Why do you still call it a "half ton"?
We have all heard and used the terms "half ton", "three-quarter ton", or "one ton" before. In fact these terms are tossed around here on a daily basis without even thinking about. But why? Most...
Forum Discussion
This: From Wikipedia (Pickup Truck):
In the American domestic market pickups are general categorized as:
Compact: introduced in the United States in the 1960s, compact pickups have a smaller footprint, and may have four cylinder engines.
Full-size, or half ton: In the United States the best selling type is the full-sized, or half-ton. These carry the designation "1500" in the case of the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Ram, and "150" in Ford's terminology.
Heavy duty: Heavier-duty pickups are designated 2500, 3500 (or F-250, F-350), and so on.
The terms half-ton and three-quarter-ton are a remnant from a time when the number referred to the maximum cargo capacity by weight.
And this from Consumer Reports (referenced in the Wikipedia article above:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/pickup-trucks/buying-guide.htm
Pickup nomenclature. By far the biggest-selling full-sized pickups, sometimes called half-ton trucks, carry the designation "1500" in the case of the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Ram, and "150" in Ford's parlance. Heavier-duty trucks are designated 2500, 3500 (or F-250, F-350) and so forth. The terms "half-ton" for the 1500s and three-quarter-ton" for the 2500s are widely used but obsolete: a holdover from decades ago when the number referred to the maximum cargo weight capacity. Conversationally, the 2500-series and heavier trucks are known as heavy duty," but that's not technically correct, either. The U.S. Government considers any truck that weighs less than 14,000 pounds, including 3500-series, to be a light-duty truck. But we'll continue to refer to 2500-series trucks as "heavy-duty," as these are serious workhorses.
In the American domestic market pickups are general categorized as:
Compact: introduced in the United States in the 1960s, compact pickups have a smaller footprint, and may have four cylinder engines.
Full-size, or half ton: In the United States the best selling type is the full-sized, or half-ton. These carry the designation "1500" in the case of the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Ram, and "150" in Ford's terminology.
Heavy duty: Heavier-duty pickups are designated 2500, 3500 (or F-250, F-350), and so on.
The terms half-ton and three-quarter-ton are a remnant from a time when the number referred to the maximum cargo capacity by weight.
And this from Consumer Reports (referenced in the Wikipedia article above:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/pickup-trucks/buying-guide.htm
Pickup nomenclature. By far the biggest-selling full-sized pickups, sometimes called half-ton trucks, carry the designation "1500" in the case of the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Ram, and "150" in Ford's parlance. Heavier-duty trucks are designated 2500, 3500 (or F-250, F-350) and so forth. The terms "half-ton" for the 1500s and three-quarter-ton" for the 2500s are widely used but obsolete: a holdover from decades ago when the number referred to the maximum cargo weight capacity. Conversationally, the 2500-series and heavier trucks are known as heavy duty," but that's not technically correct, either. The U.S. Government considers any truck that weighs less than 14,000 pounds, including 3500-series, to be a light-duty truck. But we'll continue to refer to 2500-series trucks as "heavy-duty," as these are serious workhorses.
