It’s just a coincidence that the big 3 lobbied for legislation to keep small, inexpensive trucks from being imported into the US market. They just wish they could have done the same thing with cars.

Like Cinco de Mayo, that is apparently more of a US thing according to another friend from México that I was talking to last night. We blamed Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes. 😄

A friend told me he watched a TV interview with a cartel member a few months ago. The low level guys apparently not paid very much by Mexican standards either. It’s the promise that they’ll be able to work their way up the food chain and really make some money is the attraction. Hmmm...sort of sounds like working at a…

There is also a tariff advantage to building vehicles in México as well. IIRC, Audi saves around $5k in tariffs for every Q5 that they ship to Europe from México that they would otherwise pay if the same vehicle was built in the US. That is on top of savings due to less expensive labor costs.

That would give you a reason to drive it fast and aggressively though.

Just because VW had problems doesn't mean that every other manufacturer is going to have the same problems. Most auto manufacturers pay very well for the México market, so there is some competition for these jobs.

Close.

Americans aren't given the choice to buy small or midsized pickups. The auto manufacturers only sell large and extra large pickups in the US market.

No offense taken. I was just trying to plug one of my favorite Aussie TV shows. 😊

Walmart doesn’t set up stores in small towns unless you incorrectly consider cities with populations of 15-20k small towns. They are usually in areas with other big box retailers and most of the people welcome them for the increased retail competition.

At least use a Valiant that most Aussies are going to recognize:

Or they are worried about getting infected with something the victim might have. In this case, the guy had HIV. That was why his ex girlfriend ran him over.

I'm glad the guy on the bike was able to get up. A friend of mine was not so lucky. He was killed while riding his bike by a woman in a pickup who didn't see him. 😕

Nor do they realize that Trump’s call for 35+% tariffs on stuff from counties he doesn’t like will a) result in retaliation from our trading partners and our exports will drop and take those related jobs with it - see Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and b) will result in an immediate significant price increase on the stuff…

Do they come from the factory with weather stripping or carpeting not being attached correctly?

My dad’s old C10 pickup was the first non-agricultural piece of equipment that I could drive. After I got my license at 14, I could help drive grain trucks.

With that same logic, Ford would only offer the Taurus, Expedition, and Transit because it would be less expensive for them (Ford would have lower CAFE targets because of the vehicle footprint rule, so they could still get by with mediocre to lousy fuel efficiency). For some, the stripped down models would still be…

What about the VietJet?

True, which is why they could base a new model on an existing platform that does. Why didn't they do that on the last iteration? Probably because they have zero intention of ever bringing it to the US for the same reason Ford killed the Ranger: to keep people buying the bloated full size versions with fat profit…

Current car based trucks can haul 1500 lbs or more. Do most suburban Lowe’s or Home Depot customers come close to hauling that on a regular basis? Probably not. They are wasting their money in extra fuel and vehicle payments on something that greatly exceeds their needs.