It's like, how much more grill could there be? and the answer is none. None more grill.

You could always use that poor dusty VW to drive on nice days 

and sell me your miata

The next time you drop by be sure you don't speak to my wife, or I'll knee cap you with a chunk of pipe. She doesn't need any allies.

oldopelguy said:

I've been wondering lately if the reason why we can't get the AWD Transit here is because of the sales it would rob from the pickups. I know in my case that the day they become available I will be ordering one and getting rid of most of my other trucks. 

For my purposes the Astro has worked fine. I've had two of them and they've been decent appliances  to tow with for the last twenty years. But passenger vans aren't in vogue right now. A Transit passenger van with AWD might be as good a substitute as one could ask for. Even the RWD version might do me well and I haven't really looked at one. Next Sunday morning trip to the dealer lot I'll have to go see what they have in inventory. 

Edit: Towing capacity seems to be 4500 lb., less than the Astro.

DeadSkunk said:

  I know a crew cab pickup is probably the best available tool for the job, but driving a 7000 pound vehicle for a DD seems silly for my situation. I'm looking at 2wd Tahoes/Suburbans/Expeditions as an alternative and have been searching for a good Econoline, too. I keep thinking the upcoming Ranger might be the ticket.

What are you towing? If it's an open trailer + car, I'd take a look at the upcoming Ranger and Gladiator. Both look interesting and could tow well enough while meeting your other requirements. I have a 2018 crew cab, short bed F150 and if I didn't have an enclosed trailer, I'd have a smaller truck. The power folding running boards help with getting in to the cab, but they are Lariat+ trim levels only.

In reply to Appleseed :

The problem with airflow at Mach 3 is too much air, hence the moveable intake spikes on the SR-71.  The airflow problem on a snowplow is too little air, hence the complete butt-ugliness.  Sad part is, we don't need the genius of a Kelly Johnson to solve the problem, all it takes is a fan. When plow is attached, the Aux fan kicks in.  A third-grader could wire that up! 

In reply to Brake_L8 :

Open trailer and cars that weight 2500 lb, or less. My Astros had tow ratings of 5300 lb. I think, so the new Ranger or a Colorado/Canyon should do it fine. I think both are availble with ratings of 7700 lb. The Gladiator might make me feel like a poser. 

In reply to pinchvalve :

A lot of the newer trucks have gone to electric fans for efficiency.  Given enough grille area for ram air at speed, it works fine.  But it can't keep up as well with a big engine driven fan for airflow when you stick a plow on the front and force the fan to provide all of the airflow.  

Jumper K Balls said:

stan said:

 

...and can *anyone* tell me why the beds have to be so high as to (almost) need a ladder to just look in the bed. The bed has to match the front height I guess. 

To make it as difficult as possible to use it as a hauling device?

I am going to lower my Avalanche simply because I cannot reach a gas can in the bed from the outside. I am a freaking 6' tall long armed adult. I shouldn't have to drop the tailgate and crawl into the bed to get something out of it!

Ever had to load a hide-a-bed sofa into one of these lifted trucks? It is an absolute nightmare.

This. I work in construction and watching people use these as actual trucks is funny, especially when they lift it for optimum brodozer.

Saw a guy unloading plywood from the bed of his truck. It was shoulder height. Thats stupid.

Plus a 72 f250 is about the size of a colorado these days, which is also insane

When I used to drive vehicles with plows I never saw overheating as long as it was cold out.  Well below feezing.

I have friends that drive with plows and none have mentioned overheating as long as it was cold.  Some even tow a closed trailer at the same time.

Anyone notice that the big trucks are going to smaller grills ?

DeadSkunk said:

To get in I had to haul myself up by grabbing the steering wheel. She couldn't reach the grab handle on the passenger side. While the height does give you the sensation of piloting a river boat from the wheelhouse, it also makes judging how close you are to obstacles more difficult.

when I bought my Disco, I was the same height as most pickups. Now it looks small compared to the new ones.

According to the wikis, a GMT400 standard cab was 213" long, 77" wide, and 73" tall.  The new K2XX trucks are 224" long (assuming you can find a standard cab long bed, but supposedly they do make them), 80" wide and 74" tall.  

A Colorado is 210" long, 74" wide and 70" tall.  Which, if you go waay back, was about the size of the 60's Chevy trucks.  

More grille, you say? MORE

Actually, this isn't bad

Yes it is.

In reply to FSP_ZX2 :

Okay, it's better. Centering the grille bar makes it look a bit less funky.

NickD said:

Actually, this isn't bad

This right here is what it should look like and that should be an optional cross bar if it already isn’t, like it is on the 1500 Silverado. 

Chevy released pictures of the High Country. This looks way better than the Z71, still odd, but better.  I wish they would show a long bed or a dualle. 

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid :

That's a bit better. The headlights don't look as out of place on it, the front end is still gigantic though.

I'm going to nitpick something easy to change; but what's up with those wheels? They look like cheap chrome wheels you find in the discount sections of a PepBoys.

Those bed step pockets are going to be the first spot to rust out on those trucks.  Just a big, honking scoop for the salt monster to grab a hold of.

The0retical said:

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid :

I'm going to nitpick something easy to change; but what's up with those wheels? They look like cheap chrome wheels you find in the discount sections of a PepBoys.

Factory installed truck rice. Gotta get them chrome rayumz.

In reply to The0retical :

That’s what the High Country Wheels always look like. Chrome apparently means you paid the big bucks. 

What's up with the mirror attachments?!? There's three 90 degree changes between the door and the mirror when they could have just gone straight out from the giant plastic piece that's in the window area. WTF?