Pickup trucks a status symbol here?

There are so few of them around, and the ones that I see are mostly decked out with all kinds of aftermarket parts.

Makes me wonder if they’re seen as a luxury here, maybe even on par with “actual” luxury vehicles?

I think that the US and Australia maybe are the exception. Who really needs a pick-up truck? People that want to avoid taxes.

The little blue truck is the Taiwanese pick-up truck.

I think I’ve posted about this before and was informed that, since those pickup trucks aren’t made here and have to be specially shipped over on a big boat, they are basically a big flashy sign saying “I have a lot of money I don’t know what to do with.”

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Belgian Pie, have you not yet seen these ridiculously large (for Taiwan) decked-out pickup trucks?! (Where do they park? How do they fit through alleys? So many questions!)
Yams, yes, I defs think it’s a status symbol. The import fees alone to get those trucks in must be absurd.

That may be but if they are registered as a ‘commercial’ vehicle (truck) they pay lower taxes, but can only carry two passengers.

Yep it’s like the ole days when few had SUVs or the dudes driving massive Hummers around…

I wouldn’t mind having one to throw the dog and the shotgun in the back though…

They are now big business in UK, my Town was full of them I can see them coming here big time, 4 seater crew cab ones.
SUV’s are out! pick up trucks are in! 5 years you will see a lot more mostly Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara. My prediction

I get the impression that even the nice big pickup trucks, even ones with four doors, are owned by people with a farm or with some additional use or purpose.

I don’t think many people are buying them just as a status symbol without having a need. At most, I need a truck, and I can afford this one.

Naw….not true. Real farmers are generally poor and have the cheapo little blue ones. All the decked out ones are Mall Crawlers owned by rich and entitled little twerps who wouldn’t dare set foot on a farm and do manual labor! Like how I paint with giant strokes? LOL

I’ve seen a few in Hsinchu around the Science Park. Never spoken to any owners, I’ve always suspected they’re owned by engineers who spent time working/studying in N America. And yeah, most are decked out in after-market parts.

If shtf they could definitely come in handy (esp if you had to hightail it up somewhere in the mountains, for example), but I’ve often wondered if in Hsinchu they are anything more than a little old fashioned ostentatiousness.

Those big pickups are useless in the mountains. I’m sorry to say it but Taiwanese mountain roads are narrow and have lots of curves you must go carefully and those big trucks are going to be taking up too much space to drive safely in the mountains.

I have seen people convert those little blue trucks into food trucks selling food on the side of the street. I don’t mean ones with the old guys but done by younger locals who sells pizza or roast duck, and made to look welcoming rather than all disgusting. See it around Fuda quite a lot.

It’s not wrong to have blue trucks and I suspect you can deck them out, at least visually, and for mountain driving it’s probably far safer than a large truck. Honestly I’d want to use an ATV for mountain driving, and it better have 4 wheel drive. If those big pickups don’t have 4WD I wouldn’t drive them anywhere near a mountain road.

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For the most part, sure. Taiwan’s mountains tend to be too steep to traverse off the road.

I tried to be clear, but I guess it didn’t come over. I mean they could come in handy getting to the mountains (like if roads are out or are otherwise impassable).

They’re not magick, though, and that’s why I suspect they’re a little ostentatious.

I meant those pickup trucks could barely drive in Taipei’s narrow alleyways, instead they must stick to the main roads and highways. If it got to the mountains, like the road to Yilan (before the tunnels were built) it could be dangerous driving on the roads let alone off. I don’t know how those tour bus drivers do it honestly.

The must be a pita to park, for sure.

I have to admit that sometimes I would love to drive a Ford F-150 here, though. :grinning:

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I know, carefully and know your bus, mechanically and size.

Not sure about the “mechanically” bit, though they can probably find the tyres if they feel like kicking them.

Saw a MERCEDES pickup the other day (apparently a re-badged and re-engined Navarra) which must be the next level in bling, though not quite as bloated as the genuine American article.

Back a bit closer to real there are still quite a lot of Zace pickups about, which are genuine work trucks. Wouldn’t mind one of them, though havn’t been able to locate a workshop manual, and the legalities of a foreigner with a truck are tricky.

A “new” little blue truck is like a status symbol for some people.

I like the little blue trucks. Enough to drive one if they were big enough for highways. And want 4 seats.

I see I’m not the only one here that likes little blue trucks.

Actually had one (a Varica) lined up but then ran into the “Trucks are for Taiwanese” regulation and had to back out of the deal.

Apparently there may be a way around that by getting it registered to a co-op, but I’ve never had reason to confirm that.

These days I’d rather have a Zace or, better, one of the (rare) old Datsun pickups, both of which are bonneted rather than forward-control.