses as personal vehicles even though they are a small van with considerable capabilities.
No...... retired people often want a small simple "truck"
My grandfather was an avid gardener....
his brand new El Camino was perfect for him.
A bed big enough for gardening stuff, it's lower to the ground so it's easier to load and unload, easier to get in an out of...
Think of all the baby boomers that could use a small truck, but do NOT want a full size truck cost and eating space
My parents (born 57 and 59) just brought home a 2015 Silverado CCSB a month or two ago. Some baby boomers like small cars, but there are just as many atavists who want a large car with V8 power just like when they were young. My parents don't do any chores that would require a truck around the house, they pay other people to do that. From what I can tell Baby Boomers are a lot closer to an average millennial than they are to their parents. However, their similar aged neighbors are avid gardeners, but they lived in Poland when they were commies so they are MUCH tougher.
Originally Posted by HemiHawk
I think there is some interest in car-based trucks/SUVs, but some are price prohibitive. The Ridgeline is a great example. I would probably prefer to daily that than any of the other mid sizers. It also gets better fuel economy than most of the midsizers. But it also seems to cost quite a bit more than the others. What 'most' people that have trucks really need is a bed for larger items, or dirty items. I use the bed on my truck pretty often but I don't bash around off road with it. The Ridgeline or a car based truck would have superior on road driving characteristics.
I checked, the Ridgeline gets about the same mileage as the gasoline Colorado. I'm not looking at Japanese SUV for driving dynamics, I would get a car if I cared about that. Most people want four doors, four seats and four wheel drive which makes a full sized truck very attractive, not to mention the increased capabilities and resale value that a full sized truck brings. The Honda price premium is real on the Ridgeline, it appears to do nothing well and costs a lot for what it is. There's a reason you never really see them, they suck.
On the Focus pick up: I think they are trying to bring a successful world model to North America. It worked with the Transit Express and Sprinter, so why not try to capture some niche commercial vehicle segment with a car-based pickup that should have lower cost of operation? If it has a large enough bed to be useful commercially and is cheap I think that's your low cost pick up that everyone laments about on this board. Having said that, I'm not sure it would sell that well as a personal vehicle. You don't see any Transit Expresses as personal vehicles even though they are a small van with considerable capabilities.
