Posted on 01/02/2017 12:50:18 PM PST by heterosupremacist
“People in Texas will buy trucks even if they’re not going to haul anything heavier than raindrops.”
The NY Times went on safari to Texas, and it has an article about a peculiar love of the natives for trucks, Rodeo Offers a 90-M.P.H. Glimpse of Texans’ Truck Mania:
Tim Spell has noticed a peculiar condition that affects Texans’ mental, physical and automotive well-being.
“I call it ‘truck-itis,’” said Mr. Spell, the former automotive editor for The Houston Chronicle. “People in Texas will buy trucks even if they’re not going to haul anything heavier than raindrops. I was interviewing one guy. He had a 4-by-4. I said: ‘You live in Houston. Why do you have this 4-by-4?’ He said, ‘Well, I own a bar, and 4-by-4s are higher, and I can climb up on the cab and change out the letters of my marquee.’”
Whether for high-up urban letter-switching or more rural and rugged purposes, pickup trucks are to Texas what cowboy boots and oil derricks are to the state — a potent part of the brand. No other state has a bigger influence on the marketing of American pickup trucks.
Having diagnosed the symptoms and named the disease, the Times tried to understand by taking a safari to the Texas Truck Rodeo:
This year’s rodeo, held in October at the Longhorn River Ranch here in Dripping Springs, in the Hill Country outside Austin, left me with a new appreciation for the word truck-a-thon….
At the outdoor awards ceremony, everyone gawked at the two-handled Truck of Texas trophy. In the end, it went to the 2017 Ford Super Duty. A mere five voting points separated the Titan from the Super Duty. John Rieger, Ford’s Super Duty brand manager, gave the trophy a long kiss in the glow of the headlights.
(Excerpt) Read more at legalinsurrection.com ...
The staff at the NYT can’t understand why everyone doesn’t drive a Volvo - or a Bentley.
Or Alaska!
...and people who buy the NY Times need to wrap fish and wipe their @$$3$. What’s their point?
There is a guy at my place of business that is maybe 5’6 or so.
He has a 2016 quad cab Dodge 4x4 power wagon.
One of my aunts has a jeep Wrangler but she is hardly a redneck.
And I love Tennessee.......some of my family came from there........:)
Oh yes I know that very well. Used to go to Huntsville when the kids were little and visit Sam Houstons home. Poor ol’ Davy Crockett sure made a bad choice when he left Washington as to where he was headed. He’s revered here in Texas as well........;)
To be fair...
I grew up in Tahoe and lived most of my life in the mountains of California, Oregon, and Idaho. I never understood NASCAR, 500 channels of cable TV, cruiser motorcycles, Bass Pro Shop, Cabelas, wild pig hunting, tractor pulls, “muddin’” and all those “redneck” things coastal liberals hate, until I actually moved to Wichita Falls Texas. There was so little to do (at least what I was use to) you understand why these things are popular in that part of the country. It’s fun. And that’s just what you do. While flyover country can do just fine without the coastal ‘betters’ they would die in 3 days without us. They will dictate what a farmer in Oklahoma can plant on his property all while calling the farmer stupid for not doing what the smart people do. “What do we need farmers for? I just get my food at the Organic Co-Op grocery store.”
That took be back for a minute. My grandfather had a ‘64 long bed Chevy pick up...same color and my cousin still has it. Sigh, what memories and yours is a beaut........;)
My uncle had two 87 full size 4WD longbed Chevrolet pickups that were the same paint and trim.
One he has had for I don’t know how many years and it has been run to death a lot. The other he bought a couple of years back and it was in really great shape.
Recently he sold the nice one to a guy in Ohio. The ragged old bucket is still in SC.
He has a later Tacoma among other things. Why he did what he did is beyond me.
I’d love to have had it but out of my price range and nowhere to keep it.
There is that old 79 Blazer that is storage.
“Texas, yes...But throughout the South, a pickup is what a Mercedes is to the NYT...”
And some of them cost almost as much.
A few days ago not far from the NC/SC border I ran into a guy with a beige color 82 long bed full size 2WD that was pretty much all original and ran great.
He was pulling a U-Haul trailer to Alabama I think.
You know Sam Houston was born and raised just outside of Maryville, TN...His mother is buried in Baker Creek Cemetery in Greenback, TN...
They sure do....
Trucks are popular all over, not just Texas.
I love my truck. And it rarely carries more than raindrops, as mentioned in the article. But I still love it.
Yes, you need a truck. That’s exactly what I’m talking about.
the problem I have with modern trucks is they are outrageously expensive, trucks used to be inexpensive and practical. Now trucks are neither.
proud owner of a 2002 Dodge Ram with Cummins and Roof Rack 220,000 miles. Yeah it’s used for real work
There’s a Dodge Ram pickup that starts at $52k. I tried to price it out, but I realized that I don’t speak pickup well enough to know what options I’m adding. But I bet it got more expensive fast.
Personally, I own a ‘99 Durango with about 160k on it. For less than the price of a new truck I could teach this one to fly.
So?
She is a good country type of woman. For my uncle to have married her, she would have to be.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.