Once again, I jumped to a (wrong) conclusion. I figured this picture was taken in Canada, as I know the U.S. doesn’t get the Picanto.
But even still, it seems as though wherever you find 1 of these trucks you find a cluster of them.
And this brings up a point that I guess I’m the only one thinks could use a bit of clarification.
While a lot of websites are U.S. based, and some are Canadian, and some British, perhaps mentioning where the picture (s) and/or writers are writing from wouldn’t be a bad idea?
Johannes is my real first name. Actually, officially I’ve got four first/given names (like in my passport), typical Catholic usage.
Just curious, is that also the case in other countries/parts of the world ?
jpcavanaugh
Posted January 21, 2016 at 11:49 AM
Typical here is a first, middle and last name. I know that spanish language countries (which also tend to be Catholic) often have more names. Perhaps it is because the US took so much of its culture and its legal system from post-reformation England that we did not follow that tradition.
Gerardo Solis
Posted January 21, 2016 at 11:53 AM
Can confirm. Two first names and two last names.
Johannes Dutch
Posted January 21, 2016 at 11:59 AM
Right. We had a politician here with the name H.A.F.M.O. van Mierlo. So with five first/given names. The M (from Maria) is always there, males and females.
Old Pete
Posted January 21, 2016 at 3:40 PM
Three names as a rule in Australia also. Occasionally you hear on someone who has more.
dominic1955
Posted January 22, 2016 at 1:46 AM
I’ve got a Confirmation name, but it’s not part of my “legal” name. My ancestors from Poland also had the first middle last or just first and last name set up.
Johannes Dutch
Posted January 22, 2016 at 2:19 AM
@ Dominic, the Catholic baptismal names here are always equal to your “legal” names, as mentioned in all official documents etc., from birth to death. For example, if you buy real estate all baptismal names are fully written on the legal documents.
The first/given names are the same as the baptismal names. Like Johannes Antonius Maria. In daily life that person is called Jo, Jan or Johan.
john
Posted January 23, 2016 at 7:12 PM
No, 4 first names is unheard of in North America.
The old tradition, which I assume comes from the pagan british isles, but might be of Danish origin since the Danes ruled the British isles for a few centuries, is three names:
a “christian” name
a “given” name
and a “family” name
This is old terminology and is not used much anymore. At one time, you were given a name by your parents at birth, and you inherited your last name from your father, and your christian name was chosen by you or your spiritual leader at the time of your baptism into christianity. This naming system is a little different with the catholic tradition of baptizing babies, obviously.
The given name evolved into your middle name and the christian name evolved into your first name but the number of names remained at three, at least for WASP(ish) people and North America seems to have copied them.
The Kia Picanto is an A-segment car, I think you call them minis. The smallest ones. Others are the VW Up, Toyota Aygo, Renault Twingo, Opel Adam, Ford Ka, etc.etc.etc.
These are all hatchbacks, either with 3 or 5 doors. Mostly with a 3-cylinder gasoline engine, around 1.0 liter displacement.
And what;s more, the Picanto was the first real commercial succes for Kia in Benelux, silly the name may be, Kia may well be equally popular as Hyundai and the Japanese brands. A game changer for Korean brands in northern Europe.
We would also call them microcars or city cars. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the smart fortwo (3-door) and the Chevy Spark (5-door).
The Picanto is basically the same size as a Spark. I wonder how much of the driving aisle the Ram takes up?
I don’t think I would see a new/recent full-size pickup every week or probably even every month here in Australia. They are all 3rd-party (grey) imports, and cost over $100k after conversion to RHD and compliance. I don’t think too many basic work-truck spec units are imported because of this.
These US pickups are all registered as a commercial vehicle here. That means a VAT refund and no “luxury car tax” on top of the factory price. Less road tax too. The buyers/owners of these trucks run some sort of business as their profession, like a contractor.
If you want a more humble, practical and fuel-efficient workhorse you buy something like a double cab VW Transporter with a flatbed and 2.0 liter diesel engine.
If you want something special and exotic, you buy the US pickup. Here’s an example of an importer. They also do the maintenance and install an LPG-system if you want.
I believe this would work in Austria too but even with lower fuel prices they cannot compete with EU-size pick ups or flat bed semi-COEs like VW T6, MB Sprinter or any IVECO – 15-20 MPG (or even less) is not acceptable to most tradesmen. The boss of a contracting firm may get one to register on the books as work vehicle but that goes with the territory of being the boss, not because he needs it. Please also remember that none of these big US pick ups are allowed to tow as much as in the US – for this contractors would use a full size truck (at least Class 7 if you need to compare with the US).
The gasoline V8 pickups all run on LPG, to keep fuel costs acceptable.
I agree BTW. If you want a light truck, and strictly use it as a light truck for your business, the Volkswagens and the others you mention are by far the better and wiser choice in Europe.
But as we know it’s not all about “wisdom” when it comes to vehicle-choice…
Thinking about it, would this be FCA’s Euro-equivalent of the RAM 1500 double cab ? A Fiat Ducato double cab flatbed truck.
john
Posted January 23, 2016 at 7:22 PM
That looks like a very sensible and very capable truck except for one thing…
off road capability
In North America we still have a lot of dirt roads and gravel roads that do not get very good snow removal in winter. Also lots of parking lots that are just dirt.
Note: you do not necessarily need 4 wheel drive for off road capability. Sometimes you don’t need more than tall tires and good ground clearance, a limited slip differential, and some weight on the back.
Johannes Dutch
Posted January 24, 2016 at 6:42 AM
4x4s in this segment do exist, but here in Flat Country these are uncommon and thus very rare.
Examples are the VW Transporter 4Motion, the Fiat Ducato 4×4 by Dangel (I posted one in the comments below the VW “SUVW”-article) and the bigger Iveco Daily 4×4 below. It looks like a Unimog, doesn’t it ? You can imagine that nobody uses a truck like that as a family car, unlike the 4×4 US pickups.
This picture really is indicative of how different driving conditions are in different parts of the world…a Fiat 500 looks really tiny and weird around here, surrounded by Suburbans, Escalades and F350 crew cab trucks. I can’t imagine driving anything smaller than a Civic, even in city traffic.
I do wonder if an oddball/orphan like that RAM would be perceived as being a maintenance nightmare, like Peugeots and other imports to the US were perceived poorly here but well-regarded in their home market.
The Ram’s length is functional. The little drain culvert acts as a “chock block” in case the parking pawl fails or the driver accidentally lets go of the brakes if he or she gets distracted by a text message all of a sudden when leaving the parking stall. Hey, it could happen…
The truck does seem large for the environment, though. As an urban city dweller myself, I couldn’t imagine ferrying around a full-size pickup truck like that in the downtown core. I see others do it and they always seem to fall into two general camps of drivers: either over confident and aggressive, or nervous wrecks. And either types could be acts of overcompensation based on prior personal driving experiences with the beasts. Yikes! Why bother??! I’ll stick to my much smaller invisible Ford Fusion which itself tends to be a little large at times for a mid-sized car navigating alleyways, cramped parking garages, and small parking lots etc.
We are expecting a couple of inches of snow today, and that’s where drivers’ personalities really come out…these guys with 4wd who think physics doesn’t apply to them are fun to watch…it’s amazing how far off the road they get, in ditches and culverts, and even into groves of trees. Couple that with the fact that people in the lower Midwest don’t know how to drive in rain, much less snow, and it gets interesting in a hurry.
On the subject of names, I’m nominally Catholic, but never use(d) my confirmation name except in that context. I did know that I was in deep doo-doo with my parents if they used my whole name, middle name included, when they called me. If they used ALL of the kids’ names then it was really going to hit the fan…DAVIDANNESARAH all as one word, yelled in our general direction, meant WWIII was ready to start.
It would sure be easy to find your Ram pickup in a parking lot in your part of the world.
LOL! That’s only an extended cab pickup with the short rear doors too, not a crew cab with the longer rear doors.
jp….
You forget that in an area where you would find 1 of those Ram trucks, you would find A LOT of ssimilar-sized trucks.
I don’t live in Europe, so I will let Johannes or someone else more familiar with the conditions sort this one out.
Once again, I jumped to a (wrong) conclusion. I figured this picture was taken in Canada, as I know the U.S. doesn’t get the Picanto.
But even still, it seems as though wherever you find 1 of these trucks you find a cluster of them.
And this brings up a point that I guess I’m the only one thinks could use a bit of clarification.
While a lot of websites are U.S. based, and some are Canadian, and some British, perhaps mentioning where the picture (s) and/or writers are writing from wouldn’t be a bad idea?
That’s why my name here is Johannes Dutch 🙂
Johannes is my real first name. Actually, officially I’ve got four first/given names (like in my passport), typical Catholic usage.
Just curious, is that also the case in other countries/parts of the world ?
Typical here is a first, middle and last name. I know that spanish language countries (which also tend to be Catholic) often have more names. Perhaps it is because the US took so much of its culture and its legal system from post-reformation England that we did not follow that tradition.
Can confirm. Two first names and two last names.
Right. We had a politician here with the name H.A.F.M.O. van Mierlo. So with five first/given names. The M (from Maria) is always there, males and females.
Three names as a rule in Australia also. Occasionally you hear on someone who has more.
I’ve got a Confirmation name, but it’s not part of my “legal” name. My ancestors from Poland also had the first middle last or just first and last name set up.
@ Dominic, the Catholic baptismal names here are always equal to your “legal” names, as mentioned in all official documents etc., from birth to death. For example, if you buy real estate all baptismal names are fully written on the legal documents.
The first/given names are the same as the baptismal names. Like Johannes Antonius Maria. In daily life that person is called Jo, Jan or Johan.
No, 4 first names is unheard of in North America.
The old tradition, which I assume comes from the pagan british isles, but might be of Danish origin since the Danes ruled the British isles for a few centuries, is three names:
a “christian” name
a “given” name
and a “family” name
This is old terminology and is not used much anymore. At one time, you were given a name by your parents at birth, and you inherited your last name from your father, and your christian name was chosen by you or your spiritual leader at the time of your baptism into christianity. This naming system is a little different with the catholic tradition of baptizing babies, obviously.
The given name evolved into your middle name and the christian name evolved into your first name but the number of names remained at three, at least for WASP(ish) people and North America seems to have copied them.
“But even still, it seems as though wherever you find 1 of these trucks you find a cluster of them.”
So should we call it a “cluster truck”?
I think that Picanto is a size smaller than anything we get from Kia/Hyundai on this side of the Atlantic.
The Kia Picanto is an A-segment car, I think you call them minis. The smallest ones. Others are the VW Up, Toyota Aygo, Renault Twingo, Opel Adam, Ford Ka, etc.etc.etc.
These are all hatchbacks, either with 3 or 5 doors. Mostly with a 3-cylinder gasoline engine, around 1.0 liter displacement.
And what;s more, the Picanto was the first real commercial succes for Kia in Benelux, silly the name may be, Kia may well be equally popular as Hyundai and the Japanese brands. A game changer for Korean brands in northern Europe.
We would also call them microcars or city cars. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the smart fortwo (3-door) and the Chevy Spark (5-door).
Yes, city cars is another common name. Here’s the current Kia Picanto.
The Picanto is basically the same size as a Spark. I wonder how much of the driving aisle the Ram takes up?
I don’t think I would see a new/recent full-size pickup every week or probably even every month here in Australia. They are all 3rd-party (grey) imports, and cost over $100k after conversion to RHD and compliance. I don’t think too many basic work-truck spec units are imported because of this.
Same in Austria. Those are bought as toys or statements mostly. If you need a work pick up you get a diesel VW Amarok, Ford Ranger or similar.
Plenty of Ram utes in NZ conversion isnt required anymore so US cars especially Mustangs are plentiful.
These US pickups are all registered as a commercial vehicle here. That means a VAT refund and no “luxury car tax” on top of the factory price. Less road tax too. The buyers/owners of these trucks run some sort of business as their profession, like a contractor.
If you want a more humble, practical and fuel-efficient workhorse you buy something like a double cab VW Transporter with a flatbed and 2.0 liter diesel engine.
If you want something special and exotic, you buy the US pickup. Here’s an example of an importer. They also do the maintenance and install an LPG-system if you want.
http://www.pickuptrucks.nl/
I believe this would work in Austria too but even with lower fuel prices they cannot compete with EU-size pick ups or flat bed semi-COEs like VW T6, MB Sprinter or any IVECO – 15-20 MPG (or even less) is not acceptable to most tradesmen. The boss of a contracting firm may get one to register on the books as work vehicle but that goes with the territory of being the boss, not because he needs it. Please also remember that none of these big US pick ups are allowed to tow as much as in the US – for this contractors would use a full size truck (at least Class 7 if you need to compare with the US).
The gasoline V8 pickups all run on LPG, to keep fuel costs acceptable.
I agree BTW. If you want a light truck, and strictly use it as a light truck for your business, the Volkswagens and the others you mention are by far the better and wiser choice in Europe.
But as we know it’s not all about “wisdom” when it comes to vehicle-choice…
Thinking about it, would this be FCA’s Euro-equivalent of the RAM 1500 double cab ? A Fiat Ducato double cab flatbed truck.
That looks like a very sensible and very capable truck except for one thing…
off road capability
In North America we still have a lot of dirt roads and gravel roads that do not get very good snow removal in winter. Also lots of parking lots that are just dirt.
Note: you do not necessarily need 4 wheel drive for off road capability. Sometimes you don’t need more than tall tires and good ground clearance, a limited slip differential, and some weight on the back.
4x4s in this segment do exist, but here in Flat Country these are uncommon and thus very rare.
Examples are the VW Transporter 4Motion, the Fiat Ducato 4×4 by Dangel (I posted one in the comments below the VW “SUVW”-article) and the bigger Iveco Daily 4×4 below. It looks like a Unimog, doesn’t it ? You can imagine that nobody uses a truck like that as a family car, unlike the 4×4 US pickups.
The long and thin plate just indicates how European it is.
That RAM sticks out like a turd in a punchbowl.
This picture really is indicative of how different driving conditions are in different parts of the world…a Fiat 500 looks really tiny and weird around here, surrounded by Suburbans, Escalades and F350 crew cab trucks. I can’t imagine driving anything smaller than a Civic, even in city traffic.
I do wonder if an oddball/orphan like that RAM would be perceived as being a maintenance nightmare, like Peugeots and other imports to the US were perceived poorly here but well-regarded in their home market.
The Ram’s length is functional. The little drain culvert acts as a “chock block” in case the parking pawl fails or the driver accidentally lets go of the brakes if he or she gets distracted by a text message all of a sudden when leaving the parking stall. Hey, it could happen…
The truck does seem large for the environment, though. As an urban city dweller myself, I couldn’t imagine ferrying around a full-size pickup truck like that in the downtown core. I see others do it and they always seem to fall into two general camps of drivers: either over confident and aggressive, or nervous wrecks. And either types could be acts of overcompensation based on prior personal driving experiences with the beasts. Yikes! Why bother??! I’ll stick to my much smaller invisible Ford Fusion which itself tends to be a little large at times for a mid-sized car navigating alleyways, cramped parking garages, and small parking lots etc.
We are expecting a couple of inches of snow today, and that’s where drivers’ personalities really come out…these guys with 4wd who think physics doesn’t apply to them are fun to watch…it’s amazing how far off the road they get, in ditches and culverts, and even into groves of trees. Couple that with the fact that people in the lower Midwest don’t know how to drive in rain, much less snow, and it gets interesting in a hurry.
On the subject of names, I’m nominally Catholic, but never use(d) my confirmation name except in that context. I did know that I was in deep doo-doo with my parents if they used my whole name, middle name included, when they called me. If they used ALL of the kids’ names then it was really going to hit the fan…DAVIDANNESARAH all as one word, yelled in our general direction, meant WWIII was ready to start.