`83
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 ...
Great post . . . so many things come to mind. I’ll start off with a guy who actually spent some in NYC . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWK8GgWD4uA
Texans like trucks because a gun rack don’t look right in the back window of a Prius.
Beautiful vehicle! Thanks for sharing!
Nice! My family had one on the farm that my father got rid of a few years ago.
We used to use it to haul silage to a bunch of Bulls that we would feed with beet forks.
Needless to say, the box was in terrible shape. I will never forget it though.
MFO
That era of Chevy truck is cool. The next body style is cool too — ‘67 to ‘72. One interesting factoid is that the step side trucks had the same bed panels from 1954 all the way through to the mid ‘80s. The fenders changed but the side panels and tailgate will interchange.
They know in their hearts that they are just drones,drones that wouldn’t last a day during a crisis.
I probably knew that at one time or another but forgot. I’m not that young.......lol
“Big Ol’ Truck”
By Toby Keith
Yeah you can see the girl comin’
From a mile away
She’s got her big wheels turnin’
She’s got Oklahoma plates
She’s got her sun roof up
She’s got her windows rolled down
And you oughta feel the ground shakin’
When she comes to town
Yeah I’m in love with the girl in the four-wheel drive
Chrome steel bumpers and red step side
She has a large time in her large machine
Man I wonder how she gets up in that thing
It casts a big shadow sittin’ in the sun
She’s got it revved up rockin’ ready to run
And someday soon I’m gonna climb right up
And take a little ride in her big ol’ truck
She’s got bucket seats fully customized
In your wildest dreams painted on the side
It was built to run, she was built to show
She’s got a Haggard hit playin’ on her stereo
Yeah I’m in love with the girl in the four-wheel drive
Chrome steel bumpers and red step side
She has a large time in her large machine
Man I wonder how she gets up in that thing
It casts a big shadow sittin’ in the sun
She’s got it revved up rockin’ ready to run
And someday soon I’m gonna climb right up
And take a little ride in her big ol’ truck
Yeah I’m in love with the girl in the four-wheel drive
Chrome steel bumpers and red step side
She has a large time in her large machine
Man I wonder how she gets up in that thing
It casts a big shadow sittin’ in the sun
She’s got it revved up rockin’ ready to run
And someday soon I’m gonna climb right up
And take a little ride in her big ol’ truck
Big ol’ truck
Ten feet tall, ten feet wide
It’s a big ol’ truck
Here she comes again man
He’d faint away when he saw me and my C7000 25 foot flatbed coming up fast in his rearview.
Me either...That’s my birth year in my name...LOL
Hey, I beat you by a year.......lol
Yeah but my birthday is day after tomorrow...LOL
You got me by a few months probably...
Old trucks like that are just fun because the driving experience is so different from a modern vehicle. I had a 1951 with a factory 4 speed on the floor. I had no particular use for an old truck but I loved having it. Just everything about it was neat — the sound of the starter, the metal dash, the vacuum operated wipers, the heavy steering and super long shifter, the smell of the interior and the exhaust. It just was total, pleasant sensory overload, totally immersive. It was like riding in a time machine. Made every trip like being in a movie. I bought it as a teenager and realized I couldn’t afford the resto work that it really needed. So I kept it for about a year then sold it in the local classifieds for what I had in it. The only work I did on it during that year was change the oil.
We **love** our truck. It's a great beach buggy and no trouble getting to the slopes to ski.
Trucks today are made to a higher luxury than the old days. The ride is comfortable, even in the 3/4 and 1 tons. They hold value, and always come in handy for hauling, home projects, gardening, moving, fishing, hunting, sports, etc.
`83
That pretty much describes my experience....I had a pal with an auto shop so I was able to rebuild the engine-—my first and only rebuild——which was fun and very instructive. I took way too much advantage of their knowledge and tools. But I also had insuff funds to even get it mechanically sound. I liked driving it while I had it, but we’re talking 1974 and me a lot younger and and living in a much more rural locale. Those trucks are pretty much indestructible, but that also means, with your 1953 brakes in the rain you run into a suburban Mercedes and you obliterate it. (difference in 60 year old brain vs 30 y/o brain) Anyway, I sold it and the engine blew up on the new owner about a month later. Guess my engine work wasn’t quite journeyman class.
1959 Chevrolet El Camino is the ride that I need...
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.