That’s why I used the term ‘stripper.’ Base trim levels are pretty luxurious; most of the options available aren’t things about which I care or for which I would pay.

Local Subaru dealer is the same way - no markups and no bargaining, just “We can and do sell every car we get as fast as we get them, so... MSRP or beat feet, buddy.”

Seriously. I live in a city of almost 200,000 people and SCADS of people who live here drive full-size pickups. It’s not a dense urban city like NY or Chicago, but it ain’t like every house comes with 40 acres and a mule, either.

I dunno, man - maybe it’s an age thing, but strippers just ain’t strippers any more. There’s an F250 30 miles from me for $37k with A/C, Remote Start, Backup Camera, Bluetooth, USB Ports, Tow Hitch, Brake Assist, Stability Control, and an AM/FM radio.  Loaded? No. A stripper? Not remotely.

These are the people who could and arguably should just buy a little trailer.

Hard to find exact matches, but the average American income across all industries in 1910 was $574 a year.  1920 - $1407; 1930 - $1388; 1940 - $1315; 1950 - $3180; 1960 - $4816; 1970 - about $8000; 1980 - $15,575; 1990 - $23,602.  By that metric, the Maverick is CHEAP.

Ye gods!

Gotta do SOMETHING with my miserable eight-grade Latin...

AH - that makes sense. The Ram 1500 has 40.9" headroom up front, although it is taller. My Nissan D21 has 39.3" of headroom and sharp bumps damn near break my neck, even after 220,000 miles of 250-pound men compressing the seat cushion; I wonder if the extra inch would be enough for me or if I’d need to go to the…

Came out to just under $32k when I ran it, but maybe I missed something.

Isn’t SEPTA the plural of SEPTUM?

In a recent test by TFL Trucks, the Silverado 1500 diesel pulled 34 mpg freeway unladen and 12 mpg trailering; the Ram 1500 diesel got 33 and 11.

Came here to say the same thing. Some hybrids get rated higher in the city than on the highway, but they still tend to out-thrift their ICE siblings.

So, it’s for people who have never heard of small utility trailers?  ;)

Top-trim, fully loaded half-ton trucks sticker at $70k, but I live in an expensive part of an expensive state and - like I mentioned - even here I can find full-size crew-cab diesels for $8k to $10k more than a loaded Santa Cruz.

Well I’m about eight inches to tall to fit in it, so my objection is purely hypothetical, but... why this over any $5k Miata?

Bad-ass muscle cars. Something about working a shifter while whipping the wheel back and forth to re-re-re-re-correct the power oversteer doesn’t appeal.

Having revisited this thread, I think you may have embarrassed yourself more thoroughly than anyone else in the history of Jalopnik.

Yeah. Mainly, my point is that the Santa Cruz’s mileage SUCKS. There are a couple crew-cab diesels for sale within 250 miles of me - a Ram 1500 for $43k and a Sierra 1500 for $47k - which is about $10k more than the Santa Cruz tested here.

He’s either a troll or a shithead.