RobertRyan wrote:
Lessmore wrote:
To a certain point it's interesting to see what the other parts of the world does regarding truck needs, regulations, payloads....how they do things differently, etc.
But in the end, I think the subject has been covered very thoroughly and on a regular basis, by Robert Ryan. Thanks Robert you've covered it very well. Your job is done.
As others have pointed out that different parts of the world require different types of vehicles due to...different social- economic situations, regulations, road and climatic conditions, customer needs and wants, etc.
I know myself, when it comes to cars or light trucks...I like them big. I like big cabins, lot's of legroom so I can stretch out my long legs, shoulder room so my shoulder doesn't hit the window or side post, comfort and I prefer power over fuel economy....although a balance between these two is good.
Where I live (Western Canada) and travel (Canada/USA) roads are generally wide, straight and traveling long distance is the norm.
I've traveled in Europe, rented cars and realize that my vehicles, built/designed for North American needs/tastes would have some difficulty on some old narrow town roads in England, France, etc.
But the little European Ford and Peugeot that I drove over there....worked fine getting around. I glad the Peugeot had a tiny little 4 banger (1000cc I believe) as fuel costs were very expensive compared to over here.
In the end I find, I'm happy to drive in a North American vehicle in North America...just as I'm sure many in other parts of the world are satisfied with the vehicles available/designed for their market and no one is right or wrong.
People are satisfied with the vehicles they drive.Europeans do not drive Pickups as a rule.In Asia is it is exact opposite. In Australia we love Pickups and SUV's but not US Pickups, not because they are big, but a lack of Off Road ability and payload, to a lesser extent Fuel economy. The head of Toyota Australia said there was a terrific demand for the Tundra, but when he was giving details he quoted a Diesel with RHD and a expected selling rate of 100 Vehicles a Month! That does not make sense
You bring up a great point about the Tundra in Australia issue. Lee Iacocca was in a similar situation in Japan in the 1980's. The Jeep Cherokee was, and still is, incredibly popular in Japan. He was offered by the Japanese Government an opportunity to build a Jeep plant in Japan. The down side was Japan having a strict limitation, ten percent of total market share to be exact, on non-Japanese vehicles. He would be extremely handicapped in the amount of vehicles that could be produced and sold there due to said volume restrictions. China did not put any volume restrictions on vehicles sold in their marketplace, and the Cherokee was also immensely popular there as well. He ended up putting a plant in China. Mustangs are quite popular in Japan as well. Ford of Australia also built RHD Mustangs, so Ford offered the Japanese buyers their choice of LHD or RHD Mustangs for a few model years. I believe the selling rate was less than ten units a year of the RHD version. Buyers overwhelmingly wanted the LHD Mustang, exactly as they would have in the U.S..
