Reading the HN version of truck drivers is such a stark contrast to interfacing with actually contractors on a day to day basis.
A vehicle being comfortable and luxurious isn’t something only the bourgeoisie can appreciate. People who work spend a lot of time in their vehicles too.
As you say though I do see trades workers with the fancy pickup trucks (often with a trailer, cant scratch that bed paint aha) which I attribute to low interest on auto loans and poor business sense.
Certain jobs in certain trades, not all of them
> and a 80k f150 platinum
Base F150 starts at half that. This is silly
Correct, which is why I used said most trades and not all trades
> Base F150 starts at half that. This is silly
The average new vehicle price in the US is 50k, people are not buying the base model.
$50K is much closer to the $40K base model than the $80K platinum model.
Everyone loves to cite the platinum model as if all the contractors or CEOs or whoever were bashing today are driving it, but most people are not buying the most expensive models.
Half of the vehicles are below 50k.
This is a textbook example of a case where median would be better.
No it isn't [1].
> There seems to be no limit these days to how lavishly equipped, not to mention expensive, full-size standard-duty pickup trucks have become at the upper reaches of their respective model lines. [...] They’re brash and uniquely American alternatives to fine-tuned European luxury SUVs. For those keeping score, Kelley Blue Book says the average full-size pickup sold for $66,386 last month, due in large part to the growing popularity of such upscale models.
Sixty. Six. Thousand. Dollars.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2026/01/14/the-cos...
The online crowd has such a love for sprinter vans, I don't see anyone talking about them except a very small group.
The people around me have F250s + a trailer twice the size of a small sprinter. They can work and have a small house behind them when needed.
Sprinter/Transit will NOT replace F250s.