So, ordinarily this question should seem like a no-brainer: between a car-like truck or a truck-like car, which would you rather have? And if that question seems targeted at sport-utility vehicles, well…yeah, that is an easy target, isn’t it? Trucks and truck-like vehicles have had some pretty blended roles over the last thirty years or so. Growing up in the 1980s, the idea was that you either wanted the handling and overall feel of a car or the utility, durability and brutality of a truck, and neither the two shall meet. As a result, a lot of the two-car households usually had some kind of car and some kind of truck…in my case, that would look like a Chrysler E-class and a Ford F-250, or a Chevrolet Cavalier wagon and a Ford F-100 stepside, or an Oldsmobile Omega and a Dodge Ramcharger.
Then you bring in vehicles that blur the lines. The AMC Eagle wagon for instance…truck-like car. It looked like every small AMC wagon made since 1970, but it behaved like a truck. Or you have the GMC Syclone, a car-like truck. Sure, it had a bed on it, but up to that point, no pickup truck had behaved quite like the all-wheel-drive, turbocharged terror in black did. And as the years have progressed, the lines have blurred to the point where it’s almost a moot point. Ford, for example, has recently released the next-generation Escape, which looks like an off-roader special version of the Focus, while the upcoming Bronco is being geared up for a fight with the iconic Jeep Wrangler…car-like trucks.
With that, we want to know where you stand on the idea. Do you prefer your car to be able to act like a truck on occasion, or do you just like your truck to have the positive attributes of a car?
(Donations for McTaggart’s mental health care can be sent to…)
What a “whiney little bitch”. It’s a 1990 classic that has a heritage that goes back before your parents were born…deal with it. Having owned an ’89 GW, the “restoration” may not included a total front end rebuild. Adding a heavy duty steering stabilizer does help tremendously. The most serious problem is rear frame rot because the gas tank skid pan traps water. Found a comp. in RI that makes weld in repair plates.
My old man had about four of them. Starting with a ‘ 66 and ending with a ‘ 74. All of them were one big POS. Probably the ” 66 was the best with a Hurricane six and three speed on the column.
I’d love to be able to own one. A 91 with a 5.7 Hemi swap would be a cool off roader. Because I don’t foresee myself not owning a truck for quite some time to come, a car-like truck suits me. I can hustle my Hemi Ram through the mountains pretty much as easily as I could with a car, and it’s not tremendously thirstier than our somewhat underpowered Nitro.
I like cars that can do truck like stuff. My Rampage was a great little run about and could haul most of what I needed. My Roadmaster could tow like a full size truck and fit a 4×8 sheet of plywood. My Subaru daily has actually got down on some pretty gnarly trails. I’ve never thought that any of my trucks should ride more like a car.
I’m partial to vans personally. My last one, European “MPV”, was good to drive, could carry all manner of stuff and largely wasn’t worried about the goat tracks that pass for highways here in Australia.
Only advantage my current SUV has over it is the SUV is a proper 4×4, with low range, factory locker and a winch, and can tow more. But it’s only been off road once, in it’s entire life! I’m going back to vans after this thing.
I would just want a car that can tow 3000 lbs like the old cars did. The new cars with all wheel drive are great in the snow…. but when you need a sheet of plywood or drywall for the weekend project…. you need a truck or larger SUV to tow a small trailer. Most cars are now only rated to tow 1000 lbs…. my atvs and lawn tractor can tow that!
Now if I had a camper or boat etc then I would need the larger SUV or a Pickup. So currently I have an all wheel drive car for gas mileage and a SUV to tow a 7×14 trailer rated at 2990 lbs capacity.