WEPSMAN
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South Dakota
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Message Posted: Jul 12, 2012 7:44:15 PM
I saw that many years ago when I was over there.
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Gas_Buddy
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Maryland
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Message Posted: Jul 12, 2012 4:45:48 PM
I guess I won't say anything about the one show being large/too large for the parking space.
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James86004
Rookie Author
Arizona
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Message Posted: Jul 12, 2012 1:30:18 PM
It may be a recent thing. They were all pretty new.
I found a photo taken by someone else of a Dodge Ram parked along Prinsengracht:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/coopey/6146901824/
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PithyOpiner
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Stockton
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Message Posted: Jul 12, 2012 11:05:10 AM
The reason Gas_Buddy never saw any trucks on the canal is because he spent all his time in the Rossebuurt where he walked around with his tongue hanging out looking at all the "ladies" in the windows. How do I know? I was right behind him with MY tongue hanging out.
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maxstar
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Chicago
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Message Posted: Jul 11, 2012 5:36:47 PM
Are you sure you weren't on Amsterdam, SK in Canada? That would explain all the trucks. Amsterdam, SK
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Gas_Buddy
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Maryland
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Message Posted: Jul 11, 2012 3:26:38 PM
Off Topic is the discussion place for "any and everything that doesn't fit in something else".
Sorry, but I've don't remember ever seeing one full-sized American pickup truck, as you describe, parked along the canal.
[Edited by: Gas_Buddy at 7/11/2012 5:28:42 PM EST]
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James86004
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Arizona
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Message Posted: Jul 11, 2012 3:21:55 PM
Off Topic says for talking about things other than Fuel Costs, etc, so I don't think it belongs there, either, since the point of this was the fuel cost and its effect on vehicle choice.
I was there for 8 days and I saw between 5 to 10 every day. Most of them were parked along the canals, but I saw a few in traffic. Given the fuel costs and the parking I was surprised by that. I am familiar with the diplomatic exemption, as my father was in the Foreign Service and we had the "CD" on our cars when we were stationed in Europe. None of these pickups had diplomatic license plates, they seemed to be owned by regular citizens. They were carrying loads of fresh air and looked like they were rarely used to haul anything.
Dad had a mixed record for knowing better, in Japan we had small Japanese cars, but in Europe we had a 1973 Pontiac Grand Safari station wagon with a 455 cid V8 that got 9 mpg if you were careful. It did okay in West Berlin.
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Gas_Buddy
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Maryland
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Message Posted: Jul 11, 2012 1:05:02 PM
First, I'm not sure what the reason is to post this topic in the General Gas Talk discussion category, which is for geneal talk about fuel, oil, gas stations, etc. This would likely be better posted in the Off Topic category.
Second, I'm not sure what you mean by you were surprised "by the number of full sized American pickup trucks" you saw there because you didn't give any idea of how many you saw. You may mean you saw a half dozen full sized American pickup trucks or you saw them constantly, one every block or so, or you continually saw them on the highways.
When I travel to Amsterdam I've seen very few American pick-up trucks . What you're talking about, forgetting about the price of fuel, are vehicles that simply aren't practical in Amsterdam, which is a compact city with narrow and winding canal side roads, with a multitude of bicycles on the roads.
Sorry, but not knowing how many full-sized American pick-up trucks you see in Amsterdam daily, or what they're being used for, and unless you're talking about vehicles owned by American service members who've shipped vehicles to Europe, most (if not virtually all) Americans working in the Netherlands would "know better" (my words) than to bring such a vehicle for their use in the Netherlands (let alone in Amsterdam); and they'r not vehicles practical for local business (compared to alternative vehicles). I simply haven't seen many American pickup trucks as you describe either in Amsterdam proper or in the surrounding areas.
And a side note about fuel prices:
If by chance the vehicles you saw are used by U.S. Embassy personnel (which, from experience, I doubt they are), embassy employees can apply for an Esso Gas Card through official channels (prior to arrival of their vehicle), which enables them to take advantage of tax-free prices 60% lower than the regular rate.
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