Why don't Europeans appreciate pick-up trucks??

[FourAceDeal]

In Europe our roads have things called "corners" and pickups handle like the shopping cart with a stuck wheel.

Having said that I nearly bought a used Toyota Hi-lux around 1998 but instead ended up buying an ex-Army V8 Landrover.  It was cool.  It even had a real bullet hole in it.

[Jack]

In Europe our roads have things called "corners" and pickups handle like the shopping cart with a stuck wheel.

Any top heavy or front heavy vehicle can have lower performance in cornering, but have driven both for years on curvy mountainous roads and never thought it that big of a deal. Currently live in the city so trucks are a more rare sight, presumably out of lack of necessity. Pappy is asking an interesting question, and the answer might not be based in logic. Some might say gas prices are a logical reason, but gas prices don't make a rarity of high performance sport cars. Some might also say the streets and parking are designed to make oversized vehicles impractical, which might somewhat explain the lack of residential use, but it's also noted that pick up trucks are rarely used by European tradesmen. Tradesmen are more likely to use vans and one ton flatbeds, even in circumstances when a half-ton pick-up would be more practical to their line of work. It's possible the lack of pick up trucks is based in something psychological, maybe with trucks associated to rednecks, or flashy oversized vehicles being a symbol of American excess.

[FourAceDeal]

Pickups aren't as rare as they used to be.  If you have them as a company owned vehicle you can claim the sales tax back on them as you can with a van or truck or other "commercial" vehicle.  It makes them the go to vehicle for small business owners as they're loike an SUV but you get 20% off the price.

You used to also be able to claim back tax on company motorcycles if you were a small business.  When I worked at Hewlett Packard about 15 years ago there were loads of contractors there like me - all running themselves as small companies.  In the summer the car park was full of lines of brand new Fireblades, Ninjas, Ducatis, Harleys etc, all "comnpany owned vehicles".

[Jack]

That makes sense when considering the commercial realm and the need for a utility vehicle. Though what about ordinary passenger vehicle use? Would you agree there's a stigma not necessarily associated to gas mileage? Found this article and thought the video really funny. While he seems to like the truck and might even like to have one, he admits he wouldn't have one because a vehicle like that is viewed as ridiculous in the UK and if he drove one he would look like a dick. http://www.carscoops.com/2013/06/how-do-europeans-view-ford-f-150-pickup.html

[Yuri Bezmenov]

We call them utes in Australia and they are very handy. My dad has one.

Utes in America are an Indian tribe and also the name of the University of Utah Football Team.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

Seriously it's the  most versatile vehicle type out there. ISIS uses the fuck out of them.

Americans love them (especially here in Oregon and Washington).

What's wrong Europe??

Vans are the hype here. And trailers. And a combination of those two.

Probably due to weather conditions and space issues.

You can always get a cap for your truck bed.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

My first vehicle was a small pick up truck. My mom liked the idea because it only seated two people, and since I was a wild child she figured my car would never be the party car.    I wouldn't recommend a truck to anyone who doesn't need one, because it sort of sucks to be the person people call when they need to move.

They call people with vans too   As to the only two seat thing we used to just pile in the bed, I guess that would not work so well these days but we would up to 6 or 8 people back there.  I miss my truck some things are just so much easier to do with one than in a van

Riding in the back of pickups was legal in Cali until 1990 I think. I grew up riding in the backs of trucks.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

What's wrong Europe??

Too much rain. You leave anything in the back of one and it'll get soaked or nicked by some tosser. 

Just get a cap for it then.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

Currently, I have 8 60lb bags of cement in the bed of my truck.

What are you going to do with all that cement? 

Ballast so I don't spin out in ice as easily.

[odeon]

In Europe our roads have things called "corners" and pickups handle like the shopping cart with a stuck wheel.

QFT

[Jack]

In Europe our roads have things called "corners" and pickups handle like the shopping cart with a stuck wheel.

QFT

The US by comparison doesn't have a lack of winding roads, so it's not a sensible reasoning.

[Gopher Gary]

My first vehicle was a small pick up truck. My mom liked the idea because it only seated two people, and since I was a wild child she figured my car would never be the party car.    I wouldn't recommend a truck to anyone who doesn't need one, because it sort of sucks to be the person people call when they need to move.

They call people with vans too   As to the only two seat thing we used to just pile in the bed, I guess that would not work so well these days but we would up to 6 or 8 people back there.  I miss my truck some things are just so much easier to do with one than in a van

Riding in the back of pickups was legal in Cali until 1990 I think. I grew up riding in the backs of trucks.

I'm not sure exactly when it changed there. It's possible it may have only been for minors. It's only illegal for minors to ride in the back of a truck where I live now, but adults in the back seat of cars aren't required to wear seat belts either. 

[Yuri Bezmenov]

In Europe our roads have things called "corners" and pickups handle like the shopping cart with a stuck wheel.

QFT

The US by comparison doesn't have a lack of winding roads, so it's not a sensible reasoning.

QFT

[Bastet]

I rode the back of a pickup when I was 6 it was fun.

[Genesis]

I thought you had lower crime in Europe that we do?

Depends where you are. Round here, anything not locked up or nailed down gets carried away by gypsies or scabby Mancunian smackhead bastards.

Did someone say gypsy???