Question Of The Day: What The Truck Do You Want?

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

Yesterday I told a story about a colleague of mine who was lookin’ for love in all the large places. Because this is TTAC, the conversation in the comments quickly turned to the traction merits of various drivetrain systems. You crazy kids. I bet that when most of you think about Fast Times At Ridgemont High, your minds immediately go to the one scene where we get a good look at the voluptuous curves of … Judge Reinhold’s 1960 LeSabre.

We’ve had a lot of conversations about trucks lately, whether it’s a Nissan Frontier, a Toyota Tacoma, or a Honda Ridgeline. You could say that we’re in some kind of trucking phase, and that it might be a while before we get the truck out of here.

So, what the truck do you want?

Speaking personally, I actually want two completely different trucks.

I want a traditional quarter-ton mini-truck to run my bikes around, with a low ride height and a stick shift. Two-wheel-drive only, please.

But I also want a crew-cab one-ton long-bed monster that tows a race car with the kind of insouciance you only get when you outweigh your trailer by a factor of two and a half to one. And that could be 4WD, because why not? In fact, last year I towed my Neon about 1700 miles to and from a race with a Dodge Power Wagon and I was totally satisfied with it — but you can bet your Captain Hook Fish & Chips hat that I’d rather ride my son’s TT-R90 on my errands than steer that beast around the suburbs.

Pick your truck. Or your trucks. Just to make things interesting, let’s cap your total spend at $75,000 just to keep the International CXT or the AMG 6×6 out of the equation. And let’s say no more than two trucks. Which would be — wait for it — moving in stereo!

[Image: Ford]

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • DirtRoads DirtRoads on Jan 30, 2017

    I'm late to the game here as usual. 1990 Chevy work truck, 2WD, 4.3 V6 TBI, long bed, manual, no air, no electric locks, nothing fancy anywhere except the decals on the door that say "W/T" (which the ex took off with a razor blade years ago for some inexplicable reason), and paid for years ago. Oh wait, that's the truck I do have! I can haul full size sheets of plywood, tow my boat, and park it in the winter when the snow is up to the axles. Who needs more than that? Oh Jack, I can also haul bicycles and tow a trailer with a car on it. Maybe not FAST, but I'll still get there before the race.

  • Ddrap14 Ddrap14 on Feb 11, 2017

    AAA, I wanted the 6x6, but then I'll either have a Nissan Titan or a regular G-Class.

  • 3-On-The-Tree My 2009 C6 corvette in black looks great when it’s all washed and waxed but after driving down my 1.3 mile long dirt road it’s a dust magnet. I like white because dust doesn’t how up easily. Both my current 2021 Tundra and previous 2014 Ford F-150 3.5L Ecobomb are white
  • Bd2 Would be sweet on a Telluride.
  • Luke42 When will they release a Gladiator 4xe?I don’t care what color it is, but I do care about being able to plug it in.
  • Bd2 As I have posited here numerous times; the Hyundai Pony Coupe of 1974 was the most influential sports and, later on, supercar template. This Toyota is a prime example of Hyundai's primal influence upon the design industry. Just look at the years, 1976 > 1974, so the numbers bear Hyundai out and this Toyota is the copy.
  • MaintenanceCosts Two of my four cars currently have tires that have remaining tread life but 2017 date codes. Time for a tire-stravaganza pretty soon.
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