“as common as an indie game that’s a metaphor for mental illness” god what a line

On the topic of bare-bones cars/trucks that "can't exist because of modern safety" I show you the existence of the mitsubishi mirage. It has the same specs (roughly) as a '91 civic hatch, weighs less than 2000 lbs, and still complies with modern safety. A truck could definitely be made bare-bones, but I think we all underestimate how many people would actually buy it.

The hood folds during impact, to avoid driving it through the windshield.

FWIW, there is an untapped market in the US for a minimalist truck - which, because of modern safety and emissions standards, may be unobtainable, at least in the near future. It's another reason why these will always be desirable. Guys in work trucks don't need flatscreens and features galore. They need 3 things - a radio with a few presets, AC, and room to put stuff.

Regular grunts is the right way to start a day on campus.

I have a '77 4 speed 4WD that I haven't driven in 5 years. Now I'm looking at parts. Thanks RCR.

The Garand “ping” climax kills

"Some people look at owning a C10 as a way to win the approval of a father who is six feet under." - Damn! That was pretty dark. I like it.

My dad had one of these when I was a wee lad. He used to let me sit close to him so that I could be his shifting buddy - he carefully instructed me on how to shift the three on the tree for no other reason than it was a father/son bonding experience. He also taught me the rudimentary components of a gas combustion engine as he worked under the hood of his truck. I sure do miss those days.

The infamous hood kink. They’re supposedly designed to fold so it doesn’t decapitate the occupants in the cab

Handles like a lawn dart, accelerates like a 1930’s tractor, I love it

I swear the reason we love these trucks so much is for the minimalism. You can't get a truck this inexpensive or barebones any more with an actual buildable options list.

That Dateline article is basically how every article is written now.

"Folks want something metal", so true, and the tone and voice? There's no way to describe how perfect it sounds

No way that truck only has 2000 miles! Look at the interior. It’s well used.

The reason you get waves in these so much is everyone, especially in the south and midwest, had a relative with a farm that had one or two. It brings a smile to those of us that have pleasant memories of them

3:35

My C10 Thanksgiving: ‘twas Thanksgiving Eve of ‘90 when I learned the ways of the C10. My sweet but dull cousin had just started another DUI stretch, this time in the Huntsville state pen. His rough C10 had been abandoned in Dallas, so my mom got recruited to drive the wobbly goblin down to Beaumont to sit at his mom’s place for a few years like a family monolith dedicated to shame.

My mom, once upon a time, nearly bought a truck like this new. I remember her getting into a heated discussion with the sales manager of a local Chevrolet dealership when this generation was first released in the fall of '72. She considered power steering a expensive and unnecessary option. Actually, I'd guess that the paint if it were extra cost was also too much, as would be the sliding rear window and the side moldings on the truck you drove. She'd have used it for hauling hay for the horses, and the horse trailer. That she ultimately bought a used '67 C10 is another story.

As a teenager and magazine aficionado of the early nineties, I remember when these "journalist" had personal grudges against companies and they were going to make them look bad whatever it took. This might actually be the beginning of the modern era of inventing facts and quickly retracting them after the damage is done. Back then, the internet wasn't advanced enough to have fact checking on a massive scale so they never changed their lies. This brings up some of the bad parts of the nineties that I could blissfully ignore back then. Still was a golden era for kids before helicopter parenting, sorry what was I going on about...