I don't believe the trucks are expensive now days, if you look at the price of vehicles versus the average wage, cars/trucks have substantially decreased in price, and the build quality has substantially increased.
If you think US$50k is expensive for a fully loaded truck, I had to pay about US$60k for my XL Super Cab with a stick... (with no factory options).

In reality plastic is required to meet safety requirements, metal hasn't got good cushioning/deformation properties, and yes plastic is cheaper.
I don't think plastic in general can be blamed for poor quality, it is the type of plastic and its application that makes it poor quality.
Anyone out there looked in a new VW/Audi and think that they have poor quality?
They use plastic, but they use aluminium, and metal for highlights, and there use of plastic is very tasteful.

Also those that believe that their older cars are safer are IMHO misguided, and any Kia/Hyundai that crashes into an F-Series, whether its new or old, will come of second best, simple laws of momentum, and I would much prefer to be in a newer vehicle with crumple zones etc. than some vehicle which has a steering column that is going to impale me on a front on...
Just my $0.02

 

sorry about that Tim, did not mean anything by it, just typing what i was thinking.

and BigF350- you are very right, it really does not matter that it is made of plastic, by today's standards the saftey in a vehicle is amazing compared to older trucks and cars too. In a simple collision with just some panel damage, and older truck may be better because of the steel, but anything more than just panel damage, and the thing saving your life is the technology put into the saftey systems

 

No problem just never again, I know how easy it is to "slip" one out....
Your help in maintaining this as a Family site is greatly appreciated. enjoy FTE.

 

I'm going to differ a little from you there. While crumple zones are cool in cars, I feel much safer in a full framed car, that's why I bought a Crown Victoria. I recently got into a crash in it while travelling at 45 mph (lady ran a stop sign, I didn't have one my direction). The lady pulled out from next to an econoline, so I hit her without hitting the brakes at all. Had I been in my mom's Kia, I probably would have been severely injured given that the other car was an early 70's Mercedes. Instead, I got out with just a fractured hand (honking horn when airbag went off), a taco'd hood, broken header panel, and busted fender. On the upside, I broke her rim in half, sent her bumper 30 ft down the road, and basically totalled out her entire front end. The frame on the Crown Vic isn't even bent. I believe that crumple zones are a good thing, but unibodies and plastic don't make me feel safe in a car.

 

exactly. Only in some cases will the crumple zones actually help you. Most of the time you get crushed. Run into a tree into my f-100 and it is one big BANG and you hit the windshild and steering wheel hard and it hurts, BUT at least you come out alive and not crushed to death.

 

Prices might have gone down over there but they have not over heree. Vehciles are more expensive then ever now and the build quailty is not there for the price you pay for a new truck. I bought a new truck once and I will never do it again I just get the fixxer uppers and the old/used ones and keep em runnin. The bad mileage offsets the $600 a month car payement.

 

Prices have gone down in figure terms, but if you factor in the increase of wages eg. a large locally made family car cost 70 weeks wages here, now they cost about 40 weeks wages.

 

Amen, FERacing66. Let's say I had $30,000 to spend on a new pickup. I could also purchase 3 show-quality restored late-sixties or seventies pickups for $10,000. If I just drive them until they fall apart, which do you think would go more miles, the one '04 F250, or the 3 fully restored '76 F250's?
I don't want to put Ford out of business, but I would like them to improve the quality of the new trucks instead of padding the profit margins to make up for low profit margins of other models.

 

Pretty much on the fence myself.

Plastic has a few advantages.
Won't dent.
Won't rust.
Lighter.
Color is in the plastic.

And a few disadvantages.
Fades or discolors over time.
Looks cheesy.
Not much structural contribution to a vehicle.

I think the cheesiest thing I've seen come out since the avalanche is the dodge grills. Which I believe are plastic. Theres more acres of chrome on one grill than a brigade of honor guard helmets. Let me get out my shades.

As for safety, all cars were built tougher way back when. It's just that they were a lot tougher than their passengers. A car might survive an accident where the occupants didn't.

 

Definately.

 

The reason they dont last anymore, is because there designed NOT to last, they want you to come and buy another one in 5 years.. Not drive it for 500k miles for 20 years(my 83 bronco is older than i am!)

 

I have an 86 BII...going for a big 100K on it real soon...I can only dream of 500 on it...

 

I don't understand all the plastic on the chevys. I don't know how much is on the fords or dodge's, but my dad's 03 superduty is all steel body. I saw a 1 ton dually chevy the other day, allmost new, the guy driving it had smacked both dually fenders on something, but instead of just needing to replace the extension like on most trucks, it took out both complete bedsides, allmost from the front to the back of the bed, nothing but inner bed. That has got to be the worst design I have ever seen. I also saw a woman rear end another in a parking lot in the winter, very lightly, would have put a very small dent in a steel fender of her car, but since it was plastic and brittle with the cold it just broke out a large chunk of fender. I think I will just keep driving my old 78 and deal with the rust and poor mileage then drive a plastic or over priced truck.

 

So who's plastic is put to better use?

 

I watched a tough truck exhibition after a Monster Truck show at a fair and the dodge was the "who's part# champ that night"?