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That was it exactly. All the pickups have high front ends now, even the smaller ones. I can't figure out how mowing down pedestrians you can't see because of a tall front end helps their safety.
What standard is this? A truck's hood is taller than a Civic's roof. A Miata has to look up to see the top of the wheel well. I can't imagine the weight difference making a huge difference in injury.
I dont know the specfics but it has something to do with energy absorption when smoking a jaywalker.
These old rams can make 600ft-lbs easy. Plenty of airflow with a bellybutton-height hood. I'd say 100% marketing then.The US actually has no pedestrian safety standards. Instead of implementing standards for pedestrian safety, the NHTSA chooses to educate pedestrians on how not to get run over:
Pedestrian Safety | NHTSA
Get resources on pedestrian safety tips whether you're walking or behind the wheel. Learn best practices on preventing pedestrian injuries and deaths.www.nhtsa.gov
And big trucks aren't sold in any meaningful numbers anywhere else in the world that would have standards that influence their design.
The styling of trucks has a lot to do with marketing and image as well as massive capability. If you want to have rated payload capacity over 2k lbs in a half ton truck then you need to have suspension travel. If you want massive towing capacity, then you need lots of frontal area for bigger heat exchangers. So there's some amount of justification for larger, taller trucks but so much of it is just about making buyers feel more macho.
I dont so much buy the more cooling. Yes obviously theres more capacity for that but plenty of old trucks could haul 2k+ usually with massive iron blocked big blocks and overheating usually wasnt an issue unless under extreme circumatances.The US actually has no pedestrian safety standards. Instead of implementing standards for pedestrian safety, the NHTSA chooses to educate pedestrians on how not to get run over:
Pedestrian Safety | NHTSA
Get resources on pedestrian safety tips whether you're walking or behind the wheel. Learn best practices on preventing pedestrian injuries and deaths.
And big trucks aren't sold in any meaningful numbers anywhere else in the world that would have standards that influence their design.
The styling of trucks has a lot to do with marketing and image as well as massive capability. If you want to have rated payload capacity over 2k lbs in a half ton truck then you need to have suspension travel. If you want massive towing capacity, then you need lots of frontal area for bigger heat exchangers. So there's some amount of justification for larger, taller trucks but so much of it is just about making buyers feel more macho.
You really do love your underpowered, leaking Fords. (<—That’s a 2.9l insult too.) The 6.9l was probably the worst engine available in an F250/350 back then. I’d rather have a 300.
What? The 6.9 was a damn good engine. Yes they make roughly the same power as a 351W but get better MPG, and they sound bad ass under load.
This is the front of a new F350. It has an AC condenser (black) and 2 radiators (1 that fits under the core support and one that stands taller behind the core support) :
I will agree to disagreeThis is the front of a new F350:
And there's a secondary radiator for the accessories too (sandwiched between the black AC condenser and the primary radiator):
J2807 is no joke. Putting an old HD/3500 level truck through the same certification process as a brand new one would lead to those old trucks having tow ratings that modern half tons would be embarrassed by. If they were able to finish at all.
All I can comment on is the 5.9 Cummins in that body style Ram. The engine is not the weak point for towing. It’s mainly from the tranny back that’s weak, then the tranny. The 5.9 came from the factory suuuuper underpowered… but that’s why it can make 500k miles easy. It does have issues with exhaust gas getting too hot. That’s probably the weak point with it but I have zero other diesel experienceThe last year for that bodystyle truck was 1998, and with the Cummins it was rated at 235hp/460 ft-lbs. It had a max tow rating of 13k in the right configuration.
Here's a cool old Motorweek review of 3500 trucks from this era for reference (note the built in step on the Ford cab and the tow ratings that could be outdone by some new half tons):
Payload stresses frame and suspension. Towing stresses the drivetrain. You need more cooling now because they tow a massive amount more now.
The modern version of that truck in your photo can be equipped to tow over 37k lbs, and they have a pretty rigorous standardized towing test now (which was only adopted for 2013 model year):
SAE J2807 Tow Tests
Here is some helpful info explaining how SAE J2807 tow tests are performedfifthwheelst.com
So if you're designing a truck, and you know it needs to tow and haul and have some amount of off road capability, then you get what we currently have. They could definitely be less butch, but comparing an old truck that would really struggle to complete J2807 with it's much lower tow rating to a brand new truck with insane capability is kind of silly.
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