The company I am retired from sent me to Indy on Friday to bring a GM owned truck back for evaluation. It was a 2500 High Country with the DuraMax and Allison transmission. What a powerful, smooth, and quiet engine. I believe it would break the rear tires loose. I drove it about 175 miles and it was so smooth and comfortable. The window sticker, which I couldn't find would be over $70k.

This truck was one of many that GM had at the Brickyard 400. There were some NASCAR stickers on it and it was used to carry drivers around the track during introductions.

Still can't believe they paid me to drive it. It was large and powerful enough that I was able to bring 3 cases of Yuengling home. Kind of Bandit like.

Nice. I have a customer that paid me $50 an hour to go test drive a Bentley speed version with 600hp one time.

It damn sure ought to be a good 'un for $70 large.

My building guy has an older one. He has a chip on his and can make almost 700hp. The thing is a monster and I witnessed him destroy a GTO built for drag racing in it.

I had a 2003 Silverado extended cab that I certainly do miss....

I'm a bowtie guy through and through and really want to step up to a diesel for my next truck, which is still probably 5 years away. GM lagged behind in diesels for a long time but the combo of the Duramax and the Allison tranny has vaulted them forward.

My benchmark pickup is an '83 C2500 with a 350 and a 4-speed. We used it HARD. When it was retired at ~350K, the motor went into a friend's project.

Some of these trucks are super nice but the prices are absolutely insane, I'd be afraid to ever use it as a truck.

Three cases? Bet you could slide in two pallets and not notice the weight ...

Sounds like a job I want!

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
Some of these trucks are super nice but the prices are absolutely insane, I'd be afraid to ever use it as a truck.

Agree! My feeling is that so many people are buying pickups just to be part of the "in crowd".

Big freaking status symbols!

Saw one new one the other day, jacked up so high that the 5'0" girl could barely clamber into it. Looked like the hood was at least 6 feet high.

Around here, I see 1000s of pickups, very rarely doing anything but commuting.

Saw a new Silverado a while back, parked inside the mall as a show piece. Window sticker was some $53K, but a notice in very small print indicated that there was an additional $8K in shipping and dealer prep.

quote:

Originally posted by billnchristy:
My building guy has an older one. He has a chip on his and can make almost 700hp. The thing is a monster and I witnessed him destroy a GTO built for drag racing in it.

I've got video of my brothers 06 GTO getting curb stomped by one of these in an 1/8th. After watching that happen, my daughter has been ribbing him calling it a GT Slow!

I have a 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z-71 and it has been a great truck. I hope to get another 5 years out of it and then I plan to get a 2500HD High Country Z-71, but the prices are very high so I need to save up the next 5 years for a good size down payment.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
Some of these trucks are super nice but the prices are absolutely insane, I'd be afraid to ever use it as a truck.

I don't really understand this. You don't have to beat a truck to death to be "using it as a truck." If you pull a 30 foot RV are you using it as a truck? What if I go get 2 yards of mulch?

If you had a Porsche would you run it fast? If you had a Wilson Combat 1911, would you shoot it?

I paid $68,000 for my house in Woodstock in 1994.
$70K for a truck? Something that will lose value?
It's a piece of equipment to be written off.

^^^^
Lol I was thinkng the same thing. My house in Maine cost me 58K and I could live in it.

Modern trucks are nice but I can't see paying that much on a depreciating asset. I could buy an early 80's Chevy for $500, drop 5K into it and it would do anything the new one could.

All vehicles have gotten expensive. You can thank the EPA and CAFE standards which have caused manufacturers to use expensive technology and materials to achieve lighter weight and better efficiency I have a 2008 Ford Expedition eddie bauer it's sticker was $39k, the comparable 2018 Expedition limited I'm going to replace with comes in at around $68k.

Very true. Vehicle prices are disgusting. I have a 2003 Grand Cherokee Overland, fully loaded. Perfect shape, I bought it in Cali a few years ago for 5K. I looked into the cost of a current replacement and it was like $60K! I laughed and thought "well maybe in 15 years or so I'll get one".

I bet it was a nice runner. The new diesel emission systems are keeping me still looking at gas.

I own a Isuzu nrr box truck that threw a fault code went reduced power. Real productivity killer. My small business owns 7 gas pickups and they run reliably and emission reduced power never pops up.

Was ready to buy that pwr train for my next personal truck but confidence is not there.

A pickup truck used to be the cheapest thing you could buy. Then they turned them into trendy over fluffed, over cushioned, overpriced, oversized cars.

A perfect example of what's wrong with America.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
I don't really understand this. You don't have to beat a truck to death to be "using it as a truck."

No, but if you have the kind of job/livelihood that requires you beat a truck to death, you probably can't swing a $68k one.
Towing a boat once a month or the occasional Home depot trip isn't using a truck.

quote:

Originally posted by Cas:
No, but if you have the kind of job/livelihood that requires you beat a truck to death, you probably can't swing a $68k one.
Towing a boat once a month or the occasional Home depot trip isn't using a truck.

Disagree. Doing anything that you can't do in a car is using a truck.