One reason Americans are broke is because they don’t have any low cost options, readily available in other country, on a big ticket item: trucks. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
Remember when trucks were simple – and inexpensive?
They still are both – just not here. And ironically, they are built by the same company that will only sell you an expensive and complicated one, here.
General Motors.
Here, it will sell you a Chevy Colorado for $25,200 to start. This is the least expensive new truck GM sells in the United States. In China, GM sells a truck called the Zhengtu that starts at just over $9,000 through its Wuling subsidiary.
This truck would probably be of interest to many Americans – and not just because it costs less than half as much as the least expensive truck GM will sell you here. It has features you cannot get in any truck sold here – such as hinged, outward folding-flat bed walls that turn a compact-sized bed into a bed that can carry a full-sized truck load.
To get something equivalently spacious here, you’d have to buy a full-sized truck like the Chevy Silverado 1500 – and that one stickers for $28,600 to start. Even then, its bed isn’t as wide – or not, as you prefer, like the Zhengtu’s modular bed.
It’s just very expensive.
Because, of course, it has to be. Uncle will not allow such things as bed walls that fold outward – it’s not saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafe! In fact, all it is is non-compliant with current federal folderol, such as bumper/side-impact/rollover standards and so on – per my recent article on the subject.
