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Comment by bigdubs | Hacker News Reader

This comment struck me:

"He compared the PCs changing status to how trucks took a diminished role when the U.S. shifted to an industrial nation from an agrarian one."

It seems myopic now as the F-150 is still the #1 best selling vehicle in the US.

I do see the point of the PC as the 'utilitarian' device vs. the iOS devices as the more mainstream, recreational devices. The analogy was just bad.

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F-150's aren't the "trucks" he's talking about. F-150s are cars for people who want to feel like they're in a truck. In fact I think by "truck" he pretty much means "trucks not sold directly to consumers." Like a semi, an actual delivery truck, MAYBE an F-450 in a pinch.

Uhm, I can say with some certainty that a lot of North Dakota farmers would take issue with your statement. F-150s are workhorses around here and there is a bit of concern with the 2014 F-150 given the vehicles many uses.

I can see this being true in the cities, but it is also sold to a lot of contractors who take it to job sites. The Super Duty (F-450) is actually something to buy if you have a specialized need.

Isn't that the point of Job's statement? The F-150 workhorse is to the traditional computer as a Dodge Dart is to the iPhone / iPad.

It also seems to be true that many people who own these trucks have no use for them. I wish I had a picture of my high schools parking lot.

I think it is the point, some people still need all the power.

I guess some people like trucks or think they are fashion statements, but the sales figures don't get that high without the large number of people and companies buying them for professional reasons.

They're worried the 2014 model has been influenced by liberals and it doesn't pollute enough.

No, they're worried that the new construction is not as durable as the old construction. There are some fairly major changes such as moving to unibody aluminum from a ladder-frame steel. Fundamental changes tend to illicit worries in something that is as well known, used, and liked. Surprises are unwelcome in tools.

Your statement is just ill-informed crap that disparages others.

The frame on the new F150 is still steel, it's the body that's changing to aluminum. It's still using a steel ladder frame design, although they're using a higher strength steel to remove some of the weight from the frame.

No, they switched to a unibody aluminum http://www.trucktrend.com/features/consumer/163_news_130401_...

(although I did say 2014 for year when I should have said 2015 model released in 2014 - friggin car years)

link to news, not rumors:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230361280...

Guess you are correct, I was even told by the dealer, guess we all believed the rumors and the demo pickup. I wonder if that will change anything.

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/2015/

F150s are driven and used in MANY (perhaps most) capacities as trucks, for hauling/towing/etc, particularly outside the city. An F450 is a specialized Truck that is in a whole different price class and intention.

That's a bit like saying a Mercedes E300 isn't a luxury sedan, the only luxury sedan is a Bentley.

The farmers of Agrarian America did not drive semis and F-450's.

So F-150's are laptops then?

The F-150 might be the best selling vehicle, but are trucks the largest selling segment?

Yes.

"light-truck share at 51.2 percent with sales up 10.4 percent from last year." https://www.nada.org/Publications/NADADATA/

Directly from the report linked off that page: "In 2013, pickups held a market share of 13.6 percent of light-vehicle sales and 26.6 percent of light-truck sales"

From the accompanying graph, it looks like the definition of "light-truck" includes crossovers, SUVs, vans, and pickups.

https://www.nada.org/NR/rdonlyres/AAD0D79A-7C46-489F-B738-81...

“light trucks” is a category that includes both things that are obviously “trucks” (F-150, Tacoma, Ram, etc) and things that no sane person would ever call a truck in casual conversation, but are classified as such by the manufacturer (Outback, CR-V, Odyssey, etc).

I think that has changed since 2006ish. Outback/CR-V, etc are now classified as Crossovers (at least for sales purposes).

The light duty truck classification has to do with loaded weight rather than anything else as far as I remember... But maybe that has changed also?

I thought I remembered something like that too, but when I looked around I found lots of announcements like the following (July 2013): "Honda light trucks posted record June sales on the strength of CR-V, Pilot and Odyssey”. (To say nothing of the absurdity that > 50% of Acura sales are “trucks”).

http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=7269-en

Haha that is pretty funny! And I thought somehow some minor semblance of sanity had been introduced. Fool me once... Point is can't get fooled again.

Yes

The vast majority of F-150 drivers do not need their truck. They're urban cowboys and their truck has never seen a ranch road, hauled a boat or carried a load of dirt.

The vast majority of PC consumers will not need another PC, but many may still buy them.

The analogy was perfectly good. Everyone knew what he meant. He wasn't saying that the statistics of trucks vs cars will apply to PCs vs Other devices.

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