Free Republic

I'm considering buying a new pick-up. Why new? Because it will most likely be the last vehicle I'll ever buy and I want it to last. So, I was looking at Ford F150s last night and my jaw dropped. One of the trucks was priced at $66,000!! For crying out-loud! $66K?? The one I liked the best was priced at $49,000! I'm in real estate and you can buy property cheaper! I thought perhaps some of the more experienced, wiser freepers could answer this question: Just how much does it actually cost to manufacture/produce one of these? (Or any other...

At 87, Randall Pitman is driving a truck that's older than he is. But much like its owner, Pitman's beloved 1927 Ford Model T still has a lot of mileage left in it. This weekend, the pair will cover more than 600 kilometres winding from Pitman's South Ohio, N.S., home to a vintage truck show in Crapaud, P.E.I., that's expected to draw hundreds of vehicles and their admirers. This time, the truck will travel on a flatbed, but Pitman has driven it that far in years past. While he could find replacement parts and fix the antique himself if it...

Seven motorcyclists were killed and three others injured when they collided with a pickup truck going the opposite direction in New Hampshire, police said. Authorities received a call around 6:30 p.m. Friday about a motor vehicle crash on Route 2 in Randolph, New Hampshire State Police Capt. Chris Vetter said. The pickup truck, a 2016 Dodge 2500, was traveling west on Route 2 while the motorcyclists were traveling east, police said. State police collision analysis and reconstruction teams are investigating the crash, and will continue overnight in conjunction with local police and the Coos County Attorney's Office. "Route 2 is...

An antifa agitator who had been spouting off about virtues of communism while counter-protesting a pro-Trump “March For Jesus” in Portland, Oregon, was run over by a small pickup truck. The unidentified, uhh, person (gender unclear) apparently had some kind of weapon, as you can hear some of the pro Trump command the person (?) to get rid of their weapon. The communist then bolts across the Hawthorne bridge, only to be HIT SQUARE ON by a pickup truck, who had just emerged beyond the trusses of the bridge, and was likely unable to see the person (?) running through...

Authorities in Pakistan said a man is facing charges after a viral video showed him driving around Karachi with a lion in the bed of his pickup truck. The video, recorded in the Karimabad area this week, shows the black pickup cruising down a street with the lion casually lounging in the back, unrestrained by anything except a leash held by a man inside the vehicle. The video was reported to police, who identified the lion's owner as Saqlain Jawaid, a Karachi pet dealer. Jawaid said he has the proper permits to keep the lion and the incident in the...

First-quarter profit at General Motors rose nearly eight times above a year ago as U.S. consumers spent big on pickups and SUVs and the company didn’t have to set aside a huge stack of money to pay for recalls. The Detroit automaker said it made $945 million, as consumers got used to lower gasoline prices and decided to buy bigger vehicles. That’s right in GM’s sweet spot, with trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Cadillac Escalade large SUV. Profit margins on the trucks are sizable, with analysts estimating that GM makes more than $10,000 per vehicle. In the...

DETROIT — A suburban Detroit man was in critical condition Thursday with severe head injuries after a neighborhood mob beat and kicked him when he stopped to check on a 10-year-old boy who stepped from a curb into the path of his pickup. The 54-year-old man, whose name was not released, was being treated at a Detroit hospital as police scoured the east side neighborhood where he was attacked Wednesday afternoon. The boy, David Harris, was expected to recover from his injuries, according to Desmond Key, who said he was the 10-year-old’s uncle. The driver — who lives just north...

After a great ride, the days of big pickup trucks driving sales and profits for U.S. car companies is over for good, a victim of rising fuel costs, a troubled economy and changing consumer tastes. About half of the pickup market -- the buyer who didn't need a pickup for his work -- evaporated over the past decade. That same buyer isn't likely to return as he has in the past, industry experts say. The big pickup, an American icon, has been down-and-out many times before but has always managed to stage a comeback whenever times were good. That cheered...

A part of my American Dream, that I litterally fought for life to maintain, is my pickup truck and the drives, experiences, and lessons it has supplied to me, my kids, and now my grandkids. I will not allow mettling socialists in Washington DC, or anywhere else to take it from me. Hope it makes you smile... "Just click on any Picture for the Slide Show"

The newest member of the Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) just finished casting his first votes of his Senatorial career today but what might be equally important to his supporters is that his beloved green GMC truck, one of the most memorable symbols of the campaign, has arrived at the Capitol. Brown's staff said he and his wife drove it down from Massachusetts. *snip* After his upset victory over Democrat Martha Coakley, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Brown that he could park it anywhere he’d like on Capitol Hill. Looks like Brown has taken McConnell up on the offer. The...

It would be great if we could organize a series of rallies all up and down the I-95 Corridor to cheer Scott Brown on as he drive the truck down to Washington DC. He is supposed to be driving down Thursday or Friday, so time is obviously short. Maybe it is just a fantasy, but wouldn't it be grand to have a Scott Brown Truck Tour, so all of the folks who weren't lucky enough to be in Massachusetts to vote for him got a chance to come out and show their support? Think of all the free publicity, and...

Republican Scott Brown has been running ads in Massachusetts where he is out driving around in his old pickup truck while campaigning for US Senator something Marcia Martha Coakley refuses to do. On Sunday Barack Obama slammed Scott Brown and his truck several times in his Bush-bashing campaign speech for Martha Coakley. Obama - Everybody Can Buy A Truck Maybe Barack Obama didn't notice that Scott Brown's truck is a GM truck. A GMC Canyon Hat Tip ebayer Maybe Obama forgot that the US now OWNS General Motors. You'd think he'd want Americans to Buy GM; not Bash GM? You'd...

On the lighter side, and for those interested in outfitting their vehicle (particularly pickup trucks) with the necessary implements to address global warming and climate change, I offer the following video: YOUTUBE VIDEO: Ranch Hand "Summit" front bumper replacement-deer guard Ranch Hand pickup truck accessories are made in Texas. So, while we are down here, GAil (aka the boss) gave me permission, purely as a cost saving measure you understand, to purchase a couple of long desired accessories for the truck. I didn't have to be told twice...hehehe. Here are some more pictures. Installation...I'd love to have helped, but with...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office and Hurlburt Office of Special Investigation discovered an explosive device in the back of a truck that had base access after receiving an anonymous tip Tuesday morning. At about 6 a.m., deputies received an untraceable call and alerted Hurlburt Security personnel of the potential danger. The male voice had warned that a man working at Hurlburt Field had explosives on his truck. Hurlburt Field security levels were raised at 10 a.m. when morning searches for the truck came up empty. The caller's partial description eventually led investigators to a man with access to the base...

After more than two decades, the ghost of the El Camino has finally risen from the grave, at least for U.S. drivers. It never actually went away in Australia. Now that the Pontiac G8 has ushered in a new era of affordable rear-wheel-drive performance at General Motors, the car-based pickup truck, or Ute as they are called Down Under, is coming back. Rumors have been flying for months about a G8 Ute and GM even showed the GMC Denali XT concept at the Chicago Auto Show last month – a four-door ute with a two-mode hybrid power-train that may or...

SANTEE – Six people were injured Tuesday night, two of them seriously, when a pickup carrying suspected illegal immigrants crashed at state Route 125 and Mission Gorge Road, the Sheriff's Department said. According to witnesses, the pickup never slowed down shortly before 11:15 p.m. as it entered the intersection where northbound SR-125 ends at Mission Gorge Road, sheriff's Sgt. Anthony Ray said. The truck drove over the curb and went through a wooden fence before coming to rest on a dirt mound. Deputies found four people in the back of the truck. Two others ran from the accident but were...

<p>You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she carries around in the back of the pickup truck during the eight months it's not summer in Alaska.</p> <p>The battered bed of my 1995 Ford 150 contains essential survival gear, in addition to the usual assortment of Alaskan accouterments...</p>

Blount County authorities say an alcohol-induced decision to try a couple of laps at the Smokey Mountain Speedway led to a strange getaway. A police report says officers responding to a call at the speedway found Dana Marie Gragin sitting beside a pickup truck, which was on its side. Gragin told officers she wanted to drive on the race track. On her second lap, the truck went into the wall and overturned. Deputies say Gragin smelled strongly of alcohol. She also had a companion. He wasn't around, but his wallet was and it identified him as Dennis Maynard Kimsey, also...

A Bentleyville man was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital Friday afternoon after his motorcycle was struck from behind and he flew 33 feet through the air and landed in the bed of a pickup truck in North Strabane Township. Jeffrey D. Cull, 40, of 503 Washington St., had stopped his motorcycle because traffic had backed up in the southbound lanes of Route 519, near the Wilson Road intersection, at 4:18 p.m., when he was hit from behind by a car driven by Gerald Ethridge, 74, of 60 Carl Ave., Eighty Four, police said. After he was hit, Cull flew 33...

Sacramento, CA­ November 11, 2003 ­A zero-emission hydrogen-powered pick-up truck running on a fuel cell/battery hybrid engine is now for sale and available for delivery from Anuvu Incorporated, a pioneering developer and supplier of fuel cell products. Anuvu's Clean Urban pick-up truck, part of Anuvu's Clean Urban Vehicle (CUV) line, makes it possible for environmentally conscious consumers and institutions to own and operate fuel cell-powered vehicles. The truck demonstrates Anuvu's overall commitment to helping place hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road in order to jump-start wide usage of such vehicles. More hydrogen vehicles could justify increased infrastructure of hydrogen filling stations,...