Vehicle Buying Power...

[svtrit]

I was born in 1957. We had full time working farms in both sides of the family. They raised some cattle while farming was the largest part. Everyone I grew up knowing in the area who had trucks , really USED trucks for the intended purpose trucks were developed for. WORK & the outdoors life. All had a rifle in the window rack behind the seat. Today trucks come with interiors almost as luxurious and limosines. I do not think many who pay close $100,000 these days for one of those gigantic trucks (with near show car finish paint jobs) and interiors as plush and nice as little studio apartments intends to do any thing close to work with them or even much of what is called off roading. Certainly not mudding. Yet to each his own.

My dad inherited my great grandfather’s 55 Chevy pickup that was used on the farm and at his Case dealership.

Short bed, standard cab.
235 ci straight 6, manual trans with a granny gear
2wd
Bench seat, no radio, poor heat, no AC

Granted, farms and farm equipment were smaller then, but, there were lots of loads of things to haul. It wasn’t meant to do the work of a tractor or a straight truck with a dump bed.

I was on a farm in the 90’s that used 2wd D150 pickups for everything. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that extended cabs and 4wd became the norm. Limited slip axles were needed, but not 4wd back in the 90’s.

Europeans farm vehicles tend to be small trucks, vans, or station wagons that pull trailers, or they have a big truck designed for the job rather than a daily driven pickup.

People have decided they need the big stuff. Money was cheap and jobs were plentiful.

Give me an F150 LT with vinyl interior anyday!

 

[alarmguy]

We have become more than ever dependent on credit and more than ever to spend borrowed money on credit. That equals more options and greater profits for the industry.

The average car loan is now over 5 years and 6 to 7 years is certainly easily available. We are like rodents, we cant say no at any cost.

 

[OVERKILL]

We have become more than ever dependent on credit and more than ever to spend borrowed money on credit. That equals more options and greater profits for the industry.

The average car loan is now over 5 years and 6 to 7 years is certainly easily available. We are like rodents, we cant say no at any cost.

6 or 7? 8 years is readily available.

 

[alarmguy]

6 or 7? 8 years is readily available.

Yeah, you know, I was trying to be conservative in my statement *LOL* It really is 7 or 8 years for a LARGE amount of people spending more than they should.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Prices for Cars, Ten year span ...... 2013-($25,000) 2023-(30,150)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for new cars are 20.60% higher in 2023 versus 2013 (a $5,150.00 difference in value).

Hmmm, I bought a new 4wd extended cab loaded Z71 Silverado in 2013 for $27,000. By those stats I should be able to replace it for $32,500. Dealers around here must not look at those stats as they want close to $55k for that truck.
20.6% vs. 100%? Those numbers are close. I think I'll trust the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Hmmm, I bought a new 4wd extended cab loaded Z71 Silverado in 2013 for $27,000. By those stats I should be able to replace it for $32,500. Dealers around here must not look at those stats as they want close to $55k for that truck.
20.6% vs. 100%? Those numbers are close. I think I'll trust the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I was waiting for suv + truck buyers etc..... to "say what!?" Since they must have only looked at entry level mini cars? Still hard to believe.
Supposedly the used cars are up over 40% these days. I know somone looking for something from 2020 to 2022 and said
prices are insane.

 

[Cujet]

0-60 in 16 seconds just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Also, all 4 pistons with vastly different weights wont cut it anymore. These old GM engines were harsh!

 

[wtd]

What I missing? I didn't see a thread that mirrored mine. I'm asking a simple question...why were ppl in the 90's buying 4 cylinder trucks and now we're the extreme minority (until the turbo 4 got dropped into them).

What you are missing is that he is the resident old car hater and bags on anyone who likes or talks about driving an older vehicle. He comes across as a new car snob and brags about how many dollars of vehicles that he has in his garage.

As far as your question goes, the reason most people would be buying a 4 cylinder truck back then is for fuel economy but some people also don't need a truck that can haul or tow heavy loads and may choose the smaller engine because of that. That is the only real advantage of having a 4 cylinder.

I bought a brand new 93 S-10 4x4 and the only engine I considered was the 4.3L V6 which was the largest engine you could get. I wanted the most powerful engine I could get and didn't care about fuel mileage.

I did the same in 1998 when I bought my Silverado new and only considered the 5.7L which was the largest engine you could get in the 1/2 ton. I wanted an extended cab 3/4 ton with the 454 but they didn't offer the third door on the larger trucks and I couldn't afford a full four door truck.

These days with turbo charged smaller engines in trucks putting out a lot of horsepower, a lot of people are choosing the smaller engines.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Shame that "trucks" have been ruined. I remember when the big 2 to 2.5 ton GM trucks were a bit less than the price of a car at the time.
If you ratio a wage in the mid 50's to the price of a truck, to what it is now you will see that things are priced crazy high.
Dare we talk about why.
Its just too bad a normal person with a normal income can't buy a truck now, unless they want some old rusted junk that needs all its power train replaced.

 

[Rand]

Shame that "trucks" have been ruined. I remember when the big 2 to 2.5 ton GM trucks were a bit less than the price of a car at the time.
If you ratio a wage in the mid 50's to the price of a truck, to what it is now you will see that things are priced crazy high.
Dare we talk about why.
Its just too bad a normal person with a normal income can't buy a truck now, unless they want some old rusted junk that needs all its power train replaced.

I think you got some holes there.
Price of f series in 1950 $1300
Average family income in 1950 was ... $3300
min wage $1

Average family income now about $75000.
Min wage 10+ in Ohio 15+ in some areas


The most stripped down ram is around 40-45k.. and.... 10x the truck.

PS they got a 2019 tradesman with 44k miles for 22k near me.

​

But there is no denying that many cars have jumped 30-50% in the last few years.
on top of interest rates doubling.

Challenger hemi is 44k
Compass is 39k? ( )
Wrangler sport S 2 door 45k

 

[fdcg27]

We drove low powered vehicles for years without issue.
You wanna talk slow?
How 'bout a W123 240D (a glutton for punishment I actually had two of these in succession) or an aircooled Vanagon, which, as a stick, would smoke the 240D 0-60 and was still slow.
Stick Hondas with well under 100 bhp were rocket ships in comparison and never seemed slow in daily use including interstate trips.
We see way more power than really needed in most vehicles these days, but with improved fuel economy in each class as well.
Win-Win?

 

[97prizm]

I think manufacturing has become more advanced and things are easier/ cheaper to make in todays dollars. Seems to me like we see more higher trim levels on the road today than we did in the late 90’s. Vehicles have become more advance too and what was once a luxury is now taken for granted. AC or crank windows being decent examples.

People definitely don’t care for base and simple today. The death of the manual gearbox is proof of that.

Heated/cooled seats navigation, even A/C was found only on high end luxury vehicles. It's amazing what has become standard so to speak.

 

[4WD]

We drove low powered vehicles for years without issue.
You wanna talk slow?
How 'bout a W123 240D (a glutton for punishment I actually had two of these in succession) or an aircooled Vanagon, which, as a stick, would smoke the 240D 0-60 and was still slow.
Stick Hondas with well under 100 bhp were rocket ships in comparison and never seemed slow in daily use including interstate trips.
We see way more power than really needed in most vehicles these days, but with improved fuel economy in each class as well.
Win-Win?

Or the irony of my “PowerWagon” with 160 HP … Think I pushed it to 200 HP with an intake, Edelbrock 4B, and coated headers

 

[Exhaustgases]

I think you got some holes there.
Price of f series in 1950 $1300
Average family income in 1950 was ... $3300
min wage $1

Average family income now about $75000.
Min wage 10+ in Ohio 15+ in some areas


The most stripped down ram is around 40-45k.. and.... 10x the truck.

PS they got a 2019 tradesman with 44k miles for 22k near me.

​

But there is no denying that many cars have jumped 30-50% in the last few years.
on top of interest rates doubling.

Challenger hemi is 44k
Compass is 39k? ( )
Wrangler sport S 2 door 45k

Fits with what I'm saying, so that f series in 50 was less than half of the family income, now they can cost as much as or more than the income. Where are the holes? In say around 1957 the income was more and the prices did not change that much for the vehicles.
It costs about 2/3'rds more now per income than in those old days.
If you go into the 60's even better purchasing power. My dad turned down a brand new base 1969 camaro, dealer was asking I think 2300.
dad only would pay 2200, they wouldn't do it so no camaro. Factor that price into a wage in 1969?
I remember parents getting a brand new 62 Rambler it was 1800 bucks. What was the average wage then?

 

[MCompact]

Or the irony of my “PowerWagon” with 160 HP … Think I pushed it to 200 HP with an intake, Edelbrock 4B, and coated headers

My Club Sport has 150 hp- and that's with a Turner/Conforti chip.

 

[4WD]

My Club Sport has 150 hp- and that's with a Turner/Conforti chip.

It might weigh what the Dana axles on that truck did LoL …

 

[MCompact]

It might weigh what the Dana axles on that truck did LoL …

Quite possibly!

 

[JHZR2]

0-60 in 16 seconds just doesn’t cut it anymore.

How fast is that school bus or tractor trailer merging into the highway?!?

Sorry, it’s that people are getting dumber. And the “I deserve” disease is prevalent.

What's the relevance of that? Merging isn't a drag race. You're getting into a lane of traffic moving at a steady speed. If you're on an on ramp you're already doing 30, so 30-60 mph doesn't take all that much time.

Precisely. I drive a ton between NYC and dc. Heavily populated. Interstates. I don’t have an issue with slower old diesels.

Sure, there are scenarios where getting across traffic is an issue. I can think of one in the DFW area. But that’s because of poor road design and people driving too fast. I wasn’t in a slow car in that scenario.

Trucks and busses get it done without the long term waste of having an overpowered vehicle. And it’s not that I’m against faster or higher performing vehicles. But the reality is that it’s very hard to let them stretch out to their capability without doing illegal things and having the potential for outcomes that are deadly if something goes wrong. It’s one thing if the fast car driver kills the self and their family because they thought they deserved to ignore the rules and drive like an idiot. But when they harm someone else…

What I missing? I didn't see a thread that mirrored mine. I'm asking a simple question...why were ppl in the 90's buying 4 cylinder trucks and now we're the extreme minority (until the turbo 4 got dropped into them).

So back to the op, yes, people were less leveraged. I’m an S-10 owner. Bought mine cash in 1998 as a senior in HS.

Imagine others that don’t want to be slaves to a lender, buying a truck because it’s what they wanted…

Back then, underpowered, or perhaps normally powered vehicles were more the norm. Tech has provided some great strides in power density, making what’s normal for a gallon of fuel burned to be pretty different these days.

The biggest thing with a truck like an S-10 especially, is that it’s small. I recall when I was buying mine, my father made the point that it’s a lot of metal that you can’t do a lot with. Sit two people, no trunk. I still own mine. But I can’t take my family places. Two folks and all cargo needs to be in the back. Sure they made crew cab versions in some markets/years, but it’s a different beast and may never have come 4cyl here at least.

 

[Exhaustgases]

And the last 4 posts, is that about buying power?