Why a pickup?

Grit dog wrote:

Powerdude wrote:
The problem is that the manufacturers cheapen everything year after year, in an effort to cut costs.

So what once was considered good enough to tow something, is now automatically suspect, and what was once considered heavy duty, is now barely enough.

So now you have to spend more $$, or at least do some serious research, before you buy something as complex as a tow vehicle.

SUV's are supposed to fill a market niche, and that market niche is "family car".

That niche does not tow as frequently as truck people, and so the "family car/SUV" market research shows that, and thus it does not get the heavier duty components that trucks use (most of the time, not necessarily all of the time). So, you have to do your research.

Idk, I'm not that old man, but I must have missed the "quality" years back in the good old days. But what I remember is engines that lasted 100-150k tops, transmissions that lasted less miles than that and things like drum brakes and c rap rusted together.....or apart.
Not sure how a run of the mill _______(insert your favorite half ton pickup or SUV) with huge 4 wheel disks, 6-10 speed transmissions, 400hp and a chassis that is light years stiffer than any old "quality" pickup could be considered cheaply constructed.
Really, what was considered good enough to tow _______back in the day now suffers from a bunch of internet experts that never really worked vehciles to their breaking points and now have a wealth of knowledge and specifications and opinions at their fingertips to either tout or gripe about.

You give me a new Chevy Tahoe and you take a perfect factory condition 1978, 88 or 98 K10 suburban and guess which one will tow safer and with more authority up and down the hills.

Well, I can tell you for sure that with less electronics and less power, and less gizmos, vehicles were easier to diagnose and repair than newer vehicles.

One NOx sensor can knock out an entire emissions system, and put a vehicle in limp mode now. You need a tow just to get home.

Alternators used to be simple to replace and were usually $69 bucks, and one belt to change. Fuel filters and/or most fuel pumps used to be in line on the fuel line. 10 minute job to change if you had a clog or bad gas. Now you have to drop the whole tank to change a fuel pump.

You could pull the distributor off, clean the points with a little sandpaper, and be on your way. Not anymore if an ECM module goes out, its $799 just for the part.

I'm not that old either, but I do remember buying a distributor cap for $5.99 and swapping it out in the parking lot. 10 minute job and I was on my way.