Technically RAM has one but it's just a small generator that gives it slightly more grunt off the line but I know that's not what you meant. But, Ford's had one since 2021. https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/?gnav=header-electrified-vhp
Supposedly VW is trying to do a hybrid truck. Iirc, the truck segment is by far the most profitable for most of the big 3 manufacturers, and I cannot fathom why this isn't a bigger deal. I'd by an electric truck if it were in the 40k and below price bracket, and wasn't a cybertruck.
Also, Chevy has a full EV. https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/silverado-ev They stopped making their Silverado hybrid, but I've heard they're coming back with a new hybrid powertrain next year? (They have a Blazer EV, too.) I don't know if Rivian counts as a major manufacturer (they still have financial backing from Ford), or if it's "full size" - payload falls between Chevy Silverado and Chevy Colorado. https://rivian.com/r1t
See, I don't want that. I want simple, a powerful, naturally aspirated V8 or turbo diesel for towing. A power train configuration I can count on because it's been working for decades. But for a daily, for my take the kid to school grocery getter, never far from home or local help, I don't mind going electric or super efficient ICE/hybrid car. The gas savings alone, from not driving the thirsty V8, almost pay for the smaller car. It's the reason I still have the mini cooper that I hate, because it literally uses half the gas to do what I need to most, take the kid to school and get groceries.
I use the truck for everything. But that's a lot easier to stomach when you live in an area where gas is currently $2.70 and diesel is $3.11
Gas is about $3.30 here. If I used my truck for everything since I bought it, it would have nearly 200k miles on it already. But it's cheaper to drive the Element or the Mini, by a lot. Use less gas, put out less pollution, and it's cheaper to maintain and replace a little car than a truck. 88 miles a day is my minimum driving Monday thru Friday while my kid is in school. For me and my situation, it's cheaper to own the truck and an efficient car for when I don't need the truck, than it is to just own the truck.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...d827&zip=23927#listing=387055353/NONE/DEFAULT @downndirty If you really want to be thrifty, go out and spend $6k on a 12 year old Toyota Yaris with 150k miles. Maintain the absolute shit out of it, like you want it to last forever, because you do. Drive it like a grandma for 100k more miles at 30+ mpg. Sell it for $4000 in 10-15 years, because inflation. I gave $5,700 for our Honda about 8 years ago, and put over 60k+ miles on it. I could probably get around $4k for it today. I've had to do ball joints and bushings on the front end. But no other big repairs, just fluid changes, brakes and tires, batteries. A/C fan switch and CV axles. I thought the clutch was slipping a while back, but it was the pedal sticking a little bit right at the top as you let it out, sprayed it with some stuff and it's still going. Don't be afraid to drive vehicles near the end of their depreciation curve. It's where the real savings happen. And it kept all those miles off my truck.
I bought a one owner 02 LeSabre with 120k on it for $2200, kept it for 5 years and sold it for $2500 with 265000 miles on it. CV axles, front struts, brakes and tires is all I did. My daily commute is 93 miles. I’ve put less than 3000 miles on my truck in those 5 years. I just found a 09 Grand Prix, one owner, literal old lady owned with 88,xxx on it for 3200. Has brand new tires, brand new brakes and struts. Other than maintenance I’ll get another 100K out of it easily. It’s a base model that doesn’t even have ABS so no expensive options to fix. if you can find a Vibe with 150k or less buy that, you can’t kill them. I couldn’t find one within 200 miles of me otherwise I would have went with that.
The Vibe is essentially a Toyota Matrix so you get Toyota reliability with Pontiac pricing. I'm in California so to hell with all your gas prices.
Project Farm just did a great video on doing maintenance on his 300k mile truck... it was really interesting and well done.
That is boss level thrifty, right there. I thought I was going good with my little, high mileage cars. Way to recognize value. Honestly, I never even considered cars from GM, but my old truck treated me well.
I am appreciative of the late 90's over-engineered Japanese cars, and the older models that have very few bells and whistles that age well. I read that the average age of the cars on the road in the US right now is 12.5, and I assume some of the bailout years models are already trashed. Most of the stuff I've seen pre-2007 is just...fixable. Sure, there's stuff I don't wanna do, but there's ample youtube videos out there, most of the tools and hardware (lifts, etc.) needed aren't stupid expensive (harbor freight, for when you're only doing it once and you're gonna curse the entire time!) or exclusive (why the FUCK do they not have standard USB connectors for this nonsense?), and plenty of parts available, especially now that a bunch of the larger junkyards have stuff online. I dunno what some of the newer cars boast aside from electric/hybrid. Lane assist? Back up camera? Sure, I guess. But if I'm buying a new car, I basically need to plan on getting rid of it before the warranty goes, because I've seen what some of those electronics cost to fix, and...whew. Gf's Hyundai racked up $25k in mechanic time due to the computer, thankfully under warranty. If it wasn't, she'd have had to sell the car and it's barely 5 years old. My sister had a 2003 Wrangler, and when it needed a new clutch, she got a couple of quotes from mechanics around town, and then posted in a Facebook group the lowest one, and said "if one of y'all wants to do this in my garage, here's what I'd pay in cash (I think it was $100 less than the quote) , and I'll supply my own parts and beer. It was done by a guy and his teenage kid over a weekend, and the cash went to parts for the kid's Jeep.
Also, for DD, do you think you'd end up with the same result if it had been you instead of your sister?
I went on ahead an took the dashboard out of my truck last weekend to replace the A/C evaporator. Here's how it went down. Spoiler I start by removing the steering column. Be sure to tie the wheel and keep it from spinning, as this can ruin the airbag "clock spring." Spoiler Unplug everything connected to the column. You'll be left with this mini-harness. Spoiler Here are the four bolts/ studs that hold the column in place. Spoiler Aaaaand it's out. Spoiler Next, there are more wires to unplug. These are for the HVAC controls. Spoiler Next, go to the fuse box and unplug everything. Don't worry about labeling anything, because these plugs can only go one way. Spoiler There are about ten bolts holding the dashboard to the cab. Some of them are accessed through the defroster vents. Spoiler Removal is as shown. Spoiler The bolts have an interference fit, so they are going to fight you the whole way out. Observe the shiny spot on the threads; that's a raised area. There are three raised areas along each bolt. I call them "triangle bolts," but I'm sure that's not the proper term. More to come.
Spoiler With those bolts taken care of, the last thing holding the dash in are the center support brackets. There's one on each side of the transmission tunnel. Spoiler With the passenger airbag removed, you're ready to pull the dash back. Note that I said "back," not "out"... Spoiler These fucking wires for the airbag module (under the seats) keep you from removing the whole assembly from the cab. I'm not taking out the seats, so I just move the dashboard back, onto the seats. Spoiler Now, you can see the HVAC box. there are some bolts/ studs accessed from the engine side of the firewall. I forgot to take pictures, but I'm sure y'all can figure it out when you do this at home. Spoiler With the HVAC box out, next is disassembly. If any of y'all have been wondering what Li'l Bandit looks like these days, here he is. Spoiler This is what the inside of the box looks like, with the evaporator (right) and heater core (left) Spoiler And here's the cause of the whole mess. Thank you, Ford, for never putting Cabin Air Filters in your trucks. Spoiler And here it is under a black light. This picture really doesn't do it justice; it had pin-hole leaks EVERYWHERE.