State of the Union

As I was waiting for Jake to post again (which he hasn't done), I decided to go for a drive and scope out the state of the union (Pickup Nation that is) for myself. After all the ranting, I feel that it's necessary for us to get an idea of where we stand before we continue with the stereotyping of the brands. So I took a look around, and I found all sorts of good stuff going on:

Nothing makes me happier than seeing trucks do work, even if it is more work for the rear suspension than anything else. That's one point for us (generic "us," the opposite of "them").

It's hard to see here, but this truck has a red ball as a hood ornament. I'm about 90% sure that they were going for the Rudolph look. It's February. One point for "them."

This is the biggest rack I've ever seen (on a pickup truck). From this view it looks like it's holding up the overpass, but it actually holds tires. Since he's doing work, it's another one in the us column.

This truck is quite ambiguous. From behind, I was sure I had found a Maryland Truck (once I realized it wasn't an Excursion). But as I got closer, I realized there are several problems: the truck has no lift, no expensive chrome wheels, and the cap has no windows. It's a half-ass Maryland Truck. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know. No points for either side.

I just couldn't make up my mind about this one, either. Jake has gone over how difficult it is to make a cap look good on a stepside truck. All things considered, this cap doesn't look bad. It's the right color and the right size, and it doesn't make the ugly truck any uglier. But we can't endorse an ugly truck, so there are no points here either.

And finally, my favorite:

This truck embodies the state of the union (Pickup Nation) because it's a "show truck" that's just not a show truck. It has aftermarket wheels, but they look like the same size as stock wheels, meaning someone thought it was a good idea to pay extra for wheels of the same size. It has some chrome trim, but my favorite part is the taillight cover. That's right, there's only one taillight cover. And the bonus: the bumper sticker. You can't read it because of my camera phone, but it says, "My child was inmate of the month at county jail." This truck has its flaws, as any good truck should, and I get the feeling it actually gets used for work (even though it does have a bumper hitch). One more point for us.

Final Tally: Us: 3 Them: 1

This means that the state of our union is pretty darn good. 3 out of 4 ain't bad, so long live this pickup nation. Keep up the good work!