Wheels: Truck styles seek inspiration in the past

In the dark times before the internet shone so brightly it made us all blind, if you wanted to drive an old vehicle, it was handy to have a parts vehicle around to pick from. There were no specialty suppliers of repair parts, so people like me who drove obsolete or oddball cars or trucks had to hoard parts or carefully guard sources to ensure the possibility of finding a good replacement when needed.

It took a certain mindset to put up with daily driving an old car. Most handled like a boat with a following sea — old trucks and primitive SUVs couldn’t keep up with highway traffic due to low gearing; brakes were barely adequate; and vacuum wipers stopped working when you needed them the most.